Perry schools' students to return to school full time March 18 following deadly shooting
Perry Community School District students will attend school for 50 more minutes a day beginning March 18.
The Perry School Board unanimously approved the new schedule for the rest of the school year and the coming 2024-25 school year during a special board meeting Tuesday night. Currently, students are in class for about five hours and 40 minutes a day.
The new schedule is part of the district's ongoing recovery plan stemming from the deadly Jan. 4 shooting at Perry High School.
Investigators say Dylan Butler, a 17-year-old Perry High School student, fatally shot Ahmir Jolliff, an 11-year-old sixth-grade student, and Principal Dan Marburger and wounded seven other people.
Butler died of a self-inflicted gunshot, authorities said.
Related: Perry students won't have to make up school days lost after high school shootings
When the district returns from spring break, secondary students will attend school from 7:55 a.m. to 2:35 p.m. and elementary students will be in class from 8:15 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. The proposed schedule ends early dismissal on Wednesdays.
Since school resumed last month, students have been dismissed at 1:45 p.m. Perry students lost between three to four weeks of instruction time after schools closed following the shooting.
Related: In tragedy's wake, firms pair to lead no-cost search for new Perry High School principal
The new schedule ensures staff can attend self-care therapy appointments and it establishes a consistent daily schedule, school board documents state. The schedule also meets the state's requirement of 1,080 hours or 180 days of instruction each school year.
The Iowa Department of Education waived this requirement in the wake of the shooting for the remainder of the 2023-24 school year.
Overall, the district's recovery has been going well, said Superintendent Clark Wicks in an interview after the meeting. One indicator he pointed to was that attendance for both students and staff has been over 90% since school reopened.
The new school schedule will help people continue to heal, Wicks said.
"We can start to get settled in and, I think, that will help to calm people down," he said. "... We've made the decision, we're moving forward and sometimes that's what humans need."
Board President Linda Andorf thanked school staff for creating the new schedule.
The Iowa Department of Education director has been encouraging officials to also get back to a fuller schedule, Andorf told those in attendance.
"This will get us back and I think this could be a good marketing item for us too" when it comes to recruiting staff, she said.
Allison Ullmann, the editor and reporter for the Perry Chief and Dallas County News, contributed to this story.
Samantha Hernandez covers education for the Register. Reach her at (515) 851-0982 or svhernandez@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @svhernandez or Facebook at facebook.com/svhernandezreporter.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Perry Community School District students to return to school full time following shooting
