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doctors say he had to have gotten covid- 19 - from another person in the community. (ááá1-SHOTááá) (áááSTACEYááá) New tonight. Thousands of families are busy making plans after Des Moines Public Schools announced it is canceling all classes until at least March 30th. KCCI's Max Diekneite tells us how the district came to this decision. (áááPKGááá) <WE'VE DECIDED TO CANCEL SCHOOL.> Going against the advice of the Iowa Department of Public Health -- Des Moines Public Schools has opted to cancel classes on Thursday, March 26th and Friday, the 27th... when students were ásupposed to return from Spring Break. Superintendent Tom Ahart says... that will give the district more than 2 weeks to do a "deep clean" of every district building Ahart says -- with 5-thousand staff... and 33-thousand students... the district, saw a chance to stay- ahead, of the virus. <I ANTICIPATE THAT MANY PEOPLE IN THIS COMMUNITY WILL THINK THIS IS IRRATIONAL. WITH THE RESEARCH THAT WE'VE DONE, WE THINK IT'S VERY RATIONAL.> Ahart says the district will hand out bagged lunches at 10 different locations -- during those 2 days of cancelled classes -- to help families, who rely on the program. He also recognizes childcare -- is a major issue for families. <WE DON'T HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE ANSWER TO THAT. WE ARE IN CONTACT WITH THE CITY AND POLK COUNTY, LOOKING FOR CHILDCARE STRATEGIES FOR FAMILIES THAT WILL NEED TO CONTINUE TO GO TO WORK.> <ONE OF HER BIG CONCERNS WAS, "I WANT TO BE AT SCHOOL."> Jason Rainwater is a parent at DMPS. His daughter, Rebecca, is a sophomore at Roosevelt. He says he agrees with the district's decision. <FOR A PARENT - IT'S BETTER TO TRY AND HELP THEM UNDERSTAND, 'HEY, THIS IS A PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE. IT'S THERE TO SUPPORT YOU, IN CASE SOMETHING HAPPENS.> (áááMAX) As of now -- the district does not have a plan in-place for online classes. But Ahart says they have a team looking-into wh

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Des Moines Public Schools has confirmed that all programs, activities and classes will be canceled for 17 days due to coronavirus concerns. Programs will be canceled starting Friday at 6 p.m. School officials hope to return to classes March 30. "This is an extraordinary step for our school district, but this is an extraordinary time for our community, our country and the world. By taking this step, our goal is to implement preventive measures – from social distancing to additional cleaning at our schools – as well as give us more time to assess the spread of coronavirus in Iowa and the impact it may have on our school district," the school said in a statement. "We understand that this will create an inconvenience, and in cases, a hardship for many in our community and we do not take that lightly. We are doing what we can to both respond proactively and effectively to the pandemic while connecting our families with necessary services."The school will not be offering Metro Kids care. All athletic practices and competitions are canceled. Performing arts practices and events are canceled. Parent/teacher conferences are canceled. Programs hosted by DMPS, such as the Boys and Girls Club, will not be open. Spring break trips sponsored by the school will be canceled. Rental requests of the DMPS space by other organizations will be canceled. The Welcome Center will be closed. Teachers and staff, with the exception of designated operations staff, will not be allowed into school buildings. DMPS will offer grab-and-go meals from all middle school sites March 26 and March 27 between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. DMPS have taken the preventative actions including having 12 district nurses be full-time for the foreseeable future, leadership will meet daily for updates on COVID-19 and providing extra sanitary precautions to facilities. Des Moines Public Schools provide press conference over canceling programsCheck back with KCCI for updates on this story.