The Republic High School football team will play for its first-ever state championship on Friday, December 1, at 7:00 p.m. in Columbia! The Republic School District will be closed on Friday as many students, staff and families will be traveling to the game.
A message containing the information below was sent to all staff and families on Sunday, November 26.
The decision to close our schools was not made lightly and student learning was largely considered. The Republic School District has more school hours scheduled than the state of Missouri requires, and closing the district for the day will not jeopardize meeting any state requirements.
The decision to close the district is in an effort to support the students and employees who are involved with or connected to the game, as well as avoid a staffing shortage. Many RHS students participate in game day activities, whether they are on the football team or involved in band, JROTC, Tigerettes and cheerleading. In addition, many staff members from across the district serve on the coaching staff or as sponsors of those programs. There is also a large group of employees who are parents of students involved. The district would struggle to find an adequate number of substitutes to cover classrooms for the staff members who will attend the game.
In addition, logistics were heavily weighed, specifically surrounding transportation. A large number of school buses will be needed to transport students and staff members to Columbia, and will need to leave Republic in the early afternoon on Friday. On a regular Friday, with our usual early release, buses do not complete their routes until 3:30 p.m. or later, making it impossible to transport all the necessary individuals across the district either to their homes after school or to Columbia for the game.
STRIPES 360 childcare will not be available on Friday, as many of the employees of that program are either college students who have classes during the day, or are Republic High School students who will attend the game. Families enrolled in STRIPES 360 or Republic Early Childhood Center will be credited for the day of tuition they’ve already paid.
In celebration of this historic event, Thursday, November 30 will be a district-wide spirit day! All staff and students are encouraged to wear RepMO gear to school!
For those planning to attend the state championship game, tickets are available for purchase here. Spectator information is available here.
We look forward to seeing the Republic community come together as we support our students!