MARSHALL — When Gov. Tim Walz announced that Minnesota schools won’t reopen this spring, it didn’t exactly come as a surprise for area schools.

School administrators said they had been discussing the possibility of using distance learning tools for the rest of the academic year. Now that they have instructions from the state, superintendents say school districts can start working out the details of their plans.

When school districts developed distance learning plans in March, they were also planning ahead in case the date to return to class was extended past May 4.

“We figured on this,” Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Superintendent David Marlette said Thursday.

Marshall Public Schools Superintendent Scott Monson said that while the initial push for distance learning was all about getting the program working, school staff have also been considering what would happen if schools didn’t reopen this academic year.

“This is tough for us,” Monson said. But without being too negative, MPS acknowledged that a distance learning extension was “very possible,” he said.

Monson, Marlette, Lakeview Schools Superintendent Chris Fenske and Lynd School Principal Jason Swenson all said Thursday their districts would all be continuing their existing distance learning programs.

Monson said on Thursday there were still details to work out about extending the distance learning program at MPS. The Minnesota Department of Education sent out an update on distance learning plans, which Monson said he wanted to go over. MPS also plans to gather feedback from teachers and families, on what’s been working well and what needs to improve.

Monson said distance learning at MPS will continue through its scheduled last day of school, on May 29. However, there won’t be distance learning activities on May 1 and May 4. Originally, the district had planned on those days being prep time before students returned to class.

“I believe now, the days will be more about, let’s take a break,” Monson said. The days off would be like “halftime” in Marshall’s distance learning, he said.

Marlette said RTR will continue its distance learning plan through the end of the school year.

Fenske said part of the distance learning planning process including the possibility that schools wouldn’t re-open.

“We had kind of communicated that possibility to families, students and staff,” he said. Lakeview would also continue its distance learning program through the end of its school year, May 15.

Lynd Public School will also be extending its current distance learning plan, said Swenson. While there are still some things to work out, he said, the possibility on an extension “has been in discussion right from the get-go, and to try and be prepared for the unknown.”

Area superintendents said their districts will continue to provide meals for students and emergency child care for essential workers, as they have been directed by the state.

What’s more uncertain for school districts will be how to handle end-of-the-year events like graduations or proms, if social distancing rules are not lifted. High schools in some area districts are still holding out hope that their spring proms can go on. Fenske said Lakeview is postponing its prom until July 18, in case guidelines against social gatherings were loosened by then. Marlette said RTR was postponing its prom to Aug. 8 — and if social distancing rules are still in place by then, the dance wouldn’t be rescheduled.

“Commencement is a little bit trickier,” Fenske said. Lakeview is moving graduation back to June 5, but it’s still not certain if they will be able to have a traditional gathering. If not, the school may have to consider alternatives like a virtual ceremony, or something more creative like an outdoor ceremony where people could spread out to maintain social distance.

Marlette said for now RTR High School is planning on keeping its scheduled May 24 commencement date. However, it hasn’t been decided what the school will do to avoid having a mass gathering. He said RTR will get feedback from parents about it.

Monson said administrators at Marshall High School and MATEC are weighing their options for events like commencement.

“The next week will be really important,” for working out some of those plans, Monson said.

While shifting to distance learning hasn’t been easy, superintendents said area students are adjusting well.

“The vast majority of our students are working hard,” Marlette said.

“For the most part, I hear lots of positive feedback from teachers,” Swenson said. It’s not easy for students to be apart from friends and school events, but he said some classrooms are also finding ways for kids to connect, like holding Google meetings for classmates to interact with each other.

“I know it’s challenging for elementary students,” not to have an in-person classroom setting, Fenske said. However, he said distance learning participation in the Lakeview district was over 96%. The school’s distance learning technology was working well.