By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
It’s a question heard across most of the country this summer: How will schools function this fall when the bell resumes ringing?
Whitewater Unified School District officials are in the midst of exploring a series of scenarios.
While the sun is blazing, WUSD staffers are working with a cross-section of the community to drill down on some of the granular details related to instruction across all grade levels before the 2020-21 school year kicks off in early September.
This past month, several of the district’s top-level officials have been exploring several different scenarios.
While no official decision on this fall’s format has been reached, guidance from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has provided some clarity on next steps.
As with all districts across the state, Whitewater school administrators have leeway in deciding reopening procedures this fall. This comes on the heels of the DPI’s lengthy “Education Forward” document that was released June 22.
“Under state law, school districts determine the operations of their buildings and the learning environment,” State Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor wrote in a statement. “Risk mitigation and health factors will drive decisions regarding school operations.”
In the document, Stanford Taylor said she was optimistic in-person classes would resume, though she offered the caveat it will not be business as usual.
“There will need to be social distancing, new cleaning and disinfecting procedures and changes to how educators deliver instruction,” Stanford Taylor wrote. “There will be students who are not able to return to school due to health concerns, and students and staff who may be quarantined due to exposure.”
WUSD Director of Instruction Kelly Seichter has been helming an exploration of different scenarios. The goal, Seichter said at the district’s regular School Board meeting in June, is not to make decisions in a vacuum.
“It’s important to us that whatever model we have is inclusive and caring,” Seichter said. “That is at the heart of what we want for our families.”
On one end of the spectrum, Seichter said a proposal is on the table for in-person classroom instruction with a number of precautions in play. On the other end is a complete virtual model. A hybrid approach of half of the students attending one day and the other half attending another day also is in the mix.
With the countdown clock ticking, Seichter said the district’s administrative team is undertaking a number of efforts to gather parent and community feedback. Steps will include a survey, community engagement sessions and focus groups.
Each of the scenarios has pros and cons. The traditional model of daily classroom instruction, if adopted, would include a number of safeguards, Seichter said. Hand sanitizing stations would be in classrooms and some school staples, such as drinking fountains, would be shut off.
Other considerations extend beyond the classroom. Parents’ schedules and the potential need for additional daycare, for example, are going to be a pivotal part of the review process.
Regardless of which option ultimately is chosen, Seichter throughout her recent discussion with the School Board said the ability to shift gears quickly could be necessary, depending on local health guidance and orders amid the COVID-19 crisis.
“I think you’re in the right direction — trying to be as flexible as possible,” School Board member Jim Stewart said of the thinking.
