By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
The final day of classes for students in the Whitewater Unified School District is being extended slightly in anticipation of teachers receiving their second doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The plan in motion includes the cancellation of school Wednesday, April 14, and tacking the missed instructional day on at the end of the school year calendar. The school year will officially wrap Wednesday, June 9, rather than the previously scheduled Tuesday, June 8.
Superintendent Caroline Pate-Hefty discussed with the School Board a series of options for the remainder of WUSD’s 2020-21 school year calendar in anticipation of the second dose, which is being administered this coming Tuesday, April 13.
At the special board meeting, held April 5, Pate-Hefty reported a total of 143 WUSD staffers received the first dose of the vaccine March 16, indicating a similar participation level is expected for the upcoming second dose.
After collaborating with her counterparts in other districts, Pate-Hefty said she heard reports in other districts that already have administered a second-dose vaccine of teachers calling in sick the day after receiving it.
“We are concerned that we are going to have significant absences after the second vaccine,” Pate-Hefty said, indicating teacher absences elsewhere have been in the range of 28 percent to 30 percent.
Four options were on the table to address the anticipated staffing shortage. Other scenarios included designating April 14 as a snow day and keeping the rest of the school year calendar in tact, which would be permissible since WUSD has only had one snow day thus far this year.
Other options included holding school April 14, but designating it as a strictly virtual day, or the status quo approach of holding in-person learning on the day and making staffing decisions based on the number of teachers calling in sick.
As was previously reported, about 30 percent of WUSD’s students have struggled with virtual learning — a nod, in part, to the less reliable broadband in the rural townships within the district’s geographic footprint.
“I would still be concerned about their ability to access (classroom instruction),” Pate-Hefty said of the challenges with the strictly virtual model.
During the board discussion, several officials asked if there was any value in transplanting the missed day onto the end of the school year at a time when students’ thoughts conceivably could be on the imminent vacation ahead.
“They aren’t optimal, but they still are worth it,” said Kelly Seichter, director of instruction with WUSD. “I think we could leverage that time.”
From his vantage point, board member Thayer Coburn said he did not believe the addition of another day onto the end of the calendar would be disruptive to families’ travel plans.
“I have no interest in just abandoning the day,” Coburn said. “We’re probably not going to be interrupting too may people’s travel plans this year. It’s an exceptional year.”
The new changes do not impact Whitewater High School seniors’ schedule. Graduation is still slated to occur Sunday, June 6.
