100% in-person learning requires many upfront plans to be made, mitigation measures to be taken, and what-if scenarios planned out for the inevitable changes that will be necessary as coronavirus cases spread and/or if a case is reported in a school.

What are those plans? We don't have a lot of information yet, with very little in the way of details.

Information

The best information we have as of July 26, 2020 is from the July 20 - Presentation to the Board of Education that was presented by the District Administration. A letter was sent via E-Mail to parents on July 21, but it only had high-level information and no details.

The July 20 presentation included the fact that masks will required of staff, but "considering requiring masks for students grades 4-12."

Official information from the District can be found at the Reopening Schools 2020-21 page on the District website. That information will (hopefully) be updated often, with more and more details being provided.

One hopes that more information will be forthcoming before parents will be required to choose which option they will have to live with for the forseeable future.

Questions/Concerns

The parent survey showed that an overwhelming majority of elementary respondents chose 100% in-person learning as their first choice, while secondary respondents were more split between 100% in-person and a combination of in-person and virtual learning. The survey contained no details about how each would be implemented, so respondents were left to guess, or to simply express a preference. The flaws in such a question being presented this way can be seen easily. However, the Superintendent used these results as confirmation that 100% in-person was the way to go, and that feeling was repeated by some on the Board during the discussion.

The challenge is in the details of how that plan will be executed.

Can it be done safely? What happens when a case is found in a school? What metrics will be used to determine if it is safe to return, and when it is no longer safe to be in school?

Is there a plan, or will we make it up as we go, in the heat of the moment?

Lots of important questions that have yet to be answered. This is a situation that varies daily, but there are data points that could be used to make determinations at the time, so those data points could be outlined now.

Even with everything so undecided and "fluid," parents are going to be forced to make a decision, and that decision cannot be an informed decision without more details.

Some of the questions that we've come up with and received from others may be listed here as a way to keep track of them. Ideally, we'll find out answers, and post them here!

In no particular order...

1. What will the cafeteria look like during lunch time? Can students sit outside until the weather turns?
2. What will block scheduling look like? Will flex class still take place?
3. Will cleaning wipes be available for students to wipe down desks before class starts?
   
   While not specifically about wipes being available in classrooms, Mr. Garza did say in the July 20 meeting that "we do have ... PPE pipelines and supply chains in place ... as well as that for sanitizers ... and other items."
4. We are assuming that lockers will not be available to students, can supply lists be minimized so students are not carrying around 20 pounds of textbooks and supplies during the day?
5. Can textbooks be sent home, remain there, and be returned at the end of the semester or year?
6. How will art supplies such as paint brushes be handled? Will each student have their own paintbrushes that only he/she uses or will they be cleaned in some way before another person uses them?
7. What will choir class look like?
8. Can teachers have the option of taking their classes outside for instruction on nice days?
9. Can instruction be switched to virtual on or before December 10th for students to be able to self quarantine for 14 days so that they can safely visit relatives during the holidays?
10. What will the science lab classes look like if they are in person?
11. What measures are being taken in the classrooms? Plexiglas partitions, physical spacing, etc.
12. What information or guidance has come from the College Board regarding AP classes for this year?

Case-Related Questions/Concerns

1. If a parent is exposed to covid-19 and needs to stay home, it would follow that their child will be kept home too in order to keep other students safe. What will daily instruction look like for that student since he/she was an in-person student?
2. If an Eisenhower teacher, for example, needs to stay home because someone in his/her family had covid-19 exposure, what does that look like for his/her classroom?
3. Are there enough substitute teachers on-call to replace teachers that need to stay home as a result of symptoms or a confirmed case of Covid-19?
   
   The availability of substitute teachers has been an ongoing challenge in many area school districts, even before the current situation. Many of them are retired teachers, which are in the highest-risk age groups, which creates a scenario where they likely will not be available as they were in the past.
   
   During the July 20 meeting, Mr. Garza was asked this question. His response was a generalized one that talked about finding qualified people, but no specific or special arrangements have been made:
   

   "We're trying to be as proactive as possible. We are working with other Waukesha County superintendents. We all have the same problem. ... We'll continue to look for the best and the brightest that are out there, and we will try and get them committed to working in our School District, but it's something that certainly we've identified as an issue...and not just for substitute teachers but for other areas as well"

   Given the vocal support by five members of the School Board for in-person learning, we have at least five volunteers that should be added to the list of people to call when substitute teachers are needed and cannot be found. Those calls usually come around 5 or 6am, so they should make the necessary contingency plans.
4. How will it be handled if/when a student and/or teacher is diagnosed with Covid-19?
   
   This question was asked by a School Board member during the discussion after the presentation at the July 20 meeting:

   Q: What is the scenario, from your perspective, about what will force a quarantine in a school building? Is it one case in a classroom? Is it more than one case in a classroom? Is it a teacher in a classroom? What forces a quarantine. Do we have a ... rule on that yet?
   
   A: So, as of right now, and it depends on, and this is, it's a very complex question of which you ask ... It's not as simple as just answering this is that, because there are many layers to this as well. But, for example, if students are masked, then there will be less need to have to quarantine classrooms, rather than those kids that were exposed within six feet for at least fifteen minutes in duration. Ah, that only those students would be quarantined and not the entire class. ... That is the guidance as of today.

5. What are the determining factors to a classroom/school/the district moving from in person instruction to virtual?
6. Does the district have a plan in place to transition students from in-person to virtual learning with the least amount of negative impact? 

Last Updated: Jul 27, 2020 - Archived on Jul 27, 2020

Resources

• SDNBs 2021-22 Fall Re-Entry Plan - July 26, 2021

  Presentation given by Superintendent Joe Garza to the School Board on July 26, 2021. This plan was later approved by a vote of 5-1.

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