Northern Ozaukee poised for in-person classes

Northern Ozaukee School District officials are planning on in-person schooling five days a week this fall while offering a virtual learning option to families who don’t feel comfortable sending their children to school, it was announced this week.

“Currently, the Northern Ozaukee School District is planning for an in-person return to school aligned with our school calendar beginning in the Fall of 2020,” NOSD Supt. David Karrels said in an email to staff and parents. 

“We anticipate that there may be a smaller number of family situations that may not allow for in-person learning, so we will also provide support for families in need of remote learning in our district,” he wrote.

The plan has not been set in stone as school officials this week began surveying parents and staff on their preferences on how the school year should be conducted, Karrels said.

Input collected will be used to work out the details of the fall school year or plans may be adjusted based on changes in the Covid-19 health environment or if the state Department of Public Instruction mandates school closures, he said. A 2020 school year planning committee also is being formed.

The School Board is expected to finalize plans at its July 20 meeting or possibly at a special meeting yet to be scheduled, Karrels said in an interview.

“We need to be flexible,” he said. “We’re gathering input and ideas as part of implementing the plan and make sure we’re taking into consideration what those thoughts are.”

The school calendar applies to the district’s two charter schools — Riveredge Outdoor Learning Elementary School at the Riveredge Nature Center and Wisconsin Virtual Learning, an online school — as well as the three schools at its Fredonia campus.

Karrels said district school buildings would undergo deep cleaning at night and on weekends.

NOSD’s proposed plan is more aggressive than options suggested by DPI last month that anticipates students returning to schools in September but not full time until a Covid-19 vaccine is developed and widely available.

The most optimistic of four scenarios put forth by the DPI calls for all students to attend classes four days a week.

Another option is to have half of a district’s students attend classes Mondays and Tuesdays and the other half Thursdays and Fridays.

Under a third scenario, half the students would attend classes four days one week while the other half would be in school the following week.

All those scenarios envision schools being closed Wednesdays to be sanitized and for students to be engaged in online learning when not in school. 

A fourth option suggested by DPI is to have elementary school students return to classes early and be disbursed throughout all buildings in the district. Middle and high school students would remain at home and take classes online.

The DPI recommendations are just that, Karrels emphasized, leaving the details of how schools should operate this fall up to individual districts.

The DPI is advising districts to plan for 12 to 18 months of modified classes, including redesigning day-to-day education to accommodate the social distancing of students and staff members, conducting regular health screenings to ensure students and staff members aren’t in schools if they have Covid-19 symptoms and sanitizing buildings frequently. 

The DPI is also recommending that districts be prepared for local, regional or statewide school shutdowns if there is a resurgence of infections.