VIRUS CLOSES SCHOOLS
Local public schools will teach virtual classes over the internet
Public and private schools in Athens, Edgar, Marathon and Stratford on Monday closed their doors to students in an effort to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
School events, ranging from spring sports to prom to concerts, have been cancelled into April.
The dramatic school closings come as 47 people in Wisconsin have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19, including one man in Wood County who returned from a cruise.
Andrea Palm, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health and Human Services, on Friday ordered all K-12 schools be closed no later than March 18 and remain closed through April 6. She acted at the request of Gov. Tony Evers. The school closure may be extendable, depending on the spread of the disease.
In the four public schools, students will continue their education at home with lessons taught over the internet or, in the case of small children, with packets of conventional school materials.
T he schools pursued this distance education approach after parent surveys documented that the vast majority of area households have internet access.
Food service workers in Marathon, Edgar and Stratford districts will attempt to feed students with cold sack lunches that can be picked up and taken home.
The Marathon and Edgar boards of education met Monday in special meetings to review and approve these alternative education plans.
Marathon
In Marathon, principals Sarah Budny and David Beranek said teachers will use Power School and Google Classroom to teach their normal courses over the internet. All Marathon High School and Marathon Venture Academy students currently have Chromebooks. Elementary school students will be provided with both Chromebooks and iPads to use at home.
Students without internet access will be able to come to Marathon Public Schools to pick up paper packets of course materials.
The principals said all school activities for the foreseeable future have been cancelled or suspended. These include all co-curriculars, including spring sports, prom, a spaghetti dinner, field trips and concerts. The school calendar, however, will not be further extended into June.
The Marathon High School fitness center will be closed.
Budny told board members that the school closure would predictably be stressful for families and, especially, the children.
“We have to reassure them that we are doing everything we can to support them,” she said.
Edgar
Dr. Cari Guden told Edgar Board of Education members that an alternative education plan was put together in a series of meetings held over the weekend. The plan was to close school on March 18, but, after hearing from medical professionals late Sunday night, the decision was made to close school immediately on Monday, March 16.
Guden said all students in grades 2-12 will be given classroom assignments by their teachers over the internet. A survey of parents indicated that 95 percent of Edgar school families have internet access, although not necessarily high speed internet.
Principal Tom McCarty mentioned that a specially equipped school bus could possibly provide internet service to a neighborhood of people without computer access if they live in close proximity to one another.
Guden said the school closure was communicated over a Skylert emergency telephone app and parents and students will be able to communicate with teachers in the coming days over a ClassDoJo social media internet platform.
She said that after Wednesday (today) the public will not have access to either Edgar Public Schools or the Edgar Wellness Center.
The administrator said food service workers will provide sack lunches for all students, regardless of income, that will be delivered, as needed, to St. John’s Church, Rib Falls, and the Wien and Cassel town halls. The meals will be served starting Wednesday (today). Support staff lacking student duties will be used to help make the lunches.
Guden said Fischer Transportation will halt operations. The bus drivers will be eligible for unemployment, she said.
Administrators and school board members said it will take a while for students and teachers to get used to the virtual learning routine.
“We will have a new normal for a few weeks,” said elementary school principal Lisa Witt.
“We are in uncharted territory,” said school board member Corey Mueller.
Stratford
In communications to students and parents, Stratford Public School said that students will be responsible for participating in e-learning through distance education classes. Attendance will be taken daily.
Teachers will be required to post daily lessons for students to see by 8 a.m. Students will work independently on the lessons from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Teachers will hold virtual “office hours” from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 2-3 p.m.
If students do not have computer access, they will be able to use the district WiFi from the school parking lot or the county public library parking lot.
Stratford School District will provide free lunch to any student (including those at St. Joseph’s School) at no charge. The lunch may be picked up from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. on school days March 17 through April 3. One lunch will be provided per child.
The school district will close Stratford Public School to the public. This includes the school fitness center. School custodial staff will clean the building while it is closed.
Athens
Athens School District has announced teachers will e-mail learning materials to students while the school is closed. The third quarter of the school year will end as of March 20. Off-site learning will commence March 23.
Students will be asked to electronically turn in their work by the end of this week. Teachers will be flexible in grading students, understanding that some students lack internet access.
The district announced a long list of cancellations, including state FBLA, a special education track meet, solo and ensembles, band and choir large group, a state Science Olympiad, a fourth grade trip to Madison, FFA judging and forensics.
