Back to School, Back to Normal?

Created in 2019, the learning pods – collective spaces for teamwork, group projects and multi-grade activities – in the Sturgeon Bay schools were barely used during the 2020-21 school year due to coronavirus-prevention protocols. This year, educators want to use the spaces whenever it’s beneficial and remove the Plexiglas barriers when possible. Photo by Craig Sterrett.

Local school districts work on reopening plans 

How much will back-to-school time resemble “back to normal”?

Area school boards, administrators, teachers and activity leaders are seeking answers to that question while also accepting that some plans could change if coronavirus cases increase dramatically.

Schools throughout the nation, state and county had different rules and COVID-19-containment measures last year because districts had to come up with their own plans, starting from scratch, for an unprecedented situation.

This year, the districts have slightly better guidelines and some experience in knowing what worked and what did not work well, both in terms of educating students and keeping them safe. Parents can expect all schools to have a few rules in common, such as mandatory masking on school buses and student transportation. Other practices could vary based on updated guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control. 

Under current conditions at least, fewer students would be subject to lengthy quarantines than in 2020-21. For example, sports teams that follow Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association directives would require a player to sit out as little as one day if that student-athlete is fully vaccinated and shows no COVID-19 symptoms. Unvaccinated student-athletes could, however, face a 14-day quarantine. For classroom attendance, that maximum quarantine time could be 10 days – or no days if a student is vaccinated.

As for elementary-school students who are not yet being vaccinated in Wisconsin, districts could require them or their classroom to be quarantined in the case of a COVID-19 outbreak or close contact. If students show no symptoms, the quarantine period could be quite short – or not required at all if they’re vaccinated. Theoretically, young students who have been in close contact only with vaccinated family members would not need to quarantine for long.

We’ll share all districts’ plans in an upcoming issue of the Peninsula Pulse. Meanwhile, here’s a preview of what the peninsula’s two largest school districts are planning.

Southern Door School District

The Southern Door School Board recently got a head start on its readiness plan for the 2021-22 school year, listening to guiding principles from new Superintendent Chris Peterson and hearing initial thoughts from teachers and staff members.

“We are going to emphasize student achievement, health and wellness,” Peterson said. “We want to have the ability to be fluid and flexible, but to take a commonsense approach. We will plan for what is in the best interest of our students and staff, and what is practicable for Southern Door.

“If we start to see a spike, whether it’s in the community or in the school or in certain classes, we would definitely go back to mitigating things to reduce the spread,” Peterson said.

At least for the beginning of the school year, grade-number signs could be affixed to cafeteria tables to direct students to sit with classmates and not change tables at lunch, Peterson said. Southern Door has all grades on one campus, and school officials are also likely to continue efforts to keep primary, middle school and high school students separated as much as possible.

Many teachers would like to see young students’ mouths as they enunciate. Southern Door reading specialist Missy Bousley surveyed teachers and said they hope to focus on in-person, in-classroom teaching. Bousley summarized Southern Door teachers’ wishes to do without masks if possible, to eliminate over-the-computer synchronized learning and teaching if possible, and to polish in-person learning opportunities for students. She said teachers would also like to see a lot fewer Plexiglas dividers between students when that becomes feasible.

Southern Door’s maintenance director, Dan Viste, said people learned last year that it’s their responsibility – not just the custodian’s job – to help keep buildings, work spaces and workplaces germ-free. Viste said the district will reopen water fountains but will still encourage students and staff to take their own water bottles to school.

“We need to start slowly,” Viste said. “We can always open another door; but once we open them all, it’s tough to close them up again.”

The maintenance crew will still provide hand sanitizer and expect it to be used, and it will continue vigorous sanitation work.

Peterson is still seeking guidance about whether the county will help with contact tracing in the event of a student infection because contact tracing is time consuming and, for school officials, “not really in our wheelhouse.”

Peterson said the district will receive vaccination records for students, whether it’s the COVID-19 vaccine or polio vaccine, but the district will not be able to ask family members whether they’re all vaccinated.

“I don’t think we can require proof,” Peterson said. “We want to reach out to our community and have their help to build a community of trust.” 

He also said he will expect parents to keep students at home if they’re truly ill with the flu or any other contagious illness.

Peterson said COVID-19 numbers in the Southern Door district have remained low, and he did not receive reports of spikes in illness following social gatherings during the July Fourth weekend or Belgian Days in Brussels. Still, the district will continue to document cases and monitor local and county data and trends.

During the current summer-school schedule, Southern Door has had 70-80 students in school per day and so far has kept masking voluntary and optional.

Southern Door School District leaders will meet with educators in early August for additional discussion and input. The school board will further fine-tune the reopening plans at a board retreat, and then it will welcome public input and discussion during the Aug. 16 board meeting.

Sturgeon Bay School District

Sturgeon Bay’s school board has completed its initial reopening plan, and Superintendent Dan Tjernagel sent the following points to staff members and parents about what the board approved:

• The district plans in-person instruction, five days per week, in alignment with the school calendar approved by the board (and available on its website).  

• There is no face-coverings resolution in place for the 2021-22 school year, meaning that face coverings will be optional for students, staff members and visitors.  

• If there is a COVID-19 outbreak at a school, a variety of safety measures and mitigation options will be considered, including face coverings, in order to allow students to continue to attend school in person.

• Schools have a combination of practices, procedures and plans in place depending on what challenges the coming months may present. The district’s preference is to return to a more sustainable, more traditional system that consists of practices and procedures that are appropriate for each school.