MISD reopening schools with hybrid learning

Students in school two days a week, learning online the other three
By: 
Lee Pulaski
City Editor

Menominee Indian School District announced last week the details for a school reopening plan where students will be attending schools two days a week and learning virtually during the other three.

Beginning Sept. 21, students living in Keshena will be attending school on Mondays and Tuesdays, while students living on the rest of the reservation and in Shawano will attend Thursdays and Fridays. The school buildings will be closed Wednesdays, when schools will do deep cleaning to further prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“This is not how I anticipated the new school year to start,” said Wendell Waukau, district superintendent. “But it’s here. We’ve accepted it, and we’re ready to go.”

Parents will have the option to have their children engage in full virtual learning if they are concerned about their children being at risk for catching the coronavirus, according to Waukau. He noted that the district will need to be flexible with its attendance policy during the pandemic.

The split will generate classrooms of seven to 10 students, according to Waukau. He said having the smaller classrooms should allow for better social distancing, and masks will be required in the schools for students and staff alike.

“Putting together a reopening plan was based more on the safety of the students, family, staff and the community,” Waukau said. “Our decision, the plan we put together had a huge impact from what is happening in our tribal community, which we know right now we’re doing an excellent job of keeping our rates down.”

The district will have what Waukau described as a “soft opening” beginning Sept. 1. For those three weeks leading up to Sept. 21, parents and students will be getting Chromebooks for the virtual learning, getting registered, scheduling any needed meetings and more, he said.

“It’s going to take a couple of weeks to get off the ground slowly and get things ready to go on Sept. 21 when we go to our in-person learning,” Waukau said.

The soft opening came about as a result of conversations with Dr. Amy Slagle, Menominee tribal health officer. Waukau said Slagle was concerned about the first day of school happening the week that the Shawano County Fair opens and was worried that tribal families who attend the fair might spread the coronavirus.

“We certainly want to impress upon our students and families that we prefer they not go, because we’re trying to keep our rates down,” Waukau said. “We don’t want that to impact the school. We don’t want that to impact the community.”

He added that, if there was a coronavirus outbreak that impacted his schools, the district would likely go to full virtual learning on Sept. 21 and then go back to the original plan once the outbreak was concluded.

Everyone entering the school will be required to get their temperature checked. Waukau said the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin purchased kiosks for all of the schools that will take temperatures automatically and not require staff involvement.

“Children who are brought to school, you won’t even have to get out of the car,” Waukau said. “We will come up to you with temperature scanners, and we’ll come right to the car and take your temperature.”

One challenge that rural families have faced is access to the internet, and the Menominee Reservation is no exception. MISD is combating that by having Wi-Fi on its buses, according to Waukau, and they will be dispersed throughout the communities so that anyone with a computer that has Wi-Fi can participate in virtual learning.

“Wi-Fi connectivity was a huge obstacle,” Waukau said. “We have Wi-Fi on our buses, and we have hotspots we can take out into the community. If families need Wi-Fi connectivity, we are going to take that into the community. We didn’t have that back in March, but we’ll have it now.”

Another challenge is busing. With the current buses, the district would only be able to have 12 students maximum on each bus, and Waukau is encouraging families to transport their children to school. The district is talking with Menominee Transit Services to see if their buses could also be used, if necessary.

Eating in the cafeterias will not be happening in order to keep social distancing in place, and Waukau said that elementary students would be having lunch and breakfast in the classrooms, while the middle and high schools would likely be utilizing the libraries and other larger spaces.

Recess will still be going on at Keshena Primary School, according to Waukau, and teachers at all three schools are being encouraged to plan outdoor learning activities whenever possible.

Waukau dispelled the rumors that the district is eliminating elective classes like art and music. He said some school districts in Wisconsin are planning to do that, but Menominee Indian will not.

Waukau said the district will look at its plan at the end of the first semester in January and determine then if it will continue with its hybrid plan or go back to having all students in school five days a week.

Parent Craig Penass said during a Zoom presentation July 22 that he was concerned about keeping social distancing, but he believes the existing plan will keep the health risks to a minimum.

“I’m not there to watch them, but I do trust your staff to keep up the social distance,” Penass said to Waukau. “We don’t want that (coronavirus) to come home to us and our families.”

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com