Blended Learning
Are teachers expected to teach virtually and in-person at the same time?
Teachers will be teaching to students in-person and virtually. More details will be shared by your student's school.
Is there flexibility in how we can teach virtual and in-person for some "unconventional" courses so all kids get the most out of the learning experience?
The District will look at innovative practices that support the different learning models.
If schools ever reopen in a hybrid/cohort model, what will bring our kids back to school full time?
The Board has not adopted any criteria at this time for bringing students back to school 5 days a week.
What kinds of new technology resources will be purchased for each classroom within the next few weeks? Will microphone or amplification systems be used to help teachers reach both those in class and those at home, with voices being muffled by masks or too far away from the camera to pick up what is being said?
The District has purchased 1,600 webcams with omnidirectional microphones built in, which are already being distributed to school buildings. These webcams will capture far more of what is going on in the classroom than the microphones built into teacher laptops, which are meant to be spoken directly into. We have tested these webcams in actual GBAPS classrooms and had good results for average sized classrooms. Each teacher will have the option of using one of these new webcams, which can plug directly into teacher laptops or docks and have a 360 degree swivel to easily point at any area of the room.
Given we just did a survey, how will choices now be made? Will we be surveyed again?
No. Families that wish to change their selection of virtual or blended learning based on the new information should contact their child’s school office and request the change.
What happens with an elementary school where 99% of the families say they want to come back to the blended model?
At the elementary level, schools will do their best to social distance; however, the District has been very clear that when we return in-person, social distancing will not always be possible.
Would it be possible for 3K-5 to be in person 4 days a week, with Wednesday being virtual?
Grades 3k-5 will be in person 4 days a week with Wednesday being virtual.
With 3k-5 returning Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and not split classes, what will lunches look like? I recall at one time there was talk they would eat lunch in the classrooms, is that still the plan?
School principals and Food Service will determine the best location at each school to determine where students will eat lunch. In some schools, students may be eating in the commons/cafeteria.
For middle school and high school what is the plan for lunches? Will high school still have an open campus for this?
Students will eat in the commons/cafeteria. High schools will still have open campus.
Waukesha allows students who are supposed to be in-person to attend virtually if they are not feeling well. Will this be an option for our students as well?
Yes. Since teachers will be teaching to both in-person and virtual students, students who are ill, could attend school virtually. If students are attending the class, they will not be marked absent.
When blended instruction starts for grades 7, 8, 10, 11, and 12, will this instruction also be in A/B cohorts? The wording of the adopted motion makes it clear that grade 6 and 9 will be in A/B cohorts, but not the other grades one week later. If A/B cohorts will be used at all secondary grades, should either you or the district personnel be developing a plan for when secondary students would move to an in person 4 day week like their elementary school counterparts?
Grades 6-12 will be returning in an A/B cohort model.
Parents were told the District would not be using cohorts, but we are now? How will those be formed, and how will the instruction be provided for our youngest learners on the days they will not be attending?
Cohorts will be for only grades 6-12. Prek3 - grade 5 will be attending M, T, Th, and F. The District is finalizing the cohorts that were previously created, and are working to keep households attending school on the same days.
In this hybrid model how will the children on their home days receive instruction?
Students will participate virtually.
Will my children be able to keep their same teachers in both the hybrid model or if they continue fully virtual for a time?
Every attempt will be made to keep students with their current teacher, however this cannot be guaranteed due to staffing and student numbers.
Who is going to teach the kids on the opposite days they are not in school?
Their classroom teachers.
Are they going to have supplies home and at school?
Students will be asked to bring their iPads/Chromebooks, supplies and Math toolkits back and forth from home and school. Sharing of school items will be kept to a minimum.
Why are we going back to cohorts A/B after moving away from them?
In order to provide in-person learning, while the burden rate is higher than the gating criteria, a cohort model has been approved by the Board of Education for grades 6-12 to provide physical distancing.
If they go blended it would be 3 days virtual?
For grades 6-12, students will have two in-person days and two virtual instruction days, with Wednesday’s structure remaining the same as it is now. Grades PreK3 - 5 will attend schools Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday in-person.
Wednesday is not a regular day of instruction. In this plan, would Wednesday be a regular instruction day?
Wednesday would remain as it currently is, where students would connect with their Advisory/Homeroom/Classroom Circle and then teaches would have the opportunity to meet with individuals or small groups for additional support.
Will siblings be placed in the same cohort?
To the extent possible.
Then after spring break the proposal is the return to the “blended model”, does that mean we will be in the 2 day a week model for the rest of the school year?
Not necessarily. The Board of Education will continue to monitor community spread and make adjustments to the learning model.
Special Education
Can special education students start blending learning earlier than February 15th?
Special education students who were not able to receive services virtually are currently receiving in-person learning.
Face Coverings
Masks are protective. They will not work at lunch time because they will be removed to eat. This will be the highest time of transmission risk. Is there consideration of having the student attend ½ days?
Not at this time.
Health & Safety
What is the protocol for a student who is showing symptoms but refuses to test? Are they considered a probable case and required to stay home for the 10 days? Then is the classroom notified of said probable case?
What will be the plan in the event that someone in the classroom has Covid or has been exposed to a family member with Covid?
Please see the Isolation & Quarantine Protocols for students.
At this time there is no plan for COVID testing of staff and students. Staff are required and students/families are requested to fill out the symptom screener every day. When individuals feel ill, they are asked to stay home.
Will rapid testing be utilized to test all students returning to school?
No.
Will schools have staff specifically hired to monitor rules such as proper masking, social distancing, hand washing so as not to put added stress on teachers and staff?
No.
What will be the indicators for when a school may be closed due to COVID-19?
It would be highly unusual that we should need to “shut down a school” if everyone is following CDC guidelines for masking, distancing and handwashing.
All we have heard the last many months is that our district will have a difficult time following CDC guidelines if we return in person. Do all buildings now have solid mitigation plans? What changed?
Mitigation plans have been set for months - the GBAPS Forward Plan which communicates the mitigation plans has been emailed to parents and is available on the District website. Physical distancing will still be difficult in the elementary level since all students will be returning; however the cohort model for grades 6-12 should provide greater opportunity to physically distance.
What protocols are in place for students that are sick or show symptoms once at school? What if parents are unable or unwilling to pick up their child during the school day? Through my almost 10 years of teaching, I have seen many ill children sitting in the office for hours, or until the end of the school day because their parents were unreachable, unable, or unwilling to pick them up.
We have added an attendance code so appropriate staff are aware if a student should be out related to COVID. If we cannot reach parents we will utilize SRO’s, Social Workers, etc., to do a home visit to connect with a parent/guardian.
What is the protocol for notifying families of positive exposure in class?
If your child has had a close contact with an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19, you will be notified by a letter from school.
What is the metric to be used to shut down a class for quarantine vs isolate certain individuals?
This will be decided on a case by case basis by our school nurses and contact tracers. Anyone with a positive test will be isolated, those in close contact by CDC guidelines will be quarantined.
Transportation
When will we receive busing information?
Once a decision is reached, the bus routes will be worked on and completed in the order of the school grade level start dates. Bus information will be made available upon this process completion.
What provisions have been made to transport students by bus safely, ie masks? Distancing? Number of students per bus?
Face coverings will be required on all buses. Buses will be cleaned between routes. The District will physically distance on routes to the best of its ability; however, parents should anticipate that not all students will be physically distanced. The District is encouraging parents to drop-off and pick-up students at school.
Virtual Learning
What is the plan for the students who remain virtual?
Students choosing to remain virtual will remain enrolled in their current school. PreK3 - 5 will receive their academics in a virtual education program classroom environment. To allow students to keep in touch with their previous classmates, students will be scheduled to attend Community Circle virtually with their previous classmates in the alternative model. The virtual program class could include students from various schools. Students in the virtual program will have access to the same grade level/course content as students in the alternate model. Teachers will follow a district pacing guide and administer district assessments to monitor student learning. Students in Grades 6-12 will continue in their same courses and teachers, they will just attend all classes virtually Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
If I remain virtual, how much disruption will there be to my child in terms of who their teacher is, who is in their class, and what content they will cover?
Students in grades 4K/Head Start - 5th grade who choose the virtual option will be assigned a virtual program teacher. There are no guarantees that a student will have their current teacher as their virtual teacher. It is likely that students in their current class who choose the virtual education program will be in their virtual program classroom. The learning expectations for students are the same regardless of the environment. Students in grades 6-12, since they are in the cohort model, will continue in their same classes, they will just attend those classes virtually 4-days a week.
In this model, if students are staying virtual for now, when is the next opportunity to go in person?
Students will have the opportunity to exit the virtual program at the end of the grading period. The elementary exit date is February 26, 2021. High School (9-12) and Middle School (6-8) students exit dates would be February 18, 2021 or April 9, 2021. East High School (9-12) students enrolled in the virtual education program exit dates would be on March 4, 2021 or April 23, 2021.
If I chose virtual for my kids will they still continue in the bilingual program with a bilingual teacher? If no and they are placed in a monolingual virtual classroom will they continue in the bilingual program for the 2021-22 school year?
The virtual program will include the opportunity for students who are currently in the bilingual program to continue in the bilingual program taught by a bilingual teacher. Bilingual students will also have the opportunity to continue in the bilingual program in the 2021-2022 school year.
If students are virtual, will they be offered a few different options to come in and complete labs or activities when less students are in the building (assuming they can obtain transportation)?
The virtual courses being offered as part of the virtual program allow for the course required standards and competencies to be met in the virtual environment.
Vaccine
Will teachers and staff be moved up on the list to be Covid vaccinated prior to returning to in-person learning?
We are waiting to hear from DHS when teachers (and other school staff) are eligible to receive the vaccine.
Teachers in our area have not yet begun to receive the vaccine. How will you ensure that all eligible teachers receive BOTH rounds of the vaccine (which need to be given 3-4 weeks apart) and allow the necessary time after the second dose for maximum effectiveness and still meet your timeline? Have you considered that not all staff are able to be vaccinated? Or that being vaccinated has not been proven to prevent people from spreading it to others, meaning that staff members can still carry the virus home to their families? What about the students and their families?
Everyone must still follow CDC guidelines of masking, distancing and handwashing even after receiving the vaccine. Herd immunity will not be obtained until at least 75-80% of citizens are vaccinated which they predict will be 3-4 months after they open up vaccinations to all.
Can individuals who live with staff members get vaccinated when staff do?
No, all Wisconsin citizens must follow the DHS guidelines as to which category they fall into to receive their COVID vaccine.
Miscellaneous
Will parents get a notification if there are individuals that are unable to mask in a child’s classroom?
No. Students who are not wearing face coverings have a medial exemption, and this is protected information.
Will the District be holding in-person graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2021?
If students return on-site in the cohort model, the District is planning on holding in-person graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2021. Due to COVID-19 and CDC guidelines, we anticipate that the ceremonies will be different than in previous years. Graduation fees have been waived for the 2020-21 school year. More information will be shared as details are finalized.
Why isn't another survey being sent out?
Rather than sending a survey out, families are asked to contact their school office if they wish to change their selection of blended learning or virtual learning based on this new information.
Is there any criteria, if numbers get back up in the thousands are we still going?
The Board’s approved language at the January 19th Board meeting that they would hold an emergency board meeting should the Brown County case burden reach 1,000 cases per 100,000 population per 14 days to revisit the learning models.
Updated 2-25-21