On Thursday, September 10, the WUHS School Board voted 4-0 in favor of returning to 5-day in-person instruction starting Monday, September 14. WUHS Board President Don Engler was not able to attend the meeting and did not vote.
Prior to the vote the high school administration reviewed the current status of the hybrid model and then described the pros and cons of two options:
1) maintain the current hybrid model or 2) switch to 5-day in-person learning. The only board discussion on the motion was related to a webcam purchase.
Before the vote, several community members shared their opinion. All were respectful and most who spoke were in favor of returning to in-person learning. Several speakers spoke of the negative academic, social, and psychological impact the current hybrid model has had on some students. A few commented that their co-workers and clients who have had COVID19 are all doing well and/or returned to work. None specifically addressed the increased morbidities and loss of life that take place as the virus spreads.
One speaker who can be seen not wearing a mask or maintaining proper social distance throughout the meeting stated, “We do understand the risks, we get it, and it is not taken lightly, but we need to get our kids back in to school, in person, all the time.” (@8:02).
For those that are uncertain why or where face coverings are required please read the state’s publication Why are face coverings required?
The decision by the WUHS board comes at a difficult time. As can be seen in the graphs above, both the number of Wisconsin citizens testing positive for COVID and the percentage of people testing positive are at all time highs. Locally the “activity level” for Racine county remains “high”.
Note: This post is about the high school board (WUHS), not the graded PK-8 board (WGSD) that I normally post about.
Posted by Matt Kranich on 9/12/2020
WGSD Parent
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