The Superior School Board will be presented with action items that could tweak the district’s COVID-19 response plan at its regular board meeting Monday, Dec. 14.
Board members spent roughly an hour discussing possible changes to the plan at the Monday, Dec. 7 committee of the whole meeting. Those changes included using school district case rates instead of Douglas County rates to determine what instruction model — hybrid or all-virtual — would be used.
On Wednesday, for example, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported a seven-day positive case average for the Superior School District at 34.14, which was lower than the county rate of 46.86. The health department tracks data on COVID-19 activity by school district, census tract, municipality and zip code, as well as by county.
- RELATED:
Superior Schools will continue virtual learning through December holidays The district will consider modifications to the virtual learning model if cases continue to rise past the December holidays.
- RELATED:
Douglas County struggles with contact tracing As the number of cases of COVID-19 climbs, the county's small health department is struggling to keep up with the workload.
The board will also consider making instruction model decisions on a school-by-school basis, which could lead to a situation where some schools would offer hybrid classes while schools where transmission rates are higher would have students receive instruction entirely online.
Many other districts in the state are opening buildings up, even if on a graduated scale, Superintendent Amy Starzecki told the board.
“We’re the only district not moving forward,” she said. “That concerns me.”
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Board members also said that if the district were to open up in stages, it would prioritize younger learners.
With current high transmission rates and holidays on the horizon, board members said they didn’t expect a return to in-person classes until roughly the end of the semester in mid-January. A recording of the full meeting can be found on YouTube . A list of recorded meetings is also posted on the district's School Board page .
Superior isn’t the only district mulling changes this week.
The Maple School Board had a special meeting planned for 3 p.m. Thursday, which was after the Telegram's deadline, to discuss the possibility of reopening schools to in-person classes as early as Monday, Dec. 14.
