WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — A private school system in Central Wisconsin has released their back to school plan for the upcoming school year.
Thursday night a web meeting was held by the Wausau Newman Catholic Schools to inform parents, staff, and the community about the system’s plan for the 2020-2021 school year. The presentation was led by Newman Catholic Schools President Jeff Gulan. Gulan emphasized that the system is doing everything it can to honor its Catholic tradition.
“What’s most important is our Catholic identity. Each school is working with its priest or Chaplin to prepare masses according to diocese policy. We are going to make sure that our students have a weekly mass. It may not be as an entire group. It may be as cohorts or even grades put together.”
The school system will have the technology available to support both in-person and virtual learning. Gulan says the system hopes to have school 5-days a week in-person, but that a virtual option is available for those who would prefer to do so. Virtual learning can be for just a day to the entire school year depending on parent and child comfort level.
Several new measures will be in place for the start of the school year to ensure the health and wellbeing of students and staff. Gulan describes some of those health measures. “All individuals who enter our building should have a wellness check. Parents should take their child’s temperature. One hundred point four is the temperature threshold that we’re looking for. Additionally, individuals exhibiting any of the common symptoms of COVID-19 should not come to school.
“We are saying that masks are expected and when social distancing cannot take place, they are required. That’s in the hallways and common areas when they leave the classroom, in small group work with teachers, when social distancing can’t be observed. So the social distancing aspect is that 6 feet buffer that we’ve talked about since the early part of March. Visits to the office are for essential business only. When you need to be transferred to and from school you need to maintain that distance. K-8 students will travel with their grade or cohort group whenever possible.
“Frequent handwashing mitigates the spread of germs, we know that. We want elementary school teachers to schedule regular hand washing breaks for students. Sanitizing dispensers are in the hallways and common areas and in the classrooms. As students leave the room and enter the room we ask that they sanitize their hands. More is better in this situation.
“Our custodians will be stepping up their cleaning and disinfecting work with approved materials frequently throughout the day and each evening. Every classroom will have a bucket of sanitized moist towelettes to be available for teachers or students if they feel their area is not clean. Cleaning supplies will be changed regularly. Students may assist teachers in wiping down their desks and other high touch areas to help those custodians out.”
The school also has rules set in place should a student test positive for COVID-19 during the school year. Gulan explains that the student must isolate at home and cannot return to any buildings within Newman Catholic until they have a letter of release from the Marathon County Health Department. Anyone who is considered a close contact with the positive case, even if they are asymptomatic must isolate until released by the Health Department.
Due to HIPPA laws, the Health Department won’t tell the school system if a member tests positive. The communication of a positive test is the responsibility of parents.
The full return to school plan for the 2020-2021 school year is available on the Newman Catholic Schools website. Gulan recommends parents and community members read the 12-page plan first before calling the school system to answer any additional questions.
