STEVENS POINT, WI (WSAU) — Students in the Stevens Point Area School District have received their orders for the upcoming academic year.
On Wednesday the district announced that they will begin the year with a hybrid model of e-learning and in-person classes. Those in grades 4K through 6 will attend classes in person on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Grades 7-12 will attend classes in person based on the first letter of their last name.
A through L will attend in-person on Monday and Tuesday and will have e-learning on Thursday and Friday. Those with names starting with M through Z will be in-person on Thursday and Friday, and online Monday and Tuesday.
Wednesdays will be utilized as a district-wide e-learning day for all grades.
Director of Communications Sarah O’Donnell says this format was chosen because it closely represents the schedule used by those in upper grades. “Our secondary students run on a Day 1, Day 2 [schedule,] and we felt that would be difficult to replicate in a week-by-week model.”
O’Donnell says they also considered teachers with the model. “We felt this provided the teaching staff with the ability to not have to plan multiple weeks of lessons, but instead focus on what all students were learning during the week.
“We believe it will help us cover material that needs to be covered during the week,” she added.
The plan was developed with input from the Portage County Health Department. O’Donnell says those discussions covered everything from the number of students that would be in the building on each day to how to handle cleaning and sanitization. Additionally, the plan calls for everyone in the building to wear adequate face coverings while they are inside.
“They have provided us very good guidance throughout this process, and we will continue to have those conversations,” she adds.
O’Donnell also notes that they will be constantly looking at and revising the plan as needed. That could include changes with anywhere from a few days to a moment’s notice.
Families that are not comfortable sending their students to class in-person can contact the district to arrange for an entire year of e-learning.
