Grades 6-12 To Go Hybrid For Rest Of Semester In Waukesha

WAUKESHA, WI— The Waukesha Board of Education voted 6-3 on Wednesday to go back to the "cohort hybrid learning model" for middle and high school students. Currently, secondary students are learning virtually on Mondays, and in-person the rest of the week.

In the hybrid model, students will do virtual learning three days a week, and in-person learning two days per week.

The hyrbid learning model starts Monday, Nov. 30, and remains in effect for the remainder of the semester.

The school district sent out the following letter:

"Last evening, the Board of Education held its November 2020 meeting. We would like to thank all of the staff, students, and parents that have shared their opinions and concerns, as well as those individuals that have provided both administration and the Board with continued support through these difficult times.

In mid-October, the District transitioned to a four-day in-person, one-day virtual hybrid model as we were granularly searching for a way to take a step forward toward a full five-day face to face teaching and learning experience at the secondary level. The goal was to be more consistent and predictable for kids, families, and staff.

As COVID cases in Waukesha County continue to rise, we have seen our secondary schools finding it necessary to quarantine classes, houses, and close schools more frequently, disrupting academic focus and making it difficult to achieve that consistency and predictability.
With this in mind, the recommendation was made by administration to return all secondary students in grades 6-12 to the cohort hybrid model with which we began the 2020-2021 school year.

After a healthy discussion, the Board approved the administrative recommendation to revert to the original secondary learning model of two day per week cohort hybrid learning model (Tuesday/Thursday and Wednesday/Friday) enhanced with live streaming for five days per week of instruction while maintaining virtual Mondays for all learners.

Further, the recommendation includes providing in-person learning four days per week for students with disabilities to meet IDEA obligations. The date of implementation of this model shall be Monday, November 30, 2020, and the model shall be in place through the end of the first semester on Friday, January 22, 2021.

The January Board Meeting will then be used as the next opportunity to plot the path forward beyond based on our experience between now and then. We are hopeful the implementation of live streaming, face-to-face support for our special education learners, and a consistent schedule will provide stability, consistency and predictability for students, staff and families."

According to the district dashboard, there are 72 students and 28 staff members who are isolated and 1,204 students and 109 staff members in quarantine. Isolation means keeping sick people away from healthy ones. Quarantine means separating people who were exposed to a sick person away from others.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported at least 7,497 positive cases on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases to date to at least 293,388. Another 58 Wisconsin residents have died, bringing the death toll to at least 2,515.