WAUWATOSA — The Wauwatosa School Board and district leaders discussed potential plans for returning to class in the fall.
District leaders have been working for months and will continue to do so up until the first day of school in six weeks.
The district is considering three models: in-person learning, a hybrid model of two days in-person and three days virtual, and entirely virtual.
Wauwatosa Superintendent Dr. Phillip Ertl said he believes schools might have to shift between models throughout the year.
"It's not as simple as get five inches of snow and school is canceled. It's not going to be get a certain number of cases and school is canceled," Ertl said.
The district sent out a survey to families, students and staff. The data showed the majority of each group preferred the district work to make returning to the school buildings safe.
"If we don't fight tooth and nail to have all of our students in school learning, then we're really not, I really struggle with our approach to equity," Ertl said.
District leaders are following state and federal guidelines to make changes for a safe return. They are planning on increased cleaning, spacing out classrooms, staggering drop-off times, limiting movement in hallways, and possibly requiring masks.
The district is also working to make sure staff are safe. It is working on options for staff who are high risk, as well as those who need more than 80 hours of sick time. District leaders said in the meeting they have enough N-95 masks for staff.
Dr. Tim Richer is a parent of Wauwatosa students, and he said research shows kids are less likely to get and spread the virus to adults.
"Kids are not little adults and they are uniquely equipped, for some reason, to handle this illness," Richer said.
Hours into the meeting the board opened it up to public comment. A teacher said she would feel more comfortable teaching virtually. She expressed her concerns about sick policies, teaching children in their late teens and wearing masks in the heat.
The board will discuss the plans again in two weeks.
