Earlier this week the Manitowoc Public School District announced that they would be transferring to an all virtual model as the number of COVID-19 cases in the area has risen dramatically.
When they made the decision, Superintendent Mark Holzman said that would begin on Thursday of this week, but they have changed that to start on Monday.
Holzman spoke with SeehaferNews.com and explained that the decision to move from a blended model was made because they were “struggling to make sure that we are keeping our staff, our students, and our community safe.”
The Superintendent went on to say that they use the Burden Rate, which is what the state uses to determine the number of positive cases per 100,000 citizens. When they started the school year, Manitowoc County was at around 150, but over the past month have risen to about 731.
The decision was made last Friday at a special meeting of the Board of Education, and Holzman said that the staff has “has been working diligently since that time to come up with some new plans to provide virtual instruction for all of our students.”
The virtual model is a little different this time around. Holzman explained that elementary students will be working from 8:30 to 11:30 AM with the whole class, then after lunch will work in smaller groups.
The middle school students will be going through their typical schedule with 1st period, 2nd period etc.
The high school will be going to a block schedule, with the odd number classes meeting Monday and Wednesdays, and the evens on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
In both middle and high schools, the afternoons are reserved for more on-on-one instruction with teachers.
