The Manitowoc Public School District Board of Education met earlier this week to discuss the second semester of the school year and decided that they were ready to transition into a blended learning model.
We spoke with Superintendent Mark Holzman, who said he is excited. “We’ve been off since the middle of October, went to virtual, and have had numerous board meetings specifically talking about our learning model,” he said while on the WCUB Breakfast Club. “We have agreed that we will be moving into our blended learning model, which is part-time face to face and part-time learning online.”
Holzman also said that he and the School Board are excited to implement some of the changes they have made to this model since the last time it was used in September, including “Providing a few more opportunities for kids at our middle schools and high school, making sure we are providing opportunities both who are in need of additional support, and those who need some enrichment.”
Holzman also said that about 20% of their students will continue to learn strictly from home, as per their own request.
The model is a bit different at each level. For example, the elementary students will be split into morning and afternoon cohorts, with half learning at home in the morning and in-person in the afternoon, and the other half doing the opposite.
In middle schools, students will work on a two-day rotation. For example, in-person on Mondays and Wednesdays, and virtually on Tuesdays and Thursdays with 4 class periods per day.
The high school level is similar, but the paired days are Mondays and Tuesdays for some students and Wednesdays and Thursdays for the others.
He did admit that it may take a while for students to get back into the swing of things, but he is looking forward to the start of the second semester on Tuesday, January 26th.
