DPI Releases Guideline For School Re-Opening

While summer has just begun, thoughts haven’t strayed far from what the next year of school might look like. The Department of Public Instruction just released a more than 80-page guideline for school reopening in the fall.
While everyone knows school will look different in a number of aspects next year the DPI, in their guidelines, recommend schools plan for multiple scenarios, including flexible implementation of instruction while supporting physical distancing. Districts must also plan and be prepared for change throughout next year’s school year. A second wave of infections could result in site, district, county-wide, or regional school closures, in which case instructional models must be able to accommodate shifts between in-person and virtual learning.
Schedule modifications could include such things as a four day week where school is closed on the fifth day for deep cleaning; two day rotation in which students report two full days per week (Monday/Tuesday or Thursday/Friday); A/B week rotation where half of the students report to school four days a week while the other half of the students participate in virtual learning at home; elementary face-to-face and secondary virtual learning that will have elementary students start back to school first for four full days per week and are moved throughout the school to reduce student-teacher ration in accordance with physical distancing recommendations.
The 80-plus page guide can be viewed on the Wisconsin Department of Instruction page or go to https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/sspw/pdf/Education_Forward_web.pdf.