De Pere talks plan for reopening schools

By Lea Kopke

Press Times News Intern

DE PERE – As virtual classes end and summer vacation begins, De Pere schools are working on a plan as they get closer to the day they could again open their doors for in-person instruction.

At the Tuesday, June 2, De Pere school board Curriculum Committee meeting, the first steps for the reopen schools plan to welcome students back in September was discussed, along with three scenarios.

The first scenario would see students back in schools as usual on Sept. 1, said Kathy Van Pay, principal of Heritage Elementary School and 4K program coordinator.

The second would have all students attend remotely on Sept. 1, and the third is a hybrid of the first two, she said.

To explore the options, four work groups will form to prepare for the upcoming school year, Van Pay said.

She said the first group will plan for student and staff health precautions, the second will make sure relational and emotional needs of students and families are being met, the third will support staff mental health and well-being, and the fourth will look into different modes of instruction.

Van Pay said district administration has undergone training, which includes the SCAN program.

“If you noticed, SCAN is an acronym,” she said. “‘S’ is see the issues, ‘C’ is clarify the issues, ‘A’ is assess priorities and ‘N’ is name next steps.”

Van Pay said staff will brainstorm concerns about reopening schools.

Next, teams will share those concerns and make a list until all the issues are included, she said.

Finally, Van Pay said there will be a discussion about which issues are most important, so the next steps can be identified.

Andy Bradford, principal of Foxview Intermediate School, said groups will complete the SCAN program by June 23.

Bradford said the district is also paying close attention to recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state and local agencies, as well as other states and countries for information on reopening.

Chromebooks coming

Also discussed was the purchase of 700 additional Chromebook computers, cases for all middle and high school Chromebooks and 80 additional iPad tablets with screen protectors and cases.

Eric Piepenburg, director of technology, said after COVID-19 shut down schools and technology equipment was a hot commodity, he placed an order for the district as soon as possible.

He said the purchase was $248,000 and funding came from the federal CARES Act, as well as funds left over from the technology fund.

“It will be good when we finally get to every student K-12 having a device,” Piepenburg said. “It was pretty shocking when we had the whole quarantine stuff happen back in March. We ended up handing out over 500 Chromebooks for families who didn’t have a device at home. That number was a little higher than I was anticipating.”

Budget assumptions

No additional updates on the 2020-21 preliminary budget were presented Tuesday, June 2, due to uncertainty regarding the creation of a budget repair bill by state lawmakers, said Superintendent Ben Villarruel.

He said he believes many districts are in similar positions.

“I think the whole state is waiting for the Legislature and governor to meet to discuss,” Villarruel said. “All school districts and colleges are committing to beginning the school year on budgets. We’re at the mercy of waiting for decisions to be made.”