By SARAH PARKER | County Line Editor
The Norwalk-Ontario-Wilton School Board approved an array of academic programming and services at its meeting Monday.
First, a new, multifaceted position was created: seventh- to 12th-grade gifted and talented assistant/seventh- to 12th-grade interventionist/online course coordinator.
The new position will result in enhanced support services for seventh- through 12th-graders, plus high school students who enroll in online courses will get onsite assistance.
Also, expanded gifted and talented offerings will be made possible through the new position.
Anderson noted that Sarah Schmid, currently a paraprofessional in the elementary school’s learning media center, would like to take over the new role.
Also, for sophomores and juniors who are behind on credits, a new credit-recovery course will be offered this summer.
And starting this year, the district gave sixth- through 12th-grade students the ability to enroll in Wisconsin Virtual School as an alternative to in-person instruction at N-O-W Schools. The district will continue to offer that option next year, the board decided.
Those who enroll at Wisconsin Virtual School still will be included in N-O-W’s enrollment, which factors into the school’s state and federal funding levels.
District residents criticize mask policy
Darwin and Ruth Ehlert of rural Wilton asked the board to consider lifting its mask requirement, suggesting that the practice was detrimental to children’s health.
“They are very dangerous,” Ruth Ehlert said to the board, claiming that lower oxygen levels affect students’ learning.
She alluded to a recent conference of “doctors and scientists” in Oklahoma that the couple had attended, stating, “I don’t want to be threatening, but I want to be real. This is serious situation. It’s not good for any of us to be wearing masks. It’s so serious that if this school does continue, we will contact some of these doctors and lawyers, and they will come and probably file a lawsuit. I don’t want to threaten anybody, but this is how strongly we feel about this.”
The Ehlerts do not have children attending N-O-W Schools at present.
Board president Justin Arndt thanked the Ehlerts for offering their opinions.
Superintendent Travis Anderson told the County Line on Tuesday that for the time being, the school will continue to follow Covid-19 protocol, including mask wearing, that was established at the beginning of the school year. The board may revisit the matter at its May meeting, though.
At present, both the CDC and the Monroe County Health Department recommend mask wearing.
Other business
• As of Monday, the district had no positive Covid-19 cases among students and staff and only one person in quarantine.
• In-person spring concerts for both junior high/high school choir and band are set for Wednesday, May 12, in the Classic Gymnasium. The choirs will perform at 6 p.m.; and the bands, at 7 p.m. The gym will be sanitized between the concerts.
Each student will be allowed to invite four guests to the concerts.
Also, the elementary school spring concert set for Wednesday, May 19, will be divided into two parts: third and fourth grade will perform first, from 6–6:40 p.m., and then the fifth and sixth grade will perform from 7–8 p.m.
• The school will host two varsity football games and one junior high football game between April 20 and May 7. There will be no limits on the number of spectators, and admission will be free. Spectators will need to continue wearing masks.
Due to the soft ground, bleachers will not be provided, so spectators are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.
• A new prairie garden is being established between the junior high wing and fifth-grade classroom. Board member Cari Keith is heading up the project, which will include native plants and an outdoor learning presentation deck.
• N-O-W’s leadership conference for student-athletes is set for Wednesday, May 5.
• Arrowless Seamless Gutters recently installed gutters throughout most of the school’s Memorial Garden area, plus Justin, Joel, August, Addison and Avery Arndt recently donated time and materials toward rebuilding the garden railing.
On a related note, longtime bus driver Marv Johnson’s name will be added to the memorial garden plaque. Johnson died last fall.
• US Silica in Sparta donated 10 yards of clean sand for a new long-jump pit behind the school building. Al Tainter provided trucking, and Troy Anderson of US Silica coordinated the donation.
• Graduation is slated for 7 p.m. Friday, May 28; and an eighth-grade promotion ceremony, for 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 1.
• As of Monday, 28 elementary students had signed up for summer school.
• The vaporizer on the school’s liquid propane tank recently malfunctioned, and it cost roughly $5,000 to replace it, Anderson noted.
• Students in teacher John Hansen’s environmental science class recently toured the Vernon County landfill and Echo Valley Farm, a sustainable farm in rural Ontario.
• Anderson thanked custodian Joanne Brueggeman for putting in extra hours after last weekend’s prom.
• The board accepted speech and language pathologist Joyce Leighton’s retirement, thanking her for her service to the district. Additionally, the board accepted science teacher Rebecca Stevenson’s resignation.
• Board member Kevin Bauman will serve as N-O-W’s representative at the Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CESA) No. 4 convention.