N-O-W has no active Covid cases

By SARAH PARKER | County Line Editor

The Norwalk-Ontario-Wilton School District had no active Covid-19 cases among either staff or students as of Monday, Superintendent Travis Anderson told the board of education at its meeting that day.

In all, the district has had 62 cases since the start of the school year. Though rising case numbers and the associated staff absences caused the district to offer virtual learning only at various times in the first semester, N-O-W has been in person at the junior high/high school since Nov. 24 and the elementary since Oct. 16.

Anderson said, “Thanks to our custodians and teaching staff for their continued support and efforts to implement our cleaning practices. We’re truly making a difference.”

Other business

• The district has submitted its application for a $2,128,319 FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure Grant for a new, dome-shaped building at the school complex.

The building would be intended to provide shelter during weather emergencies, but otherwise the district may make use of it for its own purposes.

The district will receive notification in June whether it had received the grant, and the announcement would be official in December, Anderson said.

In the meantime, the district will seek community input on potential uses for the proposed new structure.

The district hopes to qualify for a grant arrangement in which FEMA covers 90 percent of the costs; and N-O-W, 10 percent. Otherwise, FEMA will contribute 80 percent; and N-O-W, 20 percent.

• Hayden Thompson and Gavin Stebbins are this year’s valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively. Both students had 3.992 GPAs; their ACT scores served as the tiebreaker.

• Twenty-three elementary school students will continue with the Falcons Virtual Academy for the second semester, said Principal Gayle Luebke.

At the high school/junior high, 13 Brookwood students will remain enrolled in Wisconsin Virtual School, the school’s provider for virtual learning for those grades. Junior high/high school virtual enrollment had started at 33 at the beginning of the first semester and had dropped to 24 by the end of the first semester.

• The district will not adopt the middle school model, meaning the sixth grade will remain at the elementary school and not be attached to the junior high.

Anderson told the County Line on Tuesday, “We decided after conducting research, looking at staffing requirements, and analyzing our own district needs, collaboratively we felt that leaving the sixth grade as part of the elementary was our best option. We are just going to focus on cross-grade level collaboration among teachers from sixth to eighth grade.”

• Though football practice is slated to start Monday, March 8 (the season was delayed due to Covid-19), the weather still will favor heavily into its feasibility, Anderson said. Also, volleyball will begin Monday, Feb. 22.

Reading athletic director Ken Clinton’s report, Anderson said the fans had been “very supportive” of Covid-19-related protocols at the games this year, plus the coaches had done an “outstanding job,” as had the students.

“They are to be commended for their work and flexibility.”

• The board approved the following new courses for the junior/senior high: Wisconsin Agriculture, Building Construction, Electronics, Car Challenge, English RtI (Response to Intervention), Math RtI (Response to Intervention), Advanced Middle School Science, Introduction to Piano and Introduction to Statistics.

• After a closed session, the board agreed to change its industrial-arts teaching position from part time to full time to accommodate new classes.

Anderson said to the County Line, “This is a great thing for our district because we are making a solid investment for our students who want to pursue careers in the trades industries.”

• The district’s calendar for 2021–22 will eliminate five early-release days, instead allowing for full inservice/workdays for school staff.

Teachers’ input was gathered as administration devised the calendar, Anderson said. Both they and some parents requested full days of no instruction, rather than early releases.

The full days will allow for more collaboration between teachers of different grades, Anderson said.

The new calendar also will result in one additional day for winter break and days off on March 3–4 to help accommodate the school’s Europe trip.

• The district has formed an alumni association, and its founding members have met to start gathering information and formulate initial goals.

Anderson told the County Line on Tuesday that the intent of the group is to “build strong, positive community relations between our school/current students and alumni while also keeping Brookwood alumni informed of the awesome things that happen at our school. We want everyone who attends Brookwood to be proud of their experiences here and be able to stay in touch with the district.”

• The district received a combined $25,353 in state Technology for Educational Achievement (TEACH) grant and federal E-rate funding to subsidize the cost of telecommunications.

• The board approved raising the cost of tickets for the school’s dramatic performances from $3 a piece to $5.

• This year’s summer school offerings will focus on math, science and reading in an effort to prevent the “summer slide” and to provide supplemental learning to offset losses caused by last spring’s school closure.

Additionally, a new course will be offered, “Spring into Seventh Grade,” which is geared to help sixth-graders make the transition to junior high.

• The board approved an alternative Brookwood High School diploma for one student based off scores on the practice GED tests for the 2020–21 school year.

Principal Angela Funk told the County Line on Tuesday, “This is an option being given by Western because their HSED program instruction has moved to an online, synchronous format via Zoom, and the DPI is allowing Western Technical College to use GED practice test scores and competency completion to document that a student has met the subject area requirements for high school graduation. Currently, all eight other districts contracted with Western are issuing a high school/district diploma to students who complete the alternative high school requirements.”

• Next year, the district’s FFA chapter will move to what’s referred to as “affiliated dues model,” rather than a “dues model.” In essence, this means that all students enrolled in agriculture education courses will be designated as FFA members, and more FFA-related curriculum can be incorporated into the classes.

Students will not be forced to join FFA, nor will they pay dues, Funk said. Rather, FFA fundraising will cover the dues.

• The board approved three new open enrollment applications: two will leave N-O-W to attend iForward, an alternative online school, and the third will return to the N-O-W School District.

• Work on the school’s mission statement continues, and a draft likely will be presented at the board’s March or April meeting, Anderson said.

• Using federal Individuals with Disabilities Education (IDEA) funds, the district will purchase a $41,763, 10-passenger van, which will be all-wheel drive, “making it easier for our drivers to transport students during inclement weather,” Anderson said.

• Shirley Tainter, a special education paraprofessional since 2016, will leave the district, Anderson noted.

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