Colfax school board: school closed, all activities cancelled
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The most pressing topic of discussion for the Colfax Board of Education at the March 16 meeting was the closure of school as of 5 p.m. March 18 and the cancellation of all activities due to the COVID-19 coronavirus.
“I want to commend our staff and the administrative team,” said William C. Yingst Jr., school district administrator.
“Friday was a long day. The governor put the order out at the end of the day [to close all schools]. I found out on Channel 13,” he said.
The administrative staff — which includes Yingst and John Dachel, Colfax High School and Colfax Middle School principal, Trevor Hovde, Colfax Elementary principal, and Polly Rudi, director of special education and pupil services — came to work Saturday morning for four hours to put together an action plan, Yingst said.
The school was opened on Sunday, and the teachers came in and started preparing for students being out of school, he said.
Governor Tony Evers declared a health emergency in response to COVID-19 March 12, and on March 13, ordered all public and private schools in the state to be closed as of 5 p.m. March 18. The order that schools would remain closed indefinitely came through on March 17.
COVID-19 is referred to as a “novel” coronavirus because it is a virus that has never before infected human beings.
The teachers worked hard to prepare virtual schooling lessons and homework for students, and made paper packets of all online materials for those students who do not have Internet access at home, Yingst said.
A survey of students the week before showed that 15 to 20 percent of them did not have good Internet connectivity, but a survey on the day of the school board meeting showed about 6 percent did not have good Internet connectivity, he said.
Some Internet service providers, such as Charter, have made Internet access free for families with school age children for the time being.
Yingst said he suspected the free Internet services being offered had helped reduce the number of students in the district with no or poor Internet access.
The students have been given schedules to follow at home for their “school day” as a way to provide some normalcy and some structure at home, he said.
Activities
Since all school activities have been cancelled or postponed, Yingst said it was possible the Colfax High School Junior Prom could be held during the summer.
“We could rent some big tents and have it outside,” he said.
The Colfax High School musical, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” also could be held during the summer since the students have put so much work into it already, Yingst said.
A few parents have been calling about high school graduation, too, he said.
“We just don’t know. It’s changing by the hour,” Yingst said.
Dachel noted all of the upcoming school activities that would normally be part of his report to the school board have been cancelled or postponed.
The work all students will be doing at home is intended to maintain where they are right now academically or to move them forward, he said.
The teachers are using the first three days of the week before school closes to prepare the students for the process of working at home, Dachel said.
Some of the students seemed apprehensive about the idea of school being closed for a period of time, but by the end of Monday, they were feeling more comfortable with the idea, he said.
“My staff have done a great job of rolling up their sleeves,” Hovde said.
Reactions
Christie Hill, school board member, asked how students were responding to the idea of being out of school for a while because of a virus.
The students seem to be fine in the classrooms, Hovde said.
Since last week, “we are not doing High-5s, and they understand that,” he said.
Instead, the students are encouraged to do “Air High-5s,” and the teachers have been doing a good job of communicating to students about washing their hands frequently and practicing good hygiene, Hovde said.
The younger students do not seem to know too much about the coronavirus, but the older students know a surprising amount, he said.
The guidance counselors in the school district have “touched base” with those students who are anxious, “so we’re addressing the emotional aspects, too,” Rudi said.
Pupil Services sent home a needs assessment for food and hygiene products, she said, noting that the needs assessment also is available online.
The special education students, following state and federal guidelines, will still follow an Individual Education Plan (IEP) at home, Rudi said.
Guidance counselors will be checking in with certain students while they are at home, she said.
“I’m confident in saying we’ve got a good plan. But what’s that old saying — we’re flying the plane as we’re building it,” Yingst said.
“I’m extremely proud of how we’re handling it … you’ve been attacking it as best you can,” said Ken Bjork, school board member.
“We are taking it hour by hour, day by day,” Yingst said.
Other business
In other business, the Colfax Board of Education:
• Approved the one application that had been submitted for the Early College Credit Program.
• Approved the CESA 10 shared services agreement in the amount of $19,060 for support for the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) grant and E-Rate support and planning. E-Rate is the schools and libraries universal service support program.
• Approved the CESA 11 shared services agreement in the amount of $13,692 for services such as comprehensive consulting and networking, audiology services, hearing impaired program teacher, occupational therapy, physical therapy and special education consultation.
• Approved a retirement request from Lisa Neuburg, Family and Consumer Science teacher.
• Approved adding “food pantry” to the activity accounts and deleting the following inactive accounts: All School Reunion, bus activity, business enterprise, Chamber Choir, Club Red, festival activity, Gwen Overby Memorial, junior high band, middle school choir and Quiz Bowl. The Gwen Overby account contains $140.01, and the money will be used to buy books for the fifth grade, Yingst said.