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A survey of 70 rural Wisconsin school districts found that most plan to offer in-person classes during the fall — with no mask-wearing requirements or plans to perform temperature screenings, Rob Mentzer reports for WPR.
“But the 2020-’21 school year will still look a lot different from previous years in most places, and many rural districts are planning to implement hybrid models that combine in-person and virtual schooling as a way of limiting the potential spread of COVID-19,” Mentzer reports.
The survey covered some of the states’ smallest districts, including just three with more than 1,500 students, Mentzer adds.
We also highlight the latest dispatch in our Outbreak Wisconsin collaboration with WPR. News414 reporter Jimmy Gutierrez checks in with Milwaukee entrepreneur Adija Greer-Smith as she and her son discuss distance learning, work ethic and racial justice during an extraordinary year.
Top Stories
Survey: Most rural schools plan in-person classes without masks or temperature checks — WPR
‘The people just want to be heard’: A Milwaukee mother and son discuss racial justice and education during the pandemic. — Wisconsin Watch/WPR
Momentum building among Wisconsin Democrats calling for statewide mask order — Wisconsin State Journal
Food distribution event highlights immense need in community — Kenosha News
JBS donates $1M to Green Bay community for COVID-19 response after outbreak at east-side plant — Green Bay Press Gazette
‘A bad plan made poorly’: UW staff, students criticize ‘vague’ reopening plan — The Cap Times
COVID-19 pandemic leads to increased interest in homeschooling — WTMJ-TV
What are we missing? And how are you coping? Help us provide critical information and accountability by filling out this form or emailing us at tips@wisconsinwatch.org.
Government updates
Wisconsin Department of Health Services
U.S. Centers and Disease Control and Prevention
Housing trouble?
Are you worried about losing your home or apartment because of the pandemic? Share your experience with News414, Wisconsin Watch’s service journalism collaboration with Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and Outlier media. Click here for details.
Quotable
“It’s disturbing and unsettling…It’s a reminder of just how precarious the situation is that we’re in.”
Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers, discussing a COVID-19 outbreak among the Miami Marlins, as quoted by the Wisconsin State Journal
“If the federal government, right from the get go, said, ‘We’re going to take care of equipment’ or ‘we’re going to take care of testing,’ they could’ve … and it would’ve put us in a much better place than we are today.”
Gov. Tony Evers, speaking to a virtual roundtable of Wisconsin health providers
Data to note
Here are the latest visualizations of COVID-19 cases and deaths from our partners at WisContext.
!function(e,i,n,s){var t=”InfogramEmbeds”,d=e.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(“script”);o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=”https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js”,d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,”infogram-async”); !function(e,i,n,s){var t=”InfogramEmbeds”,d=e.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(“script”);o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=”https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js”,d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,”infogram-async”); !function(e,i,n,s){var t=”InfogramEmbeds”,d=e.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(“script”);o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=”https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js”,d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,”infogram-async”);The Department of Health Services on Wednesday reported that 61 counties have a “high level” of coronavirus activity, a decrease from the 58 counties reported last week.
Click here for more details on how the agency is measuring COVID-19 activity levels. The agency plans to update its data by 2 p.m. each Wednesday.
https://bi.wisconsin.gov/javascripts/api/viz_v1.jsResilient Wisconsin
People helping others and showing resilience during this time of anxiety. Send suggestions by tagging us on social media — @wisconsinwatch — or emailing us: tips@wisconsinwatch.org.
Every level of Beloit Health System comes together to fight COVID-19 — Beloit Daily News
Milwaukee Youth Council puts focus on mental health services — Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
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The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (wisconsinwatch.org) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, PBS Wisconsin, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.
