Some schools opt for hybrid reopening plans

Students in parts of Iowa County will be in class to start the school year, but others, even in the same district, might be staying at home.

In Dodgeville, children up to ninth grade will go to class in person but high schoolers will be on a more flexible schedule that includes both in person and virtual learning.

"We felt that the younger students are probably more vulnerable to not having face-to-face instruction and we feel that our older students can probably handle virtual instruction a little bit better, but we did not want to make this fully virtual," said district administrator Paul Weber.

Dodgeville School District based its plans on surveys of parents, guidelines from health officials and a task force that came up with ideas. Two-thirds of parents said they wanted their kids back in school.

There is the potential to go all virtual if cases rise or there is an outbreak in the schools. The district has learned from the process last spring and hopes the hybrid model will bring new opportunities long after the pandemic is over.

"I really believe that the flexible learning model at the high school will pay some dividends," Weber said. "It's going to give students an opportunity to look at more of a post-secondary type schedule, in which they may come and go on a flexible basis and that allows them maybe to do work during the week they may not have been able to do, or go take some college courses, or just have that flexibility to come and go a little bit more, as they please."

To the south in Mineral Point, most families told school officials they were comfortable with a hybrid plan.

"We've got about 760 students K-12 in our district and that didn't allow us enough space to bring everybody back and practice social distancing," said Mineral Point Unified School District communications director Joelle Doye.

Mineral Point's plan is to have different grade levels in the building on different days of the week. Students will spend part of their week in school and part of their week learning virtually at home.

The district is working to develop its virtual learning system since last spring.