Neillsville District Administrator Discusses April Calendar, Operational Plan, and More

Wednesday, March 17th, 2021 -- 12:01 PM

-The Neillsville School Board did approve April’s calendar and operational plan at their meeting.

I spoke with Neillsville’s District Administrator, John Gaier, and he explained April’s calendar and operational plan in more detail.

Mr. Gaier:  “First, starting with the weekly plan, we will still have in-person instruction 4 days a week, Monday through Thursday, with Fridays as our at home study and staff outreach day.  A holiday break for April has been scheduled for April 2nd-5th."

"We will continue to use virtual learning if we ever have to close again for inclement days.  That was a part of the plan in the past and that will remain a part of the plan in April.  And, hopefully, we won’t have inclement days in April, so we won’t have to do that, but, otherwise we’re still at 4 days a week.”

“And some people may wonder why we don’t go to 5.  And the reason is because we still have a good number of kids that are fully virtual.  And the only way to serve them well is to have that Friday for teachers to be able to record lessons and do outreach to those kids as well as preparing for kids that will be in-person.  So, that is the reason we’re staying with 4 days a week."

"The really good news is COVID numbers in our county look better than ever.  When I recently checked the numbers, there were 15 active cases and, importantly, only 3 hospitalized, so that is really good news for our area."

"And that’s what has the biggest impact on how well schools are going to be able to operate.  So, I appreciate everybody’s efforts out there to stay on top of this pandemic and, hopefully, see some light at the end of the tunnel for all of this.”

“For our transportation plans and for our in-building plans, face coverings will still be required.  That is a high recommendation from the health departments, even after being vaccinated.  So, we will continue to require face coverings.  And, honestly, we have zero positive cases of students or staff in the building and we think that masking is really a big help in making sure that stays that way.”

“One change in the student meal plans, we will continue the practice that we have been, of delivering meals and serving kids in-person, but that now has been extended as free meals for all kids 0-18 all the way through September 30th of 2021."

"That is an extension from the end of June, so we will be working on a plan to continue to provide meals for kids all the way through September 30th of 2021, even delivering again in the summer.  So, that’s exciting news and, hopefully, helps ease any of the food insecurities that people may be struggling with during these difficult times.”

“Also, in our operational plan, college recruiters, military recruiters, and special presenters have now been approved as visitors.  So, when those folks can be scheduled in and, following our safety protocols, we will have those people available to meet with our kids and present to our kids.  So, that is a big step forward for us as well in regards to starting to open up a little bit and allowing those people in to help serve our kids.”

“Another decision that the board made, our four year old Kindergarten plan all year has been having two cohorts, a Monday/Wednesday cohort and a Tuesday/Thursday cohort, with Friday’s as family outreach days.  The board decided to approve that same schedule for next year."

"We don’t have a lot of data because this was only the first year we did that.  So, we want to continue that next year and see if that helps benefit both our families and our 4K learners all the way through the 2021-22 school year.  And then we’ll review that at that point.”

“For some of our co-curricular activities, our spring sports will be starting.  I know a lot of Neillsville folks are familiar with our indoor track.  We’ve been blessed by having the fieldhouse where we can host indoor track meets, but track can’t officially start until April 19th."

So, there’s not going to be a need for indoor track.  We’ll get kids out on our newly refurbished outdoor track, so that will be exciting for them.  For all of our spring sports, we’ll follow the guidance provided by the WIAA, the county health department, and the Cloverbelt Conference.  And we’re just excited that our kids will have the opportunity to compete again.”

“Some of the other things that happened at the Board Meeting last night, that I think are important to acknowledge, is the board approved next year’s Early College Credit and Start College Now applications.  Those are applications that our students fill out for college level courses or technical college level courses that they can start taking already in their junior year."

"And our kids can get up to 18 paid credits for those programs and we have a number of kids that take advantage of that.  So, that is just exciting news for our kids and families.  They’re basically a free scholarship for kids to be able to get college credits and be able to count those towards their high school graduation as well.  It’s just a win/win for kids and families and we’re excited about all the kids that take advantage of that.”

“We also approved a membership to the Neillsville Improvement Corporation.  Our Board believes that NIC has done a wonderful job of trying to improve our city and do some really positive things to help grow Neillsville.  So, we want to be a part of that like we are with the Chamber and other things for our local community.”

“Also, I think it’s important to remember Randi Stanley, one of our high school teachers.  She was recognized as a Crystal Apple Award winner.  She is an outstanding individual who deserves every accolade she can get as a teacher.  And we are so proud of her for all the work that she does and all the lives that she’s touched as a teacher here in Neillsville.  As well as all of our staff.”

“It’s also important to know that we did have a hearing about getting a waiver from the Department of Public Instruction for hours and minutes of instruction for this year.  That waiver did come back approved, so we are happy to see that.”

“Also, a reminder to people that in order to get our new secure entrances, we actually got two safety grants from the Department of Justice for that.  Both of those safety grants have been finally approved, as far as the money and how it was spent, so the district received about $95,000 for the two projects to upgrade the security of our entrance to the elementary and the high school.  And to provide some cameras in the building as well for security purposes.  So, we are happy that the grant allowed us to do that.”

“We also approved some expanded Summer School class offerings, especially for our older kids.  They are virtual class offerings from the Rural Virtual Academy.  But we believe, with the impact that COVID has had on education, trying to expand course opportunities for kids in the summer is going to be important for their learning.  So, the board approved those as well.”

“Our next Board Meeting is scheduled for April 12th, but, please note, that April 6th is an Election Day, so I hope that people get out and vote.  We do have a School Board Election on that ballot and it is vote for no more than two, but you can vote for two School Board Members on that ballot.”

“It’s exciting times.  It’s hard to believe that next month on April 12th, we’ll be looking at a May plan, which will pretty much get us through the remainder of the school year and, hopefully, we see some light at the end of the tunnel in this battle against COVID-19.”

Question:  “Neillsville staff were able to get their first COVID shot.  Can you talk about that?”

Mr. Gaier:  “Yes, we were!  It was scheduled here on Friday.  It worked well for us because students were not here on Friday.  The Health Department actually paired the 8 school districts up in the county."

Neillsville and Granton were partnered and the Neillsville staff got theirs early in the morning and the Granton staff came over and were able to get theirs in the late morning and around noon."

"So, we are just excited to have people moving forward and have educators now be eligible to get that vaccine.  We believe that is going to have a huge impact on our ability to reopen, not only our schools and keep them open, but, hopefully, society in general.”

“The other thing that I have to say is I really need to congratulate the Clark County Health Department for all the work they have done during this process.  They have been keeping us informed about everything that is going on."

"They have been aggressive about getting vaccines into the arms of people in Clark County as soon as they become eligible.  They have coordinated with all the schools to make sure that all of those eligible folks can get vaccinated, so a real shout out to the work that our Clark County Health Department has done during this whole pandemic.  They really deserve a pat on the back.”

Question:  “May is right around the corner.  A lot of seniors are thinking about graduation.  Has there been any discussion about graduation?

Mr. Gaier:  “It sure has.  The board did approve graduations for 4-year-old Kindergarteners, 8th graders, and our 12th graders.  So, our 4K folks will be scheduling their Annual 4K Graduation on one of the days they are here.  And parents can come to that."

"We are also allowing parents to come to the 8th grade graduation.  We’re limiting spectators somewhat, but we are certainly allowing them in to those in-person graduations.  I believe June 1st is the date for the 8th grade graduation."

"And for our 12th graders, the graduation is going to be scheduled for May 29th at 2pm.  We are going to have a plan to have it outdoors with 4 family members per graduate.  If the weather does not cooperate and we’re not able to have it outdoors, we will have an indoor graduation on that same day and two family members will be allowed into the fieldhouse for that graduation."

"So, we’re excited to get graduation back on its normal schedule.  We had a lot of folks that gave us a lot of positive feedback about the outdoor ceremony last year.  Of course, the outdoor ceremony was in August and August is a little more predictable weather wise then May 29th, but we’re going to try it outdoors again because we can invite more people that way and, hopefully, the weather cooperates.”

Question:  “The last thing that I have for you is regarding next year’s schedule.  Do you foresee that being like this year or will it be back to normal?”

Mr. Gaier:  “At this point, the way things are looking, we are planning in 5 days a week in-person.  We have already encouraged anyone that is interested in being remote to partner with our Rural Virtual Academy, in which we are a part of that consortium, and that we as a district will not be providing remote learning through us.  Any remote learning will come through the Rural Virtual Academy and that we will be back in business 5 days a week.”

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.