UPDATE EFFECTIVE FEBRUARY 23, 2021
Greetings Evansville Families,
Effective Tuesday, February 23, we will be shifting our JC McKenna and Evansville High School cohort models to full in-person instruction for all cohort students. We will still be offering the full-time ECSD Virtual, Edgenuity, and JEDI Virtual School options for families who choose those platforms. Our decision-making process this entire school year has been done through a “family and student lens” that prioritized safety for all staff and students while acknowledging the importance of relationships and student learning. Based on local district, municipality, and Rock County COVID-19 data and trends, we believe we are now in position to safely make this transition. Face coverings will continue to be mandatory and we will keep social distancing in place to the best of our abilities. Please note that in the event of an unexpected outbreak or concerning data trend, we reserve the right to immediately shift back to the cohort model or even all-virtual, as necessary.
We are planning that all MS/HS cohort students will be in attendance in person on February 23. If you wish to switch platforms for your child, please contact the JCMcKenna Counseling Office (608-882-3304) or EHS Counseling Office (608-882-3518) accordingly and a School Counselor will follow-up with you in the near future.
Thank you for your continued support and understanding.
ECSD Administrative Team
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Dear Families,
As the Evansville Community School District plans for the start of the 2020-21 school year, we are committed to providing a positive and engaging educational experience to our learners; likewise, we are committed to keeping our students and staff safe, and ensuring our families, staff, and community members are well-informed of our current plan and inevitable adjustments to our plan, as required by local and federal health officials.
Our Return to Learn plan incorporates recommendations primarily from Rock County health officials and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Wisconsin Department of Instruction, as well as input from our community families and district staff. Accordingly, we have made the decision to require face coverings for all staff and students while in the buildings. We have also analyzed every classroom and learning space in all four buildings. We have determined that we can safely and appropriately implement physical/social distancing requirements for our 4K- 5 students in the Levi Leonard Elementary School, Theodore Robinson Intermediate School, and off-site 4K locations that will allow them to attend in-person every day. However, our average class sizes for our 6-12 students at JC McKenna Middle School and Evansville High School unfortunately will not meet physical/social distancing requirements which has prompted us to create a blended model which you will see on the chart below.
Our community found itself in an unprecedented situation last March when Governor Evers decreed the Safer at Home order. Like other school districts across the world, we scrambled to create a virtual learning experience that we recognize was challenging -- and at times, frustrating -- for our learners, families, and staff. The many lessons we learned in the spring combined with hard work over the summer with staff training in Google Classroom along with district-wide technological enhancements gives us confidence that the virtual learning experience the district has to offer in the 2020-2021 school year will improve upon this past spring. We are calling this new platform Virtual Learning 2.0, a plan that will enable us to rapidly pivot to large scale remote learning should Rock County regress to Phase 1 of the pandemic protocols.
Lastly, we thank you for your patience, flexibility, and understanding. There are no easy answers to anything related to COVID-19 and this pandemic. A solitary plan that meets the needs of one group of students may fall short for another group. We believe that the many options provided in our Return to Learn Plan will meet the needs of all of our families. This plan reflects a balance of prioritizing student and staff safety with an opportunity for our learners to maintain relationships with staff and peers while receiving the best instruction we can possibly deliver. And we hope it reflects one thing every single one of us should have in common: how much we all care for this town and greater community of Evansville!
- The ECSD Administrative Team
Effective December 9, 2020, The District Administrator is designated the specific authority to determine closures, cancellations and participation in the following: in-person school instruction; all-virtual school instruction; school activities; school athletics and competitions/performances. Determinations will be guided by county mandate and/or the Rock County In-Person/Virtual Decision Guide for Schools and will be based upon evidence including local COVID-19 data, district metrics, and school attendance data.
Offer Phase 2 in-person classroom teaching and learning while utilizing recommended safety protocols and meeting benchmarks; provide virtual learing options to families
Respond to possible shift to Rock County Phase 1/Phase 3 with appropriate high quality instructional and learning models/approaches
Implement safety and operational plans that provide the safest and best school environments possible
Care for the social-emotional and mental health needs of students and staff
Request and respond to stakeholder input
Student and staff safety are a top priority. Our safety planning reflects guidance and recommendations primarily from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), State of Wisconsin (State), Rock County Health Department (RCHD), and Department of Public Instruction (DPI).
Planning reflects in-person classroom learning to the greatest degree possible while utilizing safety conditions including face coverings and physical/social distancing: current Phase 2 allows all students in-person 4K - 5; half of our students in-person daily grades 6-12, other half attending live, synchronous online classroom instruction. Additionally, virtual learning options are available to all families.
Our planning allows for a fluid response between Rock County phases while considering student, staff and family capacity; likewise, our planning includes scenarios for students moving to virtual (4K - 5) or full live, synchronous (6-12) in the event they need to be quarantined. Lastly, we have plans for conditional building-wide temporary shut down due to positive COVID cases.
Our registration window officially closed on August 9; however, we have extended the window for families that have not yet registered.
We are offering an additional virtual option (see ECSD Virtual above) for MS/HS students as of August 12 which is a full-time at-home version of our Blended option. If your MS/HS child is interested in switching to this option, please contact their school counselor or contact us at VirtualLearning@evansville.k12.wi.us and we will be in contact with you ASAP.
In the event that Rock County moves to Phase 1 or Phase 3 prior to September 1, the District will notify families and adjust accordingly.
If 4K - 5 families choose JEDI, or if 6-12 families choose Edgenuity or JEDI, an ECSD staff member will be contact you soon to initiate the specific enrollment into either program. Any family seeking more information regarding either program should feel free to email VirtualLearning@evansville.k12.wi.us and we will follow-up with you ASAP.
The district appreciates community and staff input. If you have any questions, concerns or ideas related to the reopening plan, please email Scott Everson, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, at VirtualLearning@evansville.k12.wi.us.