MENASHA, WI (WTAQ) – Menasha Schools are moving to fully virtual classes for the foreseeable future, due to concerns over rising COVID numbers in the area.
“The Fox Valley region, including Menasha, is currently experiencing a dramatic increase in confirmed cases…337 per 100,000 is high. 370 cases is classified as very high, and what I would consider to be critical – and the trend is growing,” Menasha Health Officer Nancy McKenney told the WTAQ Morning News with Matt and Earl. “We are looking at a tipping point and we want to avoid uncontrolled community spread.”
There haven’t been many cases at schools in Menasha, but local health officials and school leaders are taking the best precautions they can to avoid causing further issues.
“With our plan in place, we were able to expect that, make sure parents were notified, and make sure we could take action with giving them some notice to prepare,” McKenney explained.
“We’ve been saying from the beginning, please be ready to make the switch at any time,” said Menasha Superintendent Chris VanderHeyden. “The numbers in the community have just gone higher and higher, and of course that impacts us by having to exclude kids and teachers by quarantine. So that community level of the virus was concerning to us, as well as our ability to fill sub positions.”
There were five substitute opportunities left open on Monday, which wasn’t the first time that has happened already this year.
If someone in school tests positive, the district notifies everybody in the classroom that there was a case – and also sends a letter to the entire school building asking people to watch for symptoms. While most people in the building wouldn’t be at high exposure risk due to that case, the district hopes they will keep an eye out for any illness – just in case.
It’s currently unclear exactly how long the virtual-only learning will be in place. Variables like the local case burden, actual number of cases, ability to conduct contact tracing, and the health department’s capacity to be able to handle the increased number of cases that are requiring hospitalization are all factors playing into the decision to return. VanderHeyden says the endgame is to get everyone back in school safely.
“So my hope at this point is that people have had the time to make a Plan B and establish whatever that Plan B is and that they shift to that model. And as soon as we can, we can shift back to our hybrid model and then get all kids back in school,” VanderHeyden said. “We know that this is a difficult decision for our families and our parents, and that was part of the reason for getting our kids back in school in the first place and getting the hybrid model up and running.”
For more information on the shift to virtual learning, check out the Menasha Joint School District website.
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