PIERCE COUNTY

Schools in Pierce County are slowly adapting themselves to the new normal, with online instruction from home replacing mass gatherings at a single location—the better to control potential vectors by which the COVID-19 virus can spread. After all, a person doesn’t have to look sick or even present symptoms to spread the virus. With that in mind, we went online from our temporary corner desk at the Home News Bureau (HNB) to see what different local schools in Pierce County were doing to keep student morale up, while also keeping their distance from each other.

In Prescott, the girls golf team is keeping things moving by practicing golf putts and passing the ball to each other via camera shot, with the final contender hitting it down the green for a hole in one! “It was nice to get the squad together in these times of social distancing,” the video posted to the Prescott Girls’ Golf Facebook page said.

Meanwhile, Prescott High School Principal Josh Fiege has reportedly been connecting with students via daily announcements to present a Cardinal Challenge, while as of this past April 6, the Prescott School District will be offering free breakfast and lunch from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. to children 18 and under who live in the district, and are registered by April 2. For those in the district or elsewhere seeking a good read, there are online links to replace on-site library options for the time being, including one to Wisconsin BadgerLink, which is currently offering a special newspaper archive with 300 million plus pages for those sitting at home, including eight separately named newspaper titles in Pierce County— four in Prescott, three in Ellsworth, and one in River Falls. Which leads us to ask: how is the ‘City on the Kinni’ dealing with the times, in terms of its education?

First off, one has to distinguish between the River Falls School District and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. For the latter, the Falcon Center is closed until the end of April, “in support of the global efforts to slow the spread of COVID- 19” among other measures, per a display along South Main Street recently, while in the former teachers were making vehicle parades in the Greenwood area to boost morale without coming into physical contact with each other—but that wasn’t all.

“At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of parents,” an announcement on the district’s Facebook page said, as it was shared that Community Education events in the River Falls School District were cancelled through April 30, “due to school being closed as a result of COVID-19.” At the same time, district staff were connecting online with each other from their living rooms, while Mrs. Pelton from Westside created an experience of in house restaurant dining for the family, making menus, taking orders, and doing the cooking—all without leaving the house. What of elsewhere?

Taking a trip across the county to the Village of Plum City in the southeast, the Plum City School District had some announcements on its webpage at https://www.plumcity.k12.wi.us/. First up, they now have Wi-Fi in the school parking lot!

“We now offer a publicly available wireless network called PCSD Public,” the district announced on its website recently. With no password to join, students can connect to it “from a vehicle/near the building,” the district made known.

First up on the Ellsworth Community Schools website at https://www.ellsworth.k12.wi.us, is a red announcement with white lettering announcing the latest as of this past Thursday.

“The governor had already extended the closure of schools beyond April 6th prior to the Safer At Home order and this does apply to schools through at least April 24th,” the district’s webpage announced. “We are already working on additional material that will extend the online and flexible learning through April 24th,” even as it was announced at the same time that the Prom scheduled for April 25th “has been postponed,” which at least is better than it being cancelled, as so many events have been recently.

Meanwhile, clicking on the ECSD Flexible Learning Days link to the left brings up a routine that will be familiar to many a homeschool veteran: learning asynchronously or on student’s own time, with virtual meetings held with classmates in real time “in order to continue the in-class, group-learning experience,” the page states. Encouraging parents to reach out to the building principals of Ellsworth Community public schools as well as St. Francis parochial school, Ellsworth area schools promise flexibility with parents plus assistance to get through this difficult time. “Have your child do what they can, try to keep the learning momentum going and reach out if you have questions or need assistance,” the website advises, closing out with a thank you to parents.

“Thank you for your cooperation and flexibility during this time,” the district says. “We understand this is a hardship for many families. We are not providing this information to add to those hardships and we will be flexible and work with you to get through this.”