(Beaver Dam) The Beaver Dam Unified School District announced Thursday afternoon that they will be taking measures to address the coronavirus, that includes extending the length of spring break. Listen to our conversation with Superintendent Mark DiStefano below. Read the full press release from the district:
As you are aware, the state of Wisconsin and the nation are navigating the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. In the event the Department of Public Instruction or the State Health Department should make the decision to close our schools, we need to be prepared to appropriately navigate that possibility.
Our Core Health Response Team has been meeting regularly to monitor the situation and make contingency plans for the continuity of instruction should our schools close for an extended period of time. In order to complete these plans to full fidelity, we will be extending our spring break to allow time for our teaching staff to prepare for this possibility.
Spring Break for the Beaver Dam Unified School District will begin on Thursday, March 19th and will continue through Monday, March 30th. All district buildings will be closed to students and the public Wednesday, March 18th at 6:00pm until students return to school on Tuesday, March 31st.
All BDUSD staff will report to work as scheduled on Thursday, March 19th, Friday, March 20th, and Monday, March 30th. In addition, the district will be increasing its focus and attention on wellness practices including specific review of healthy habits with students prior to the break. We will continue to increase our focus on sanitation and cleanliness, and over the break we will be conducting targeted deep cleans throughout all of our buildings.
As difficult as this situation is, we realize there are many questions at this time. One of the questions is likely how this will impact the end of the school year. Fortunately, we have not had to use any emergency days this year and therefore, the use of these three days around spring break will not impact the end of the school year. Should the district be required to extend our break further or close for a more extended period of time, we will navigate those realities as they arise. Below is a list of BDUSD controlled schedule changes as of today:
+ All BDUSD facilities will be closed to non-district sponsored events through April 17th (effective Monday, March 16th).
+ All student/staff district-sponsored out of state travel has been suspended through April 17th (effective immediately).
+The high school choir concert scheduled for March 17th has been postponed.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding for this continuously evolving situation. We are receiving new information, recommendations, insights, and guidance on a regular basis. We will continue to keep our staff, students, families, community, and the media informed as it continues to unfold. The most up to date information will be shared on our website at www.bdusd.org as it becomes available.
Listen to our conversation with Mark DiStefano here:
