#Wausau School District

[wausaupilot]

Wausau School District considers referendum amid $3M budget deficit

Facing a projected $3 million budget deficit over the next five years, the Wausau School District is revisiting the possibility of an operational or even capital referendum for the April 2025 ballot.

Damakant Jayshi Facing a projected $3 million budget deficit over the next five years, the Wausau School District is revisiting the possibility of an operational or even capital referendum for the April 2025 ballot. The Wausau School Board must finalize the referendum question – whether for capital improvements or operational expenses – by mid-January to meet the deadline for the spring…

[tallmantall]

James Donaldson on Mental Health - Young people are struggling. What they need is deceptively simple.

James Donaldson on Mental Health - Young people are struggling. What they need is deceptively simple. Natalie Eilbert Hannah Zlevor was 7 years old when she lost her first friend to suicide. Marissa Schwartz was in middle school when she lost her uncle and nearly lost her cousin to suicide. Carson Molle attempted to take his own life at 14. These young people don’t want adults to offer silver linings, unsolicited advice or empty gestures that all too often feel self-serving. They want to be heard.  “A lot of people in this world … reach out to feel good about themselves, like they want to be a part of the solution, to fix it,” said Zlevor, a junior at Appleton East High School. “People need to be reaching out with a different mindset. They need to be thinking of the other person, hear their story, without thinking about themselves.” In the final Kids in Crisis story of the school year, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin spoke with young people, parents, teachers, mental health professionals and advocates, aiming to set a clear path for improving mental health outcomes of young people. But forging that path has heaped additional pressure on young people, who already feel their academic performance is being observed under a microscope since returning from the years of remote learning due to COVID-19. For many young people, authentic community is missing from their daily lives. Even before the pandemic, young people were struggling to connect to each other and adults on a deep level. That's especially the case if they're falling short in their academics. Academic performance is often tied to protective factors in a student's life, like having access to any supportive adult, a supportive teacher, extracurriculars and a sense of belonging. "Coming together feels harder and harder every day. As progress is made, I feel we are still very divided in many ways. We feel like outcasts in many circumstances," Zlevor said. "Not being able to come together … it feels like the root of the problems." #James Donaldson notes:Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space.  #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticleFind out more about the work I do on my 501c3 non-profit foundationwebsite www.yourgiftoflife.org Order your copy of James Donaldson's latest book,#CelebratingYourGiftofLife: From The Verge of Suicide to a Life of Purpose and Joy www.celebratingyourgiftoflife.com Link for 40 Habits Signupbit.ly/40HabitsofMentalHealth If you'd like to follow and receive my daily blog in to your inbox, just click on it with Follow It. Here's the link https://follow.it/james-donaldson-s-standing-above-the-crowd-s-blog-a-view-from-above-on-things-that-make-the-world-go-round?action=followPub It’s a sentiment that, although simple in concept, requires education, dedication and nuance, said Erin Jacobson, the mental health navigator for the D.C. Everest School District in Wausau. Jacobson’s role is to work with students as young as 4K and as old as high school seniors to make families aware of mental health services in and outside of the schools. Jacobson has her work cut out for her. Shortages among school-based mental health professionals leave Jacobson and others needing to think outside the box. It comes at a time when the stakes couldn't be higher. That shortage is all the more pressing for high school students, over half of whom are anxious, a third of whom are depressed and a fifth of whom are self-harming, according to the 2021 Wisconsin Youth Risk Behavior Survey. And mental health professionals on their own won't solve the problem, especially if students don't volunteer their struggles to others. And with students up against so many other everyday pressures — academics, their future, relearning social connectedness in the wake of the pandemic, social media — it's easy for them to let mental health fall to the back burner. That, Jacobson said, creates a feedback loop: poor mental well-being often creates the conditions for worsening grades. "We are working hard to educate the students we have today, getting them to certain academic levels, which is super important," Jacobson said. "But it's going to be more challenging for our students to reach those academic skills if we're not addressing their wellness." 'Listening to understand, not listening to respond' It’s been seven years since Carson Molle walked into his family’s garage with a shotgun, certain it would be his final night alive. He was 14, a high achiever, a big reader, a football and hockey player at Seymour High School in Outagamie County. Still, his mind thrummed with self-doubt and a persistent sense of failure when his academic performance faltered and he missed some key plays as a running back/defensive back on a team that meant everything to him. Molle, who just turned 21, survived his attempt and the more than 20 surgeries required to reconstruct his face over the years. As he has forged ahead, he knew he wasn’t alone. His mother, Amber Molle, learned the power of listening, which helped convince Carson he could trust her with what he was going through. “One of the greatest things that I not only learned, but have to practice on a daily basis is listening to understand and not listening to respond,” Amber Molle said. “Because as a parent, when I hear things, I want to fix it, I want to give a suggestion, I want to offer a solution … especially when you know your child is struggling and hurting. Your instinct kicks in to want to fix it.” Children's Wisconsin, where Carson Molle was admitted after his attempt, allowed Carson to return home following his numerous surgeries instead of going to a residential facility. But the condition for discharge was this: If Carson ever thought about hurting himself or returned to his dark place, he would have to tell his parents, no matter what time of day or night it was. "So I needed for him to be able to trust me. And that meant just listening and being a sounding board and trying to just understand," Amber Molle said. "The big word is trust. Obviously, with a lot of teenagers, they're afraid to tell their parents those sort of things because parents are always looking for a solution or they're always going to have a comment about how you should handle it," Carson Molle said. "Sometimes, you're not always looking for that. I certainly wasn't as a teenager. But at the same time, I wanted to tell them about these situations I was in." Zlevor, who serves as a peer leader of Sources of Strength in Appleton, said some of what makes this difficult is the way adults — parents, teachers, loved ones — compare their experiences of being young, without acknowledging just how different the playing fields are. "Seeking help from adults as a teenager is always so difficult, especially when they say that they've been there, they've done that, they've gone through these same things," Zlevor said. "But the time difference is very relevant because, 30 years ago, you didn't have COVID, you didn't have social media. How can you say you've been there?" Alex Buchberger, special education teacher and Sources of Strength faculty adviser at Appleton East High School, said he's had to learn how to turn off teacher mode when talking to young people about their struggles. When Buchberger saw a student crying in the halls the other day, he reached out by first asking if she wanted to talk with him about it. Buchberger tries to operate from a position of students knowing best what they need. "If a student chooses to talk to me, one of the things I always ask is 'Do you want me to simply listen? Do you want me to help you find a solution? What is it that you need right now?'" Buchberger said. "As a human being, sometimes I just need to rant to another teacher. That's sometimes what a student needs, too. It's what a lot of people need." High expectations to 'catch up' mean putting mental health on the back burner Schwartz, a senior at Appleton East who also serves as peer leader for Sources of Strength, sees a dramatic dip in well-being among her peers after winter break. That's when students start to "really feel on edge" about their future. Students are most prone during this period to keep to themselves. Owen Mineau, a junior at Appleton East and another peer leader for Sources of Strength, is feeling the pressure. "Now that I'm a junior, it's starting to get a little bit more stressful. Should I be asking teachers for like letters of recommendation? Then also things like ACTs and AP testing," Mineau said. "It's just a lot of stuff comes up towards the end of the year." Jacobson, from D.C. Everest School District, believes it's important that educators, parents and staff work to reframe academic expectations, especially in the aftermath of COVID-19. Students are especially struggling with the high expectations thrust on them to bounce back from COVID-19, Jacobson said. So much of the conversation revolves around meeting academic goals and getting young people caught up with literacy and math levels after losing face-to-face learning for years. "Catching kids up" is a term Jacobson has heard a lot. And certainly, students are feeling the pressure. The way Jacobson sees it, academic performance will naturally come with prioritizing student well-being. Right now, social connectedness is seriously lacking in students, a problem compounded by the pandemic and social media. Young people, especially the youngest students in kindergarten and first grade, need time to play and learn social-emotional skills. New research from the Yale School of Medicine shows that students who practice social-emotional learning have improved academic performance, attendance and engagement; at the same time, these students have fewer mental health conditions like anxiety, stress, depression and suicidal thoughts. "If we teach them the social skills that they need, their academics are going to come up," Jacobson said. Brianna Heusterberg, director of Providing Access to Healing, a school-based mental health community impact initiative out of the United Way of Sheboygan County, helps connect nine area public school districts throughout the county with confidential licensed therapists. Since its inception in 2015, the group has provided therapy to more than 3,500 students. Each year, about 560 students receive close to 10,000 therapy sessions, Heusterberg said. On expectations, Heusterberg has observed the way social media presents another high-pressured arena. Students have developed poor body image, eating disorders and perfectionism at startling rates. As Heusterberg sees it, it's one of the biggest challenges students face. Kate Baer, president and CEO of United Way of Sheboygan County, noted the massive shift in productivity following the pandemic. With the workforce struggling to bounce back from the immense fallout of COVID-19, Baer believes families are trying to compensate for lost time. "Part of the story is the busy, busy lives we lead," Baer said. "When we talk about the expectations we put on children, we also have to talk about parents trying to be everywhere at once. Parents are really spinning their wheels." Amber Molle certainly recognizes the dangers of that go-go-go mindset. Prior to her son attempting suicide, Amber admitted that she and her husband have always been "gungho parents," always encouraging her children to shoot for the stars. While their intentions were good, it's a mentality that risks reinforcing all-or-nothing attitudes. "Carson was a super high-achieving kid. Through a lot of his life, I think Matt and I thought that continuing to raise the bar was the way to help him reach his best potential. But I think we really have to redefine what potential success is for kids," Amber Molle said. For his part, Carson Molle knows that not every football player in high school is going to go on to play Division 1 college football or pro football. It should also be understood that not everyone who ends up successful in life has a straightforward academic path. "Not every high school student is going to score 36 on their ACTs and be a 4.0 student, but that's not as accepted. Schools still try and get every student to do that and that's an external pressure," Carson Molle said. "Obviously, you want to be the best you can possibly be, but there's a certain limit to that." As youths grapple with climate anxiety, they turn to activism, education for hope Wisconsin kids are stressed about political divisiveness. Here's how adults can help. More youths are being trained as mental health leaders. It's changing the conversation. How school cafeterias can shape student mental health, and what Wisconsin is doing about it How Wisconsin parents are protecting kids' mental health from social media — without banning their phones Police are slated to return to Milwaukee Public Schools in January. But do cops in schools help or hurt? Wisconsin college students faced mounting mental health challenges during COVID. Now they're ready to talk about it. Trans kids in Wisconsin say a supportive network is critical in helping them face challenges from school policies, legislation and more How Wisconsin educators are changing the way they teach to help kids' mental health Strengthening positive thinking takes everyone Every year for the last two years, Zlevor, Schwartz, Mineau and other peer leaders at Sources of Strength do a big presentation at the area elementary and middle schools to emphasize mental health. The hope is that their work to promote mental health feeds into other communities. Part of the presentation explains how Sources of Strength works: The eight categories within the Sources of Strength wheel represent family support, positive friends, mentors, healthy activities, generosity, spirituality, physical health and mental health. At the end of the presentation, elementary and middle school students crack glowsticks representing the categories that resonate for them the most. Schwartz cracked the yellow and blue glowsticks, representing positive friends (yellow) and healthy activities (blue). Mineau cracked green for mentorship. Zlevor cracked purple for spirituality. "A lot of the students said it was the highlight of their days, weeks, even months. And when I went back to visit, every single one of them remembered my name," Zlevor said. "That was really, really moving, and it shows that we can really bring people together." Part of listening to young people's needs is also understanding that not everyone will express themselves by opening up verbally, Schwartz said. Some students will take up athletics or dance or artistic expression. It's about not pushing young people to feel and think a certain way, but meeting them on their terms and learning what gives them joy, purpose and a sense of community. "Learning to build community doesn't have to come from school. It can be people who live in your neighborhood. It's about being willing to get out, be social, meet new people, to build those connections," Schwartz said. "You never know. One day they might become somebody you really trust who can help you in the long run." Natalie Eilbert covers mental health issues for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She welcomes story tips and feedback. You can reach her at neilbert@gannett.com or view her Twitter profile at @natalie_eilbert. If you or someone you know is dealing with suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or text "Hopeline" to the National Crisis Text Line at 741-741. Photo by Andy Kuzma on Pexels.com Read the full article

[goawaywithjae]

Fuck this teacher (Robert Perkins) and every one who makes excuses for his racist and sexist behavior.

[kuhnertjournal]

Week 1: About Me

Good afternoon one and all! I’m Andy Kuhnert and this will be my blog/journal page if all was done correctly. I’m a 26 year old gym rat who is a full-time delivery driver for the Wausau School District, works part-time with the Army National Guard as a network specialist, attends online school half-time, and spends what little time I have left with my wife and three cats at home.

In all honesty, I took this class because it was one of my few General Education requirements that I had left. I cannot go as far as to say I don’t have any interest in design... my major is in Information Science and Technology, which almost by definition requires some design thinking. In saying that, I would say that my interest with design revolves around a technological standpoint.

I do not have any particular experience with design that would pertain to this class. I do realize however that we use this concept on a daily basis to make decisions whether we know it or not. This could be anything from choosing a specific type of boot to even deciding what kind of vehicle you will drive depending on the objective. Of course, this all stems from other individual’s designs, not my own.

I would have to say that if anything inspired me when it comes to the idea of design, it is the art side of things. For example, we discussed the concept of accessories looking different inside a new car depending on the make. Some may consider this in the grey area nearing the art side, but it is still part of the design feature of the car, allowing you to do something easier. It is those situations that draw my attention, allowing something to better allow accessibility but still attract the eye.

As a matter of fact, I have recently purchased a few things that were chosen specifically because of design. I bought a new ram a little over a year ago that I chose because of the engine design. With the hemi, they are specifically structured to give you more power and efficiency than the competitors (supposedly). This is what I look for in addition to the cosmetic items inside that are supposed to make your life easier. I actually purchased a new Indian Motorcycle this last summer as well. Similar to the truck, I chose this make of bike because the engine has been designed supposedly to have more power than the competing companies, such as Harley!

The bottom line is that I’m not sure what to expect from this class but I’m excited to see what lies ahead. I may even find a few topics that I never knew interested me!

[multipleservicelisting]

A Report Card for U.S. Schools

This is the Coronavirus Schools Briefing, a guide to the seismic changes in U.S. education that are taking place during the pandemic. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox.

For the past few months, my colleagues have worked on a sweeping project on the state of American education. They wanted to address a simple question, said James Dao, a national editor at The Times who oversees education coverage: “Are American children getting adequate schooling in the pandemic?”

“It is the most basic of questions,” he continued. “And yet in a country with 13,000 self-governing school districts setting 13,000 educational policies, one that is impossible to answer.”

Inconsistency and disruption have been the only constants. Nearly every district in the U.S. has had to forge its own way and use its own safety standard; the Trump administration and the federal government provided little guidance or data.

So instead of trying to take a numbers-driven approach, James said, “we set a more humble ambition for ourselves: to provide snapshots of seven districts that, together, provide a cross section of America in all its diversity.”

Some students have been in school buildings since the fall, while others haven’t seen a classroom since March 2020. Some split their time between remote and in-person instruction. There is only one common link: However students are learning right now, it has been a hard time for everyone.

But not everyone has struggled equally. Districts serving high percentages of nonwhite or poor students were significantly more likely to remain fully remote this fall. Many reported higher proportions of students failing classes, which many critics have reframed as classes that failed students.

“We believe these snapshots bring us closer to understanding how educators, parents and students are navigating what has arguably been the most disrupted school year since World War II,” James said.

Here’s a condensed version of each district profiled, but we strongly suggest you read it in full.

Los Angeles

Most students in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second largest, have not been in classrooms since March. Now, high rates of virus transmission and overwhelmed hospitals dominate headlines. The majority-Latino district will keep learning remotely for the foreseeable future.

Achievement gaps are widening. Compared with last year, D’s and F’s increased 15 percent among high school students, and reading proficiency dropped 10 percent among elementary school students, Austin Beutner, the superintendent, said.

“There is just no question this is disproportionately hurting students who can least afford it,” he said.

Cherokee County, Ga.

In August, schools opened in Cherokee County, Ga. to crowded hallways, packed football games and optional mask requirements. Contagion was swift: Within the first two weeks, nearly 1,200 students had to quarantine in the majority-white, Republican-leaning district outside Atlanta.

Many parents said that their children benefited from attending school in person. But by mid-December, more than 1,000 students and staff members had tested positive. After winter break, the entire district closed for at least two weeks because there were too many teachers in quarantine.

“This is what you get when you don’t try to protect the people in the schools,” said Lizzy Palermo, 17, who said she was one of few students to consistently wear a mask.

Wausau, Wis., a small, majority-white city, became a flash point for a parent-teacher fight over open classrooms.

After starting classes virtually, the school board bowed to community pressure and voted to open schools to students in November — just as the pandemic was surging across the state. Tensions flared.

“She didn’t swear at me, but she yelled,” one member of the school board remembered, after a parent harassed her. “I had to call the police.”

Since in-person classes began, hundreds of students and staff members have moved between in-person and remote learning, after possible exposures.

Washington, D.C.

Students in the District of Columbia Public Schools, a majority Black district, haven’t learned in classrooms since March. Many are “chronically absent” — they rarely log in to class.

The impact on learning is starting to show: A recent study of assessment scores this fall found students were, on average, four months behind in math and one month behind in reading. Black students had even more distance to cover.

At one public charter school, teachers make house calls to try to find missing students. “We try to let them know we’re not focused on judging,” a teacher said.

Providence, R.I.

This summer, Gov. Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island deployed the National Guard to help reopen schools for in-person learning. Remote teaching would disadvantage nonwhite and low income students and that was not an option, she said.

In Providence, more than 70 percent of the district’s majority Latino and Black students returned to their classrooms. That’s rare. In other American cities, Black and Latino families have by and large elected to keep their children learning from home.

Even as the state battles a dangerous new surge, classrooms are open. “I am grateful that she’s back in person,” one parent said about her daughter.

Lubbock, Texas

By the end of the first grading period, 77 percent of high school students in the Roosevelt Independent School District were failing at least one class. Those who opted to attend in person, by contrast, were mostly passing.

So the tiny, rural, mostly Latino district in West Texas made the fraught decision to require all students to return to classrooms. Academic performance rose, but so did infections. About a third of staff have tested positive this school year.

Still, teachers and administrators said it’s the best thing for their students. “This works for us in our little school district,” the superintendent said. “It’s not going to work everywhere.”

Edison, N.J.

Edison, N.J., a large suburban district where a majority of the students are Asian, has struggled to make hybrid education work.

Stephanie Rasimowicz, a math teacher, must balance teaching a handful of in-person (and socially distanced students) while attending to nearly 20 learning online. “Even if their cameras are on, you still don’t know exactly what they’re doing,” she said of her remote students.

Hybrid learning will always be a compromise.

“There’s no book for this,” a principal said. “The word of the year is ‘fluid.’”

Around the country

College update

The University of Wisconsin public college system could be in long-term financial trouble.

Brown University plans to hold commencement in person for graduates, but family and guests will attend virtually.

Baylor University will require weekly coronavirus tests for students. Those who don’t comply could be locked out of campus Wi-Fi.

A good read: The Chicago Tribune checked in with college athletes at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois struggling with their mental health after an interrupted season. “I really, really missed just having a schedule,” one volleyball player said. It’s not just athletes: A new study found that college students nationwide are grappling with more depression and anxiety.

K-12 update

Chicago will begin vaccinating teachers by mid-February.

President Biden signed an executive order designed to reopen schools. He’s pushing for more testing, more personal protective equipment, more data and more vaccines.

Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland urged schools to reopen by March. “There is no public health reason for county school boards to keep students out of schools,” he said.

A neat series: The Institute for Nonprofit News has been working with newsrooms around the country to look into rural schools right now. The most recent piece comes from New Mexico In Depth, previewing the spring semester.

A good listen: Evelyn Lauer, a high school teacher, hosts a podcast called “Beyond the Bell” where she interviews other educators. This week, she spoke with Sachin J. Jhunjhunwala, a math teacher. It’s a zippy, insightful conversation.

A good read: There has been a nationwide surge of children in mental health crisis during the pandemic. One 11-year-old boy in Texas considered suicide after months of remote learning.

Tip: Podcasts for kids

At this point, we’re all looking for anything to entertain little ones at home. Podcasts geared toward children might be a saving grace.

“Girl Tales” offers feminist fairy tales, performed by actors and playwrights. “What If World” is fantastical improv. And “Animal Sound Safari” is, well, just what it sounds like. Plug in, sit back and enjoy.

Sign up here to get the briefing by email.

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[freenewstoday]

New Post has been published on https://freenews.today/2021/01/22/a-slice-of-what-education-looks-like-in-pandemic-america/

A Slice of What Education Looks Like in Pandemic America

Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

For almost a year, public school districts across the country have grappled with the daunting challenge of educating children in the midst of a pandemic. The strategies they have used are as varied as the political viewpoints, economics and demographics of the country itself. Policy is shaped by those very factors.

The New York Times’s National desk wanted to understand the different ways that schools were teaching and the circumstances facing students and educators.

“That sounds like a simple goal, but it’s really complicated because there are 13,000 school districts in America,” Jim Dao, deputy National editor, said.

In coordination with two fellow editors, Scott Dodd and Clinton Cargill, Mr. Dao dispatched journalists to follow seven school districts. The results are in a special report published Thursday.

The Times profiled public schools in Edison, N.J.; Cherokee County, Ga.; Wausau, Wis.; Providence, R.I.; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; and the Roosevelt Independent School District near Lubbock, Texas. The stories, which appear as discrete pieces online, are packaged together in one print section.

“It’s always true in this country: If you’re going to public school, where you live determines your schooling experiences,” said Kate Taylor, an education reporter who observed Providence Public Schools, about an hour from her Boston-area home. “And those can be very, very different.”

In some cases, those differences are obvious: a big city versus a rural area, or a district relying on remote learning versus one that’s using a mix of remote and in-person classrooms. The idiosyncrasies of each district revealed to reporters compelling and unexpected elements inside the broader story.

For example, Washington, D.C., like many urban school districts, has held remote classes since March. So the Times reporter Abby Goodnough sought to examine the efforts being made to re-engage disaffected students. Much of Julie Bosman’s reporting in Wausau focused on how the district has toggled between remote and in-person learning because of a politically divided school board. In the Roosevelt Independent School District in Texas, remote learning wasn’t working, so the district scrapped it.

“You have to go to the classroom, or you have to go to a different district,” J. David Goodman, the reporter who covered Roosevelt, said.

Growing evidence bears out that school buildings are unlikely to seed coronavirus transmission when community spread is at moderate or low levels, provided that mitigation strategies, including adherence to social distancing and mask requirements, are implemented. Still, in-person schooling is not without risk, reporters found.

As the virus crept into all corners of the country last year, fears of infection took a more dominant hold in urban centers like San Diego, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, which have relied heavily on remote learning.

Jennifer Medina, who covered the Los Angeles Unified School District, said the issues plaguing it were emblematic of many urban districts with similar demographics.

“This just gets to the virus in general. There’s such a big divide of who’s feeling it and who isn’t,” said Ms. Medina, who lives in the city. “It’s so glaringly clear that the kids who need the most help have the least access to it.”

Yet Providence, where district students are predominantly poor and Latino, is an outlier. More than 70 percent of students returned to their classrooms this fall.

“I wanted to answer this question of why so many students came back in Providence when they didn’t in so many other cities,” Ms. Taylor said.

The answers, it turned out, were complex and multifaceted. And the task of determining what conclusions should be drawn was a feat all its own.

“No single piece explains what’s going on,” Mr. Dao said. “But if you look at them together, we hope you’ll get a clearer sense of how the nation as a whole is educating students in the pandemic.”

Although circumstances and solutions across school districts vary widely, a common reaction became apparent: an intractable worry about the long-term and, as of yet, unknown consequences the disruption of education will have on a generation of children.

“This isn’t the sort of thing that the moment classrooms open back up, everything is going to be back to normal,” Ms. Medina said. “This is going to have reverberations for years.”

Source

[wausaupilot]

Wausau School District employees to face higher health costs amid rising deficit

The Wausau School District is also exploring the option of establishing a direct primary care system as challenges continue:

Damakant Jayshi The Wausau School Board on Monday approved a new health insurance plan for district employees, which will cost more but is reportedly still below the average cost seen elsewhere in the state, according to district officials. The plan, set to take effect in January 2025, will increase deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums for employees. Seven of the eight board members present…

[plusorminuscongress]

New story in Politics from Time: 52 People Who Took Part in Wisconsin’s Primary Have Tested Positive for Coronavirus

(MADISON, Wis.) — There are no plans to postpone or otherwise alter a special congressional election in Wisconsin that is less than two weeks away, even though more than 50 people who voted in person or worked the polls during the state’s presidential primary this month have tested positive for COVID-19.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers tried to change the April 7 election so that it would be conducted entirely by mail, but he was blocked by the Republican-led Legislature and conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court. Evers and others had warned that allowing in-person voting would cause a spike in coronavirus cases, but so far the impact appears to be limited.

Several of the 52 people who have tested positive and were at the polls on April 7 also reported other ways they may have been exposed to the virus, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services said Tuesday. Because of that, it’s unclear if those people contracted the virus at the polls.

The 52 positive cases were in people who tested positive in the two weeks after the election, so by April 21. Most people show symptoms within 14 days of exposure, though some people who have the virus don’t show symptoms.

After next week, the state will no longer ask people who test positive for the virus whether they were at the polls on April 7 because of how much time has passed, said Julie Willems Van Dijk, who heads the state health agency.

“We’re getting to the point where the door will be closing on those,” she said.

Most of the positive cases were in Milwaukee County. The city’s health commissioner has said the data was being analyzed and an update was expected next week.

Statewide, there have been more than 6,200 confirmed cases and 300 deaths since the outbreak began.

Although voters had to wait in long lines on April 7, primarily in Milwaukee, that likely won’t happen with the May 12 special congressional election, where the largest city in the 7th Congressional District is Wausau, which is home to about 40,000 people. That House race is the only one on the ballot, unlike in this month’s election, which featured the presidential primary and a state Supreme Court race.

Election clerks in the district have said they’re ready for the election after they managed to make it through this month’s election despite the difficulties posed by the pandemic. There’s also a push to encourage absentee voting. About 71% of all voters in the April 7 election cast absentee ballots.

Evers has made no move to alter the special election even though as it currently stands, it would occur while his stay-at-home order is still in effect. The order is scheduled to run until May 26, but Republicans have asked the state Supreme Court to block it.

The 7th Congressional District covers all or parts of 26 northern and northwestern Wisconsin counties and is the state’s largest congressional district, geographically.

The race pits Democrat Tricia Zunker, president of the Wausau school board, against Republican state Sen. Tom Tiffany, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump. Trump carried the heavily Republican district by 20 percentage points in 2016.

By Scott Bauer / AP on April 29, 2020 at 12:49PM

[multipleservicelisting]

13,000 School Districts, 13,000 Approaches to Teaching During Covid

Jan. 21, 2021

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What does it mean to go to public school in the United States during the pandemic?

The answer looks so different in different parts of the country, it is hard to tell that we are one nation.

In some rural and suburban areas, especially in the South, Midwest and Great Plains, almost all students began the 2020-21 academic year attending school in person, and they have continued to do so, except for temporary closures during outbreaks.

In many cities, the bulk of students haven’t been in a classroom since March. And in some districts, like New York City, only younger students have the option of going to school in person, with many attending only part-time.

With little guidance from the federal government, the nation’s 13,000 districts have largely come up with their own standards for when it is safe to open schools and what virus mitigation measures to use. Those decisions have often been based as much on politics as on public health data.

Through all of this, there has been no official accounting of how many American students are attending school in person or virtually. We don’t know precisely how many remote students are not receiving any live instruction, or how many students have not logged into their classes all year. Nor has the federal government tracked how many coronavirus cases have been identified in schools or which mitigation methods districts are using.

While it is clear that many students learning remotely are falling behind, few districts have comprehensively assessed where their students are, and what skills they have and have not learned since schools across the country closed last March. As a result, we don’t know what approaches to remote instruction have worked or failed.

But some of the early data is deeply troubling. In Houston, the nation’s seventh-largest public school district, which began the year remotely, 42 percent of students received at least one F in the first grading period in the fall, compared with 26 percent in the fall of 2019.

In the Saint Paul Public Schools in Minnesota, where nearly all students have been learning remotely since the start of this school year, 32 percent of grades given in high school core courses in the first quarter were failing marks, up from 12 percent the year before.

And Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, where classes were virtual all fall, found that the percentage of middle and high school students who failed two or more classes in the first quarter increased 83 percent from the first quarter of the previous year. The increase was even greater among students with disabilities and students learning English.

The disruption of education, like so much else about the pandemic, has not affected everyone equally. Districts serving high percentages of nonwhite or poor students were significantly more likely to remain fully remote this fall than other districts.

For many of the students who have not set foot in school since March, in-person education also represents a critical safety net — a source of food and other basic necessities, a place with caring adults who will notice signs of abuse or neglect — from which they are now cut off.

And the limited data from assessments and grades this fall suggest that disadvantaged students have lost the most ground during months of remote learning.

“Lower-income kids, kids of color, kids with unique needs like those who have a disability or other challenges — the numbers look very, very bad,” said Robin Lake, the director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, a research and policy organization based at the University of Washington Bothell.

Students are not suffering just academically. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported that the proportion of mental-health-related visits among all visits to emergency rooms by children 5 to 17 years old increased significantly from April to October, compared with those months in 2019.

To give readers a sense of the varying ways the pandemic has affected students, families, teachers and school staff, The New York Times has profiled seven districts across the country, looking at how each responded in differing ways to the challenges of educating children in the pandemic.

Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second largest, has operated remotely all fall, citing the city’s high rate of virus transmission. With cases still very high and hospitals overwhelmed, it seems unlikely that the district, where most students are Latino, will return to in-person learning anytime soon.

Cherokee County, Ga., a mostly white suburban district, offered in-person instruction all fall, though several of its schools switched to remote learning temporarily because of outbreaks, and the entire district was closed for at least two weeks following winter break as staffing shortages mounted. Wausau, Wis., a small, majority-white district in a state that found itself one of the worst virus hot spots for a period in the fall, vacillated between in-person and remote instruction.

In the District of Columbia Public Schools, a majority Black district, we followed efforts to re-engage students during a semester of all-remote instruction. In Providence, R.I., the governor’s push for schools to open allowed its mostly Hispanic students to come back to class, unlike in other Northeastern cities, even as the state experienced a dangerous new surge.

Roosevelt Independent School District, a tiny, rural, mostly Latino district in West Texas, made the fraught decision to require all students to return to school in person to combat a wave of academic failures. Edison, N.J., a large suburban district where a majority of the students are Asian, has struggled to make hybrid education work.

Although education experts still have only a cloudy understanding of the impact of the coronavirus on learning, they have gained some clarity about the conditions under which schools can open safely.

Evidence has increased that schools, particularly elementary schools, are unlikely to seed transmission when community spread is at moderate or low levels — provided they use mitigation strategies, including mask requirements, social distancing and good ventilation.

But in places where the virus has surged, officials say they have seen more transmission in schools, especially in higher grades. High school sports have been a particular source of infections, leading some states to suspend them, outraging many parents.

The increasing evidence that some schools could operate safely was good news for districts where students were faltering under remote learning. Unfortunately, it emerged just as a new wave of infections picked up and then quickly engulfed the country late last year and into the new one.

Many superintendents have watched the rising cases with anguish, as they saw their hopes of bringing more students back to school in the near future threatened.

“It doesn’t feel good to know that children need you — children that you dedicated your life to absolutely need you — and you can’t be there for them in the ways you normally could and would,” said Sharon L. Contreras, the superintendent of Guilford County Schools, North Carolina’s third-largest district.

As we enter 2021, vaccines are likely to change the picture — but more slowly than Dr. Contreras and many educators, parents and children would want.

Although many states are prioritizing educators for the vaccine, it will take months for all teachers to be fully vaccinated — leaving aside those who decline — and most children will likely not be vaccinated until fall at the earliest.

At the same time, a new variant of the coronavirus that is thought to be more contagious is spreading in the United States, complicating efforts to reopen classrooms.

All this means that many schools will likely continue to require masks and social distancing well into the 2021-22 school year. And while few districts have said so explicitly, many students may not see teachers or classmates in person until the fall.

Opening photographs, clockwise from top left: Victor J. Blue for The New York Times, Philip Keith for The New York Times, Christopher Lee for The New York Times

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[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

On May 12, the GOP won two special congressional elections handily: Republican Mike Garcia defeated Democratic Assemblywoman Christy Smith 55 percent to 45 percent in the California 25th District, and Republican state Sen. Tom Tiffany beat his Democratic opponent, Wausau School Board President Tricia Zunker, 57 percent to 43 percent in the Wisconsin 7th District.1 Garcia’s win was especially important, as it lowered the number of House seats Republicans need to flip in order to take back control in November from 18 to 17.2

These special elections may also throw cold water on the idea that 2020 will be another “blue wave” election. Although you shouldn’t infer too much from any one special election — particularly strong or weak candidates or idiosyncratic local issues can matter more in individual races — special elections in the aggregate have historically been predictive of the national political environment. In other words, a party that consistently punches above its weight in special elections tends to have a really good November.

So what are special elections saying so far about 2020? Counting the two earlier this month, there have now been six federal special elections so far this cycle — not a huge sample size, but enough to detect whether Republicans or Democrats are consistently overperforming the seat’s baseline partisanship. Except so far, the final vote-share margin in the average special election has not been any more Democratic-leaning (or, for that matter, Republican-leaning) than the seat’s FiveThirtyEight partisan lean score.3

No party has an edge in special elections this cycle

How the final vote margin compared with the seat’s FiveThirtyEight partisan lean in federal special elections so far

Year Date Seat Partisan Lean Vote Margin Margin Swing 2019 May 21 Pennsylvania 12th R+35 R+36 R+1 Sept. 10 North Carolina 3rd R+24 R+24 0 Sept. 10 North Carolina 9th† R+14 R+2 D+12 2020 April 28 Maryland 7th D+51 D+49 R+2 May 12 California 25th* EVEN R+10 R+10 May 12 Wisconsin 7th* R+18 R+14 D+4 Average R+6 R+6 0

Partisan lean is the average difference between how a state or district votes and how the country votes overall, with 2016 presidential election results weighted at 50 percent, 2012 presidential election results weighted at 25 percent and results from elections for the state legislature weighted at 25 percent. Note that FiveThirtyEight’s current partisan leans do not yet incorporate the results of the 2018 election.

*Unofficial results as of May 20.

†The North Carolina 9th election was technically a do-over election but otherwise had all the characteristics of a special election.

Sources: state election offices

In four of the six elections, the final result was quite close to the district’s partisan lean. And the other two races pointed in opposite directions. Republicans did 10 points better in the California 25th than we’d expect them to in a neutral political environment, while Democrats did 12 points better than their baseline in the North Carolina 9th do-over election last year. And these results can easily be explained by the strength of the candidates. Both Garcia and Dan McCready, the Democratic candidate in the North Carolina 9th, were moderates, veterans and prolific fundraisers.

By contrast, in 2017 and 2018, Democrats routinely posted amazing numbers. Even when they didn’t win, they performed far better than the seat’s baseline partisanship would predict. In the 11 federal special elections before November 2018, the average margin swing between a seat’s final margin and its partisan lean was 17 points toward Democrats.

Democrats overperformed last cycle

How the final vote margin compared with the seat’s FiveThirtyEight partisan lean in federal special elections

Year Date Seat Partisan Lean Vote Margin Margin Swing 2017 April 4 California 34th* D+68 D+87 D+20 April 11 Kansas 4th R+29 R+6 D+23 May 25 Montana at-large R+18 R+6 D+12 June 20 Georgia 6th R+15 R+4 D+11 June 20 South Carolina 5th R+20 R+3 D+17 Nov. 7 Utah 3rd R+39 R+32 D+6 Dec. 12 Alabama Senate R+27 D+2 D+28 2018 March 13 Pennsylvania 18th R+21 D+0.3 D+22 April 24 Arizona 8th R+26 R+5 D+22 June 30 Texas 27th* R+29 R+21 D+8 Aug. 7 Ohio 12th R+14 R+1 D+13 Average R+15 D+1 D+17

Partisan lean is the average difference between how a state or district votes and how the country votes overall, with 2016 presidential election results weighted at 50 percent, 2012 presidential election results weighted at 25 percent and results from elections for the state legislature weighted at 25 percent.

*Results are from either an all-party primary or an all-party general election, both of which include multiple candidates of the same party; vote margin is the total vote share of all Democratic candidates combined minus the total vote share of all Republican candidates combined.

Sources: state election offices

In 2018, this ended up foreshadowing a great general election for Democrats, who won the national House popular vote by 8.6 percentage points. If 2020 follows the same pattern, we could be in for a neutral political environment for the fall.

However, “if” is the operative word there. Special elections are just one indicator of the national mood, and others are notably rosier for Democrats. Polls of the generic congressional ballot, for instance, give Democrats an average lead of nearly 8 percentage points — comparable to what they said in 2018. In addition, most polls give presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden a solid lead over President Trump, and Democrats have enjoyed some unbelievable Senate polls lately. Republicans are also retiring from Congress at a far faster rate than Democrats. Finally, the economy is in a tailspin, which has historically been bad news for the president’s reelection chances.

So maybe this year will be like 2002, when special elections also had a margin swing of zero but Republicans won the national House popular vote by 5 points in a mini-wave. The relationship between special elections and the political environment isn’t perfect. Still, the current cycle’s inconsistent special-election results should make us more uncertain about which party will have the advantage in November. In 2018, virtually every indicator under the sun pointed to that blue wave. This year, we’re getting mixed signals.

[therealreverendchris]

IntroductionWelcome to the /r/politics discussion thread for the special elections being held in California's 25th Congressional District, and Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District. CA-25 was vacated on November 3, 2019 by former Congresswoman Katie Hill following a leak of nude photos of her in a relationship with a staffer, as well as a pending ethics investigation. WI-07 was vacated on September 23, 2019 by former Congressman Sean Duffy to spend time taking care of his youngest child, who has a heart complication, as well as to take a new position as a lobbyist.Despite the coronavirus pandemic, these elections will continue as scheduled. The primary election for CA-25 was held concurrently with the Presidential primary in California, with navy veteran and businessman Mike Garcia (R) and assemblywoman Christy Smith (D) advancing to the top two runoff. In WI-07, the primary was held in February, with state senator Tom Tiffany (R) and Ho-Chunk Nation associate justice and Wausau school board president Tricia Zunker advancing.The winners of these contests will serve out the remainder of the term for this year, though they are likely to each seek election to a full term as well.Please keep in mind our civility guideline when participating.CA-25Candidates:Assemblywoman Christy Smith (D)Navy Veteran and businessman Mike Garcia (R)Resources:Same Day Voter RegistrationPoll hours close 8PM local timeFind your polling location2016 presidential toplines - 50% Clinton to 44% TrumpWI-07Candidates:Ho-Chunk Nation Associate Justice and Wausau School Board President Tricia Zunker (D)State Senator Tom Tiffany (R)Resources:Poll hours 7AM to 8PM local timeFind your polling locationVoter ID requirements2016 presidential toplines - 37% Clinton to 58% TrumpResultsBusiness Insider [CA-25]TBD via /r/politics

[bloggingblue]

Endorsement In Special Election In WI-07.

Endorsement In Special Election In WI-07.

In tomorrow’s special election in the Wisconsin 7th Congressional District. The election is between Republican State Senator Tim Tiffany and Wausau School Board Member Tricia Zunker. The eventual winner will replace Rep. Sean Duffy who resigned the position late last year.

So the Democrats have a chance to send a new representative to Washington and solidify their majority in the House.

So…

[wausaupilot]

Lincoln Elementary students raise $415 for Humane Society with penny war fundraiser

Love to see this kind of good news from our local schools!

Wausau Pilot & Review Students at Lincoln Elementary School raised $415 for the Humane Society of Marathon County in a recent Penny War, according to a post on the Wausau School District’s website Friday. In addition to the funds raised, students crafted dog treats, cat toys, and animal bandanas for the Humane Society, which works to prevent animal cruelty and promote responsible pet…

[demcastusa]

Tricia Zunker

Download | iTunes | Spotify

Kelly chats with Tricia Zunker, Ho-Chunk Supreme Court Associate Justice, Wausau School Board President, Mother, and the Democratic nominee in the special election for the Wisconsin 7th Congressional District, which will be held on May 12, 2020.

Links

Tricia Zunker: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Our End Credits are read by Sonya Daniel. Two Broads Talking…

[hmoob-tv]

Wausau School Board passes resolution in support of Hmong community

WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — A local school district has passed a resolution in support of the Hmong community in Central Wisconsin. On Monday afternoon the Wausau School Board discussed a proposed resolution …

Read more

[crucialhire]

Wausau School District to Outsource Substitute Staffing - WSAU News https://t.co/wMuNQ110Q1

Wausau School District to Outsource Substitute Staffing - WSAU News https://t.co/wMuNQ110Q1

— Crucial Hire (@HireCrucial) July 9, 2019

from Twitter https://twitter.com/HireCrucial July 08, 2019 at 04:20PM http://twitter.com/HireCrucial/status/1148416559607615491