Wittenberg-Birnamwood is ready for the students to return

The start of the 2020-2021 school year is fast approaching. As I write this newsletter in early August, each passing day gives me more confidence that our classrooms and buildings will be ready by Sept. 1. Our trade contractors have been working both weekdays and weekends to meet their deadlines for construction work, and district staff have supported this plan with great flexibility in assisting where and when they can. We look forward to showcasing our renovated and new construction to all community members after our students have returned and settled into their school routines.

Speaking of returning and settling in, I encourage all of our community members to please continue visiting our district reopening plan posted at the top of our Wittenberg-Birnamwood Facebook page and also on our district website. We also have a very helpful Frequently Asked Questions document posted on both sites that provides our families with answers to many of the questions we continue to receive on a daily basis. Additionally this year, we are for the first time providing families with an online option that they may choose for their children that requires a semester by semester commitment. And for those who choose to return in the more traditional school setting, we have been working to adhere to COVID-19 related mandates and safety precautions that will help provide our students and staff with the safest environment possible.

We understand that there are many scenarios that could play out as we move forward into the start of and throughout the school year. We have prepared our staff to better support our students in the event we have to move to a more virtual format. We certainly have navigated ourselves into uncharted territory, but I am optimistic that our students in this district will continue to receive excellent instruction from an amazing staff.

We’re excited for the opportunity to be back with our students. I encourage all of our parents to please read through their building-specific newsletters which will highlight some of the schedule changes we have made for the new school year, our Professional Learning Community work, COVID-19 related steps we can all be taking to keep ourselves safe and healthy and anything else you need to know as our children prepare to embark on the start of a new and exciting 2020-21 school year.

In closing, I can’t express enough the sincere gratitude we have for all who have supported our intentions to get school back up and running for the students of this district. These are memorable, cherished times that our students look forward to and deserve to look back on with positive memories for years to come. Whatever we can do to support this goal, we will.

Garrett Rogowski is the superintendent of the Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District.