Parents Left With Questions As Schools To Close Across Wisconsin

Wisconsin parents are evaluating their options as schools across the state prepare to shut down.

Gov. Tony Evers mandated last week that all schools must close by 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 18, in an effort to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.

Some districts have chosen to move faster. Officials announced on Sunday that all Dane County schools would close immediately. Milwaukee Public Schools are closed until April 14.

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The move has left some parents figuring out what they’re going to do for child care during this period. Others say they’re waiting to find out if their children will have to make up missed classroom time this summer.

Nicole Hoier, a mother of four from Seymour, about 20 miles west of Green Bay, said she hopes she’ll get some instruction before the district closes Tuesday on how to help her children continue their studies during the break.

Christine Marcelle, a mother from Kewaunee, said she is lucky her younger son’s day care will take her 5-year-old daughter while schools are shut down. It won’t be as easy for many of her friends, she said.

“I know their day cares are in the school, so that’s closed as well,” she said. “People are struggling, I think, to find people to help them out.”

Bryan Morstad, a father of two and assistant principal at an elementary school in Shawano, said last week was fast-paced as school officials rushed to keep up with guidelines issued by public health organizations. Morstad said he hopes children will be able to continue learning while schools are closed. He also said school officials are concerned about the food security of their students during the shutdown.

“One of our biggest concerns is we don’t have a food plan set up yet,” he said. “It’s one of the things we’re working on is how to get meals to kids who might not either have them or their parents might not be able to provide adequate ones.”

Thousands of children across Wisconsin rely on free and reduced lunches provided by their schools. Some districts have already announced plans to provide children with meals over the coming weeks.

Beginning Monday, Milwaukee Public Schools will operate 20 meal pick-up sites across the city. The Madison Metropolitan School District announced a similar plan.