Tuesday evening on Aug, 11, Monroe Public Schools held a virtual board meeting. Along with approving MPS’ Covid-19 preparedness plan, the board recognized students who were awarded honors and those with scholarships. 

There were more than 200 people that attended, including board members, community, students and staff. 

During the meeting, the school board received many questions regarding the coming school year from the community during an open forum. Those speaking took turns and were asked to limit their time. The answers to these questions were later provided on the Monroe Public Schools website for all to see, and are summarized below:

Phases

Monroe Public Schools will begin in Phase Four of the Return to Learn plan. However, as the year goes on, the district will monitor new COVID-19 data released by the Monroe County Health Department. If the average for cases in the district zip codes rises above ten cases per day, then the plan will be revised for stricter practices.

When the district moves into Phase Five, any students who do not wish to return to in-person school will be required to move to the Virtual School option. Meanwhile, Remote Learning at Home and Learning Lab students will transition back into classroom settings. Virtual School students may transition back to in-person learning and will either be reassigned to teachers in their school or may have to wait until the next section of the year to begin.

Learning Options

Families must choose one of the offered learning options for the coming school year and must commit to this decision entirely. 

Two of these decisions are Remote Learning at Home and Virtual School. The first involves students assigned to a teacher at their school and involves remote participation in classroom and conferences, along with those in Learning Labs. Meanwhile, Virtual School has a student being assigned a teacher from Riverside Learning Center, and the student will be completing the given coursework independently through vendors working with the district. In both options, the expectations for attendance are standard, with students required to attend unless they are ill or have extenuating circumstances.

In the option of Learning Labs, students will attend schools Monday through Friday and complete given work in a computer room. These rooms will have monitors that will answer questions, supervise students, make meetings with teachers, and generally keep their days on track. Students will be sent to their nearest learning lab so that families can attend together and reduce unnecessary exposure to others.

Elementary School

Elementary students who wish to “loop” with their last teacher will still be able to do so when possible. Also, Waterloo students will not be required to wear uniforms, except for in Phases Five and Six.

Secondary School

Past A/B classes will be changed to a six-period day to enhance student success. Schedules will be available the week of August 24 for high school students and the week of August 17 for middle school students.

Programs

CTE courses will still be available in Remote Learning. Students will be able to schedule times to utilize school CTE labs and worksites.

Fall sports are under the guidance of Monroe Public Schools administration, and updates as to the status of these sports will be posted by the Monroe Trojan Athletic Department.

Services

For meals, families should fill out the community eligibility survey to allow for their participation in the program. To receive meals, Learning Lab students will collect their breakfast upon arrival and have lunch delivered to their room. Meanwhile, Remote Learning students will be allowed to participate in the MPS Meal Distribution program. 

Technology will be provided for students who need a device, and more information will be released soon on how to request one. 

Bus standards will entail each student getting his/her temperature taken and being given a mask before entering the bus. If their temperature is 100.4 or above, they will not be allowed to board. Upon entering the bus, students must apply hand sanitizer. Seats will be assigned and will have siblings sitting next to each other when possible.

Monroe Public School’s Kids Club program is expected to operate. Families are asked to include their need for childcare services when filling out the options request form.

Any student with an IEP will have any need for services met, regardless of which learning option the parent decides upon.