Mike Richie, District Administrator

July - Spirit Article

We are all hoping that we never have to experience anything like we did during the fourth quarter of this past school year. COVID-19 has changed the game for all of us! Our goal is to have face to face instruction beginning on September 1. We will do what is best for the Tomorrow River School District, students and families, with the mindset of keeping everyone safe.

I know many of you have questions and concerns regarding the upcoming school year and what we are going to do as a district regarding COVID-19 guidelines and procedures. I also realize people want a specific plan. We will share information with the public as we finalize each plan.

For updates and specific guidelines for the different plans, please visit our website at www.amherst.k12.wi.us and click on the Reopening School tab.

You have all heard the cliché – prepare for the worst case scenario; with that said, we are currently preparing for three different methods of delivering instruction.

1. Face to face instruction with multiple guidelines in place.

2. A blended model for learning – This could be a combination of face to face and virtual instruction, or alternate schedules where students would come to school in different shifts.

3. A virtual instruction model that would allow for students to be educated at home using a specific curriculum platform.

Here are a few items that we know as of this writing:

We released our summer school plans on June 25; this plan was approved by the Portage County Health Department. We will hold face to face summer school from July 20 through August 13 with multiple guidelines in place. On August 1 at 11 a.m., we will be hosting our graduation on Heartland Farms Field. We released the graduation plan and guidelines to the public on June 19; this plan was also approved by the Portage County Health Department. We released our cleaning, disinfecting and overall care of the building plan to the public on June 26. A parent and staff survey was emailed out to staff and families on June 24; the survey window will close on July 3.

Our facilities/fields will reopen for use on July 1. If any group or organization wants to use our facility, they must complete all appropriate paperwork. This will also include a plan/document of what guidelines each group or organization will have in place to insure the students, coaches and all other individuals are safe. All of this must be approved before anyone will be allowed to use the facility. This includes indoors, as well as outdoor facilities.

We have created a specific webpage for School Reopening and will place any relevant information and plans on the website. For the most accurate and updated information, please use our website. Keep in mind, even after we release any tentative plan, that plan may change. Our number one goal through all of this is to keep our students, staff and community safe.

Tomorrow River Schools

July 2020 - Spirit Article