June 22, 2021

PCSD Families and Staff, 

I hope this communication finds you all well and settled in on a great summer routine whether that is being part of our Raider Summer School program or relaxing with family and friends. As I indicated at the Board of Education meeting in May, we have information that will help you plan for school this upcoming September. Not everything is finalized, but please find the information below that will help to guide your planning. 

Face Coverings 

Face coverings will remain optional for the 2021-22 school year; both inside and outside all buildings and grounds of PCSD. We will take direction from Public Health and if there are times of needed face coverings we will communicate that with you. 

Face Coverings on PCSD Buses and Vans 

Face coverings will be required of all students choosing to use our district provided transportation, while the Federal mandate is in place. This Federal mandate has not changed. 

Cohorted Classes at the Elementary Schools 

Since masking will be optional, we will continue to cohort elementary aged students with their individual classrooms. Once the vaccine is readily available at this level we may move to un-cohorted groupings. Unlike last school year, children will move to their specials (Music, Art and PE). Recess time will continue to be in zones and lunch will as well for the cohorts. 

PCMS/PHS Student Groupings 

The district will return to larger groupings of students due to vaccination eligibility and availability for this age group (12 and older). 

Virtual Learning Option for 2021-2022 

The district has joined a partnership with the Kiel School District for Grades 6-12 for virtual learning through Between the Lakes Academy (Grades 6-8) and Kiel eSchool (9-12). We will not be offering a virtual learning option for K-5 students. More information regarding the 6-12 virtual learning program will be shared at the Board of Education meeting in June. Information will be sent to Grade 6-12 families via Skyward for the application window of June 25-July 6, 2021. Student application acceptances and denials will be communicated by July 15. 

Health Services & COVID Connection Hotline 

Student health and wellness remains a priority in the PCSD. School health services will continue to work with Public Health to update protocols and procedures this summer to reflect the changes in the mitigation strategies involving COVID-19, including quarantine. The COVID Connection Hotline (920-822-6003) will continue to be utilized. Families can call with questions regarding exposure protocols, quarantine dates and reporting of positive results. 

Breakfast and Lunch 

Breakfast and lunch meals will continue to be served free of charge for all students 18 and younger for the 2021-2022 school year. PCSD encourages families to continue to complete free and reduced lunch applications for additional resources for their students. 

Cleaning PCSD Building Spaces 

As we start to transition to the Fall 2021-2022 school year, the Pulaski Community School District will continue to update the cleaning and disinfecting protocol. We will continue to reference the CDC and Department of Health Services guidance, review updates and make changes as appropriate. PCSD will change to a light duty cleaner to keep surfaces clean and remove germs with a one-minute dwell time within classrooms and common areas. Priority cleaning will continue in all high traffic areas. 

Vaccinations and Testing 

PCSD will not be providing COVID testing or vaccination clinics. You can find information for both Testing and Vaccination within the attached links. 

Starting 2021-22 #RaiderStrong, 

Allison Space

Superintendent 

May 27, 2021

PCSD Families and Staff,

We have timely information for families involved in summer school and activities within our school community. PCSD has pivoted many times this past year when changes in recommendations or requirements revolving around COVID-19 have taken place. With our  immunity rate rising and vaccination opportunities increasing, PCSD will be moving to mask optional starting June 9, 2021, in all settings of the district (both inside and outside).

Things to Remember:

●  Masks are required on all public transportation provided by the district as this Federal mandate is still in effect. If you are riding our buses for summer school your child will be expected to wear a face covering.

●  COVID vaccination information is available here. PCSD will not be providing vaccination clinics with the district.

●  COVID-19 Testing information can be found here. PCSD also will not be testing on-site with the district.

●  The COVID Hotline (920-822-6003) will continue to be monitored over the summer. Please report any COVID-19 related illness or questions.

We anticipate optional masking for Fall, based on all the trend lines and widespread vaccine availability. A decision will be made by the end of June and communicated to PCSD families. We will continue to rely on our local and state recommendations regarding COVID-19 mitigation efforts to help with this decision for the start of the 2021-22 school year.

Working together, moving forward, remaining #RaiderStrong!

Allison Space

May 18, 2021

PCSD Families and Staff,

As we wind down the 2020-2021 school year and as we look forward to the programming and activities of the summer, I have some timely and important information to share with you. Since the beginning of the pandemic I have always maintained that when changes in the recommendations happen, we adjust our plans accordingly. Late last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced new guidelines for fully-vaccinated individuals wearing masks indoors. This most recent news from the CDC is a promising sign that we are nearing the end of the pandemic. Though a K-12 school system is different in many ways of managing a pandemic, it is important to adjust and work toward the new normal. Though we still will have mitigation measures in place there will be some flexibility in outdoor settings starting Thursday, May 20. Two frequently asked questions with important information are below.

How long do we need to wear face coverings?

PCSD will maintain its mask requirement for all staff, students, and visitors for the remainder of the current school year.  However, starting Thursday, May 20th  face coverings will be optional on all PCSD outdoor grounds with exceptions. These exceptions could include, but are not limited to, our athletics programming, music programming, all district-provided transportation and other co-curricular activities. FRCC and WIAA protocols will be followed by coaches, and athletes. Spectators at PCSD events are encouraged to wear masks at outdoor events and must wear masks at indoor events. Students in the elementary setting will remain cohorted at their recess times to ensure contact tracing guidelines are followed, but masks will be optional at their recess times.

Additionally, we will maintain a mask requirement for all indoor summer school courses as well as all indoor activities.

What will the 2021-2022 School Year look like?

The 2021-2022 school year will be a different start from where we were this last year. At this time we are extremely hopeful that masks will not be part of our mitigation plan all the

time, but more on an as needed basis. We will continue to monitor and report on health protocols related to COVID-19 through the summer months. We will continue to rely on our local and state recommendations regarding the district’s mask policy and other COVID-19 mitigation efforts to start the 2021-22 school year.

I am hopeful that by early July, we will be able to make a solid decision around masking and mitigation measures for Fall.

We have so much to celebrate as we end this year and move forward to Summer 2021. Working together, celebrating the small victories and remaining #raiderstrong!

Allison Space

May 10, 2021 

Pulaski Area Community Education (PACE) is in full swing planning and preparing for our amazing summer school program including the Red Raider Rec Program. PACE is committed to hosting our summer school program in a safe environment that has consistent and layered prevention strategies that can help our summer school stay safely in session for all students and staff. 

Our summer course offerings tend to provide smaller group options and the ability to hold more classes outdoors with the summer weather and overall structure of the program. We will continue to cohort students when physical distancing is difficult as well as other mitigation protocols of sanitizing hands (clean in/clean out) throughout the building. Face coverings will continue to be required when riding the school bus, in the school building for summer school courses and Red Raider Rec. However, face coverings will be optional for outdoor courses and outdoor activities in our PACE summer school sessions and the Red Raider Rec program. 

Despite the updated protocols for summer school, no changes will be made to the district's face covering requirements for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year. At this time, no decisions have been made regarding the 2021-22 school year due to the ever changing landscape of COVID-19, and will be made later in the summer based on guidance from the CDC and DHS. 

Continuing to be #RaiderStrong, 

Allison Space

Superintendent

April 22, 2021 

The Pulaski Community School District is dedicated to providing a safe learning environment for all students and staff. As a District, we have remained consistent with requiring the use of face-coverings throughout this pandemic. While vaccinations are underway, it’s important to continue to follow masking, social distancing, and hand washing for the remainder of this school year. Under the advisement of our health officials at the county, state and federal level, as well as working with our school nurses, face coverings continue to be an integral part of our mitigation process and will remain part of our mitigation plan through the end of the 2020-2021 school year. 

Now more than ever, it’s important that we do not let our guards down. We cannot lapse in our mitigation measures as the transmission rates for students in Wisconsin are on the rise. We have our schools open with many of our activities running. As more of the community is vaccinated, we will continue to evaluate mitigations in place, such as social distancing 3 feet versus 6 feet, and allowing additional mask breaks. With our in-person summer school back in place for 2021, we are hopeful that being outdoors more will allow for greater opportunities where students can be unmasked if they so choose. 

The District has taken a slow roll approach this school year and has been watchful for changes with mitigation measures and data that have allowed us to get back up and running in a somewhat normal manner. We will continue to approach the pandemic in this way as we move forward into our summer school programming and the 2021-2022 school year. 

Together we are #raiderstrong! 

Allison Space

PCSD Superintendent

We are aware of the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision regarding the Governor’s state of emergency declaration and related state-wide face covering mandate. 

Our district policy that all students, staff, and visitors to our buildings wear a face covering remains in effect. 

This policy follows best practices/guidance from health experts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and ensure the health and safety of our students and staff.

Thank you for your assistance in ensuring your children continue to comply with this policy as we continue to navigate through this unprecedented time. 

Together we are #RaiderStrong.

Stay well,

Allison Space

TO: PCSD Families 

FROM: Student Services; District Nurses 

DATE: February 17, 2021 

RE: Student Health 

Although our community COVID numbers are low, we are seeing an uptick in positive cases within our schools. In order for our students and staff to remain healthy and our buildings to be fully open we all must be very cognizant when it comes to our children’s health. The school district is utilizing all mitigation strategies within the buildings, and although it is frustrating for all of us when children need to be quarantined, it is one of the necessary strategies in stopping the spread of COVID-19. 

Please take note of the FAQ’s surrounding the process of a quarantine. 

How will I be notified if my child is quarantined? 

• Families will be notified by a phone call from a staff member with specific information regarding last exposure dates, dates of quarantine and date to return to school. In addition, families will receive an additional email stating your child was directly exposed to a person with a confirmed case of COVID-19 and deemed a close contact. Specific directions will be included in this letter as to what it means to be in quarantine. 

What if I am not called? 

• If you are not directly called your child has not been deemed a close contact. A general skylert will let you know that there has been a positive case within your child’s school. 

Does everyone in the household have to quarantine? 

• If your child is required to quarantine, the rest of your family including parents, siblings, and/or other household members of the exposed child (contacts of contacts) do NOT need to stay home as long as the exposed child is feeling well. If that quarantined student or anyone in the household begins to show signs of COVID-19, then household members should remain home until test results of the symptomatic person are known. 

When should my child stay home from school? 

• has any symptoms of COVID-19 
• is awaiting a test result for themselves or family member 
• has knowingly been around someone who is symptomatic or has tested positive
• has a symptomatic household 

How long is the quarantine? 

• The quarantine period is 14 days from the last exposure. The school district works in a collaborative effort with the county to determine the necessary dates. 

Can my child test out of quarantine and come back sooner than the 14 days? 

• Students may not test out of quarantine. The district requires 14 days of quarantine for each student.

What if my child already had COVID and now has to quarantine? 

• If your child has had COVID 19 in the last 90 days and there is written documentation of that, the student will not need to quarantine for the 14 days. However, if it is beyond the 90 days or there is no written documentation, the student will need to quarantine. 

How will my child receive instruction during quarantine? 

• Students who are required to stay home due to COVID-19 will receive learning and instruction during the quarantine. Quarantines will be handled similar to extended absences from school.
• For individual elementary students, resources/packets may be picked up at the child’s schools or in some cases may be loaded to Seesaw. The classroom teacher will communicate with the quarantined students regarding the instruction mode. If the entire elementary class is quarantined, instruction will be similar to when we were in the virtual learning scenario with instruction taking place through Seesaw and Google Meets. 
• In terms of students in Grades 6-12, Canvas will host the daily lessons with a student guide that lays out the specifics for students who are quarantined. The student guide will be detailed for the flow of the lesson and connect to the activities, assignments, labs, videos, readings, etc., in Canvas modules. Videos and recordings may also be posted with the student guides and modules that will help support students learning before or after the instruction. 
• For 6-8 students who are quarantined, students will be checking in for a short portion of the class period similar to Hybrid 2.0 which occurred in January when students were in virtual instruction on cohorted days. Students will join the Google Meet at the beginning of the class period using the nickname that has been previously provided by the teacher. Students follow their in-person schedules when quarantined. 
• At Grades 9-12, Canvas Scheduler will be used to set up appointments with teachers for extra support and help. If a student is unable to reach the teacher during the school day, there are paraprofessionals available each MOD of the day in their respective resource center. Google Meets can be set up for assistance. PHS staff are also available and scheduled into resource centers and may be available. For more information see Student Canvas Scheduler Video 

What if I have follow-up questions? Who do I call? 

• COVID Connections Hotline at 920-822-6003 (COVID 19 questions) 
• Building Principals (school specific questions) 

COVID Connections Hotline: 

• Questions regarding exposure protocols, test results and quarantine dates. 
• Reporting of positive results 
• Reporting of an individual with COVID-19 and considered close contact 
• General COVID related questions 

What does the PCSD exposure protocol look like?

Go to: Student Exposure Protocol.

Again, we appreciate your help in this matter. As our goal is to remain face to face with our students each and every day, it does take a collective effort to work together to make this happen. 

As always, stay well and #RaiderStrong! 

Allison Space

PCSD families,

Below is an update regarding meal service and opportunities for in-person face-to-face learners as well as our curbside opportunity beginning Feb. 8, 2021. There have been changes made to our meal opportunities, so please read carefully.

ALL MEALS are free for all students and children age 18 years or under. Meals will be free for the entire 2020-2021 school year, regardless of the learning format we are in.  

Please read through the detailed information below so you are informed on the various meal opportunities available.

Curbside meal service will be available at only one location as of Feb. 8. If you have virtual learners or if your child may be under quarantine, curbside meal service is available to all children 18 years of age and under.  

Meal service beginning Monday Feb. 8:

Traditional meal service at school will be available to all students attending face-to-face learning.

Lunch will be held appropriately socially distancing in each cafeteria.  

Breakfast K-5 will continue to be served in the classroom.

Breakfast 6-12 will be grab and go in the cafeteria and seating will be available in the commons at PCMS and in the gym at PHS.

Curbside meal service at PCMS ONLY for virtual learners or students who may be quarantined: Curbside meal service will be available at PCMS on Mondays and Wednesdays ONLY between 1:15 and 2:15 p.m.  Door 2 at PCMS will be the pick-up location. If someone is not standing outside, please be patient as they will be continually checking for vehicles.  

Sign-up is required for curbside pick up. Please sign up on the PCMS daily curbside meal form. Multiple days of meals will be distributed on Monday and Wednesdays upon pick up.  

In addition, we ask that when picking up curbside meals, that you kindly wear a mask to protect yourself and our staff working tirelessly to provide meals to your kids.  

Thank you for your support of our meal programs.

PCSD School Nutrition Department

Jan. 18, 2021

Hello PCSD families,

I hope this email finds you well.  The first week of our elementary students returning to school was fantastic!  It was wonderful to have all students and staff back in our buildings.  When visiting schools this past week the energy was uncontainable, smiles were plentiful and all were tired by the end of each day. I am sure this next week will bring the same!

As this has been a long journey of uncertainty, recently, reliable information is pointing us to an accelerated return for all students. Our burden rate numbers have begun to drop consistently, the vaccine is now being scheduled for our staff at both 1A and 1B levels and medical guidance has assured us that if our mitigation is in check and followed, all students should be safe to return five days per week at all levels. Monday February 8, 2021 all students, Early Childhood through Grade 12, will return to all buildings in face to face learning. For a short period of time, Wednesdays will have an early dismissal for the extra cleaning and continued professional development as well as collaborative team time. Dismissal times on these Wednesdays will be 12:15 at Glenbrook, 12:30 at PCMS and PHS and 1:30 at the outlying schools.  We anticipate eliminating the Wednesday early dismissals after spring break. 

With this acceleration of all students returning to face to face instruction, it is important to know there will be hurdles and challenges.  It will continue to be extremely important that you understand bringing all students back to the buildings at once means we will need to be more diligent than ever to keep our buildings open, and therefore solely for the use of our students and staff for teaching and learning.  Fundraisers, field trips, meetings, dances, concerts, weekend events, outside organizations and other activities will be decided on an individual basis but most likely not allowed for the time being.

Mitigation in all buildings will be practiced each day.  These strategies include:

• Masks worn by all in every building in the district
• Clean in and Clean out procedure when leaving and entering buildings and rooms (hand sanitizing)
• Physical Distancing of 4-6 feet in large group areas and 2-6 feet within classroom settings
• Cohorting of students at the elementary level 
• Seating charts for classroom and bus
• Cleaning high touch surfaces between classes and throughout the day 
• Contact Tracing and Quarantining of students and staff when necessary (14 days for student quarantine)

The PCSD COVID-19 Dashboard will continue to be located on our website.  You will notice that our first page, which contains our scenario transition guidance, has been redesigned to emphasize the importance that student and staff health has on our current scenario.  While we will continue to reference our community health using our PCSD burden rate, we believe student and staff health will be the most influential factor in whether a classroom, a building, or the district should need to be quarantined.  One additional change you will see are student and staff health trends that now include the percentage of students and staff absent by building.  This will be helpful in monitoring the health of each individual building.  Please note that all other dashboard pages providing county-level health information will continue to be posted.  As always, the dashboard will be updated regularly and we encourage you to frequently review its information.

Thank you for your continued support of our students, staff, and for all your efforts to help keep our community healthy.  As always we encourage you to reach out if you have any questions.

Stay well,

Allison Space

PCSD Superintendent

PCSD families,

We wanted to take some time to update you on meal opportunities as we head into our hybrid model on Monday, Jan. 11. Please read carefully as there have been some modifications since our last communication.  

A reminder that ALL MEALS are free for all students and children age 18 years or under. Meals will be free for the entire 2020-2021 school year, regardless of the learning format we are in.  

Please read through the detailed information below so you are informed on the various meal opportunities available.

Meal service beginning Monday, Jan. 11:

Traditional meal service at school will be available to all students attending face-to-face learning. Breakfast will be offered in the classroom and lunch will be held appropriately socially distancing in each cafeteria.  

Daytime curbside meal service: Curbside meal service will be available at Hillcrest, Sunnyside, Lannoye, Fairview and PCMS on Mondays and Wednesdays ONLY between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Please buzz the main office if there is no one standing curbside.

Sign up is required for curbside pick up at these locations. Please sign up on the appropriate form for the building that you will be picking up at. Multiple days of meals will be distributed one Monday and Wednesdays if needed. 

Bulk Meal pickup will be offered for two more weeks on Wednesdays, Jan. 13, and Jan. 20, between 3 and 5 p.m. Please remember to sign up here if you would like to pick up bulk meals.  

At this time, Jan. 20 will be our last bulk meal distribution date.  

In addition, we ask that when picking up curbside meals, either day time or bulk meals, that you kindly wear a mask to protect yourself and our staff working tirelessly to provide meals to your kids.  

Thank you for your support of our meal programs.
 

PCSD School Nutrition Department

Jan. 7, 2021

Hello PCSD families,

In order to maintain consistent communication with all PCSD stakeholders regarding the effort to transition to face-to-face learning as we monitor the health of our district, today we are adding a new front page to our PCSD COVID-19 Dashboard with our learning scenario transition guidance.

This page provides transition guidance for three possible learning scenarios:  Scenario A results in 4K-12th grade face-to-face learning, Scenario B results in 4K-5th grade face-to-face learning with 6-12th grade remaining in hybrid learning, and Scenario C results in 4K-12th grade in fully virtual learning.  Regardless of the dashboard, families that opted in for full online learning during the December 7-22, 2020 window will continue in that program for Semester 2 (January 25-June 8, 2021)

The guidance for which of these three scenarios the district is functioning under is dependent upon three pieces of health indicator data: community spread, staff health, and student health.  The thresholds for each of these pieces of data within each learning scenario is provided on the transition dashboard.  However, it is important to note that a data shift will not result in an immediate change in learning scenarios.  The transition dashboard is a tool for guidance and changes in data will be carefully reviewed by administration to determine the scenario that will best maintain the health, safety and educational well-being of PCSD’s students and staff.

You will also note that two health indicator data review windows are posted on the dashboard.  As each of these windows comes to a close, PCSD administration will be carefully reviewing the health indicator data to determine if a shift to Scenario A (full face-to-face learning) is appropriate.  The window for review for an elementary shift (including face-to-face learning on Wednesdays) runs from January 11th through February 8th.  The review of secondary (6-12) data for a Scenario A shift runs from January 25th through February 22nd.  If after review administration determines that the data supports a decision for full face-to-face learning, a shift will be made and further communication will be provided for families in preparation for these changes.

Detailed information on burden rates, positivity rates, student and staff positives and quarantines by building, as well as county-level data continues to be available on the other pages of our dashboard.  We encourage you to check our dashboard frequently HERE to stay up-to-date on the latest community and PCSD COVID-19 data.  

Thank you for your continued support of our students, staff, and for all your efforts to help keep our community healthy.  As always we encourage you to reach out if you have any questions.

Stay well,

Allison Space

PCSD Superintendent

With in-person learning starting again, we would like to remind all families about these mitigation measures that we have in place related to the health and wellness of your child.

Reminders:

Social distancing, or physical distancing, means limiting close contact with people you don’t live with, both indoors and outdoors. It’s one of the best tools we have to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 spreads when people are in close contact. When someone who’s infected sneezes, coughs, or talks, it spreads droplets into the air. These tiny drops may infect others by getting into their lungs. It can happen even when the person who’s infected doesn’t have any symptoms or before their symptoms begin.

Keeping a safe distance helps you stay healthy and reduces the spread of the virus. During social distancing, stay home when possible and limit gatherings. When you do need to go out:

• Stay at least 6 feet away from others who are not from your household.
• Wear a cloth face covering.
• Wash your hands well or use hand sanitizer. Clean in and clean out in all school environments.
• Try not to touch your eyes, mouth and nose.
• Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze.

FACE COVERINGS

Face coverings are required for all people, including all students, when they are inside any school environment. Students were issued face coverings at the beginning of the year and need to wear them to school. There will be face coverings on the school bus or in the main office if students do not have one on. Students that are in special education or have health concerns will not be automatically exempt from the expectations of wearing a mask. The PCSD community will work with the families on an individual basis. If you are concerned about a specific health condition, please work with our school nurses to determine the next steps. These situations will be handled on an individual basis based upon the disability needs or health impairment of the student and in joint collaboration with your doctor.

ILLNESS

We cannot stress enough the importance of keeping your child home when he/she is showing any signs or symptoms of illness. All families received a refrigerator magnet reminding you to self screen for symptoms of COVID 19 before sending your child to school.

What will happen if your child becomes ill while at school? 
He/she will be screened using the Decision Tree for People with COVID-19 Symptoms in Youth, Student, and Child Care Programs — published by Brown County Health Department and supported by local Health System Partners. This is a decision tool for schools to use to help determine suspected COVID-19 symptoms. Students will be sent home from school if they show any ONE of the following symptoms: chills or fever (temperature 100.4 degrees or higher), shortness of breath/trouble breathing, or new loss of sense of taste or smell. Students will be sent home from school if they show any TWO of the following symptoms: sore throat, unusual fatigue, cough, runny nose or nasal congestion, headache, muscle or body aches. Vomiting, diarrhea, and fever is an exclusion factor from school at all times.  If your child meets the criteria, you will be contacted by the school staff.  You will be expected to pick up your child in a timely manner and upon picking up your child, you will receive documentation of the signs and symptoms of illness observed at school.  You are then REQUIRED TO CONTACT YOUR CHILD’S MEDICAL PROVIDER TO DETERMINE THE NEXT STEPS.

Your medical provider may:

• Recommend COVID-19 testing
• Attribute the signs and symptoms to a different medical diagnosis

• Please be aware a medical note MUST be received BEFORE your child can return to school.
• If you choose not to contact your medical provider, you must quarantine your child for 10 calendar days from when symptoms first appeared and until symptoms improve and he/she is fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication.
• All siblings of the student exhibiting illness will also be sent home at this time regardless of the building that they are in.

Families are also expected to follow this same protocol before determining whether to send their children to school or keep children home if they show these symptoms. If a child is showing symptoms, please contact your health provider to determine next steps and keep all siblings home. Students who are awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test must remain home until receiving notice that their test result is negative.

Additionally, if any member of a student’s household is showing symptoms, the student will be expected to quarantine for 14 calendar days. If a member of a student’s household tests positive, the student must remain home until cleared by the local health department to return to school.

In addition, please refer to the PCSD COVID-19 Decision Tree for Schools. It will be used for close contact tracing and quarantine timelines in conjunction with the local health departments.

Please contact Student Services Nursing Services with any questions you may have at 920-822-6021.

Working Together,

Student Services Nursing Services Team

Happy New Year PCSD Families!                                January 4, 2021

I sincerely hope your holidays went well and you were able to safely gather with your loved ones! As we approach January 11 with all of our elementary students returning to face to face instruction, there are a few reminders the District would like to share with you.  

Changes/Reminders:

• January 4-8, students return to virtual learning at all grade levels. Please report sickness to your child’s school.  The COVID Dashboard is updated daily for students and staff.  Our hotline is available for any questions you may have involving COVID-19. (920-822-6003)
• January 11, students in grades Early Childhood through Grade 5 will return to face to face instruction 4 days per week, with Wednesday being a virtual learning day.
  • Wednesday, though virtual, is a new day of learning with an emphasis on literacy and math standards.  Students will also meet in small groups and receive individual instruction. Staff will be involved in professional development the last 2.5 hours of the day.  
• All mitigation strategies will be practiced throughout the district, to include, face-coverings being worn at all times except at times of eating/drinking, cohorting of our students when physical distancing is difficult, and sanitizing of hands throughout the building.
• The PCSD COVID 19 Decision Tree will be utilized for all students, staff and families to help determine symptoms, close contact tracing and quarantine timelines. The district will adhere to local and state health department guidelines. 
• Food Services will continue to offer a combination of curbside meal service as well as in person meals as we move forward.  All meals served will continue to be free of charge to all students ages 0 to 18. Please remember to sign up here if you would like to pick up bulk meals.  
• PCSD Tech help is available from 7:30-4:00 by calling 822-6070 or emailing PCSDTech@pulaskischools.org.  Need assistance with cracked iPad screens, locked ipads, forgotten passwords, internet access, or any question we are here to help.  
• All busing information will be updated in Skyward Family access by January 5.  Students will be required to wear masks and sanitize getting on and off the bus. 
• PACE before/after school programming will be starting back up on Monday, January 11. All protocols of the School District will be followed.  If you have any questions or concerns about the starting up of the program, please call Mark at 822-6051.
• January 25, students in Grades 6-12 will return in our hybrid learning model.  Communication will continue to come from your child’s building principal, about this schedule, as we move into Hybrid 2.0.  It will be important for students to view videos as well for updates from Mr. Pach and Mr. Fullerton.

In recent weeks we have seen our burden rates dropping consistently and this is encouraging as we are bringing back our students to face to face instruction.  That being said, it will be more important now than ever to maintain our diligence staying safe by wearing face coverings in public, gathering safely and reporting when exposure has happened or a positive test has occurred. Thank you for taking the steps within the community and making the right choice to create this improvement in our local COVID-19 data.  These collective actions will make our schools and community safer, and these efforts are creating the avenue for us to reach an in person learning opportunity for all students every day. This progression of moving to all students in person every day will be detailed in the PCSD Learning Scenario Transition Guidance, which will be added to our dashboard later this week.

Stay well,

Allison Space

PCSD Superintendent

PCSD families,

See below for a food service update on meal service opportunities.  This information is current as of Monday, Dec. 7, 2020.

A reminder that ALL MEALS are free for all students and children age 18 years or under. Meals will be free for the entire 2020-2021 school year, regardless of the learning format we are in.  

Please read through the detailed information below so you are informed on the various meal opportunities available in the weeks ahead.

Meal Service Monday, Dec. 7, through Friday, Dec. 11:

1.     Daily curbside meal pickup is available at Hillcrest, Sunnyside and Pulaski Community Middle School Monday between 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

2.     Bulk Meal pickup will be offered on Wednesday, Dec. 9, between 3 and 5 p.m. Please remember to sign up here if you would like to pick up bulk meals.  

Meal Service Monday, Dec. 14, through Friday, Dec. 18:

1.     Daily curbside meal pickup is available at Hillcrest, Sunnyside and Pulaski Community Middle School Monday between 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

2.     Bulk Meal pickup will be offered on Wednesday, Dec.16, between 3 and 5 p.m. Please remember to sign up here if you would like to pick up bulk meals.  

Meal Service Monday, Dec. 21, and Tuesday, Dec. 22:

1.     Daily curbside meal pickup is available at Hillcrest, Sunnyside and Pulaski Community Middle School Monday between 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

2.     Bulk Meal pickup will be offered on Tuesday, Dec. 22, between 3 and 5 p.m. Please remember to sign up here if you would like to pick up bulk meals.   

No meal service will be offered Monday, Dec. 28, through Friday, Jan. 1 — all kitchens closed. 

Meal Service Monday, Jan. 4, through Friday, Jan. 8:

1.     Curbside meal service: Curbside meal service will be available at Hillcrest, Sunnyside, PCMS between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

2.     Bulk Meal pickup will be offered on Wednesday, Jan. 6, between 3 and 5 p.m. Please remember to sign up here if you would like to pick up bulk meals.  

Bulk meal pickup at PCMS:

Bulk meal pickup form for Dec. 9, Dec. 16, Dec. 22 and Jan. 6. 

More information will be shared after the holidays regarding meal service January 11th and beyond.

In addition, we ask that when picking up curbside meals, either daily or bulk meals, that you kindly wear a mask to protect yourself and our staff working tirelessly to provide meals to your kids.  

Thank you for your support in our meal programs.

December 7, 2020

Hello PCSD Families

I sincerely hope this communication finds you well. At last night’s Special Board meeting of the Board of Education, there was a lengthy public forum around the recent December 2nd decision to return to school on December 10. A motion was brought forth to reaffirm the November 18th recommendation to remain virtual through the Holidays. The motion received a second vote and was then voted upon by a 4-3 vote in favor of remaining in the virtual environment as stated in the November 18 recommendation. This is outlined below.

I encourage parents who need support for their children to contact their building principals to support you and your family.

Changes/Reminders:

• Tuesday, December 8, small group and individual learning face to face will continue.
• Teachers will be in contact with you or your child about this schedule.
• Bulk Food Pick up will continue this Wednesday, December 8, as well as December 16 and 22.
• Wednesday, December 23 will remain a learning day for students. Students will follow their normal virtual schedule set by their teachers.
•  January 11, Students in grades Early Childhood through Grade 5 will return to face to face instruction 4 days per week, with Wednesday being a virtual learning day.
•  January 25, students in Grades 6-12 will return in our hybrid learning model. Communication will come from your child’s building principal in the near future about this schedule, as there will be changes for the second semester.
• Please be cognizant of many communications coming to you from all areas of the district. We continue to monitor the health of our community. Please talk with your child about these communications.
• Please report sickness to your child’s school. The Red Raider Health Report is updated daily for students and staff. Our hotline is available for any questions you may have involving COVID-19. (920-822-6003)

As always, we encourage you to reach out if you have any questions that you feel we can help you with.

Please continue to gather safely, wear face coverings and wash hands often. Our practices outside of school are the key to being able to keep our buildings physically open.

Stay well,

Allison Space

PCSD Superintendent

Parent Communication: Full Online Learning Opt-In for Semester 2

As indicated prior to the start of the 2020-21 school year, there would be an opportunity for students to opt-in to the Pulaski Community School District’s Full Online Learning program for the second semester (Jan. 25 to June 8, 2021).  In order to stay in the program or opt into the program, you must complete the Full Online Learning Program Form linked below by 4 p.m. Dec. 22, 2020.

What is the PCSD Full Online Learning Program?

This online program is a separate program offered to PCSD students.  It is not the face to face/ hybrid/ virtual learning scenario most students are currently participating in.  The program is as such:

Grades K-3: 

Students engage with the PCSD curriculum created and facilitated by PCSD teachers.  The PCSD teacher facilitates and works with students from across our district in English Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies using our district-adopted resources.  PCSD teachers create and post course content both synchronous (online at same time) and asynchronous (at own pace), grade student work, communicate with students and provide assistance as needed. Currently, we are planning for two sections of Kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade and one section of 3rd grade.  The teacher is from our current staffing and will cover all students who have signed up for online learning from across all five elementary schools. Each section may have a capacity of 25 students.

Grades 4-12:

Students engage in Acellus curriculum facilitated by PCSD teachers.  The PCSD teacher will facilitate and work with students from across our district in English Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies and two specials of your choice.  Our teachers facilitate the learning through the Acellus curriculum and platform by grading, assisting students with questions and doing student progress checks and connections.  PCSD teachers will not be creating course content, but will be using that of Acellus which is Common Core Standards aligned.   With the Acellus program, learning is more self-directed and self-paced with benchmarks for completion.  Each teacher will facilitate Acellus for about 50-60 students each.

General reminders for the PCSD K-12 Full Online Learning Program:

• Students are committed to full online learning for the entire semester and are not able to attend school face to face (K-5) or hybrid/blended model (6-12) or move between learning models for Semester 2.
• If outbreaks require students in the face to face or hybrid model to move into virtual learning, full online learning students will not be able to transition to the districts’ virtual learning. They will continue to learn in their online environment.
• Students will be able to use their district issued iPad for online learning.  Insurance for the iPad device for full online learning will be $25 per device or may be declined with the family assuming 100 percent of the repair cost if the device is damaged or broken. This can be paid as part of the online registration process.
• Attendance, participation and accountability checks will be enforced.  If checks are not favorable, this could result in failure of the course, partial repayment of the Acellus program or ineligibility for further online options.

What do I need to do if I want to stay in the program or transfer into the program?

You will need to complete the google form linked below for each child who will be participating in the  full online learning for Semester 2:   Full Online Learning Program Opt In Form is due 4 p.m. Dec. 22, 2020.

There are no exceptions to missing the deadline or not completing the form for each child.  PCSD will be on a tight timeline to adjust district staffing, hire online teachers, change class homeroom lists, rebuild master schedules, obtain additional licenses for the online learning program, roster students in the program, course selection for students and provide quality training for new staff for the online learning program. 

Again you should complete this form for each child if…

1.  Your child is currently in the Full Online Learning Program AND wants to continue with it for Semester 2.
2.  Your child is currently not enrolled in the Full Online Learning Program AND wants to transfer in for Semester 2.

What if I don’t do anything?

If you don’t complete the form your child will remain enrolled in our current programming for all PCSD students which will be one of the following three which is dependent on the burden rate of Covid:  face to face model (4K-5) OR  hybrid/blended model (6-12) or virtual learning model (K-12).

If you have any questions or concerns, please email to contactpcsd@pulaskischools.org

Pulaski Community School District

As mentioned in the December Start Communication dated Thursday, Dec. 3, from Allison Space, parents who are concerned about their child(ren) returning to face-to-face instruction (4K-5) or hybrid (6-12) on Dec. 10 for safety reasons related to Covid, should contact your child’s building principal so that a learning plan will be put in place for your child his will allow for the staff to make plans for those students.   

Please find contact information below:

Fairview Elementary School

Niki Napralla, nmnapralla@pulaskischools.org 

Glenbrook Elementary School 

Kurtis Sufka, klsufka@pulaskischools.org

Sunnyside Elementary School 

Marc Klawiter, mdklawiter@pulaskischools.org

Lannoye Elementary School

Jen Sommers, jlsommers@pulaskischools.org

Hillcrest Elementary School

Kris Wells, kdwells@pulaskischools.org

Pulaski Community Middle School

Pat Fullerton, psfullerton@pulaskischools.org

Pulaski High School

Jeremy Pach, jdpach@pulaskischools.org

In the email, please include your child(ren)’s name, grade level and homeroom teacher’s name.  This will allow for the staff to make plans for those students who are opting to remain home.   If you have already reached out to your child’s building principal the past two days, you don’t need to contact them again.  

Please know though that this learning plan will not be a live virtual experience for your child.  For elementary students, resources/packets  may be picked up at the child’s schools or may be loaded to SeesSaw.  In terms of students in Grades 6-12,  Canvas will host the daily lessons.  Communication will take  place between the  teacher and student  but most of the work will be self-paced or self-directed. The learning experience will be similar to when a student is absent for an extended period of time for a vacation or medical procedure. As outlined in the PCSD Board of Education policy JED,  “Class discussion, experiments, demonstrations and cooperative hands-on learning activities cannot be recaptured once they have become a part of the experiences of those present in class.”

As a follow up, more information will be provided next week from your child(ren)’s building.

Yours in Education,

Jenny Gracyalny

Nov. 19, 2020

Hello PCSD families, 

I sincerely hope this communication finds you well. At last night’s regular business meeting of the Board of Education, there was a lengthy discussion around the return to face-to-face instruction. The board voted in favor of remaining virtual until Jan. 11 for our elementary age students. Students in grades Early Childhood through Grade 5 will return to face-to-face instruction four days per week, with Wednesday being a virtual learning day.

The board also voted for students in Grades 6-12 to remain in the virtual learning environment until the start of the second semester. Grades 6-12 will return in our hybrid learning model on Jan. 25.

Communication will come from your child’s building principal in the near future about this schedule.

Furthermore, here are other reminders:

• Students who come in for individual or small group instruction Nov. 30-Dec. 4: All learning is virtual. There will be no in-person learning this week to allow families to become aware of close contacts over the holiday gatherings.
• Students who come in for individual or small group instruction Jan. 4-8: All learning is virtual. There will be no in-person learning this week to allow families to become aware of close contacts over the holiday gatherings prior to starting school on Jan. 11.
• Please fill out the survey for either student or parents on the learning platforms of face to face, hybrid or virtual. This survey is open until Nov. 22.
• Please reach out to our building principals and counselors for any support needed. It was reiterated last night that we are here to support all of our families. Please use the link provided to contact our counselors.

We continue to monitor the health of our community. Please report sickness to your child’s school. Though our Red Raider Health Report is paused for students at the moment, we are still monitoring the health of our students. Our hotline is available for any questions you may have involving COVID-19. (920-822-6003)

As always, we encourage you to reach out if you have any questions that you feel we can help you with. Please continue to gather safely, wear face coverings and wash hands often. Our practices outside of school are the key to being able to have students face to face once again.

Stay well,

Allison Space

PCSD Superintendent 

Virtual learning has been extended through Nov. 27. We wanted to provide an update reminding our families and community of meal opportunities during this time. Please read carefully as there are some modifications from our usual service dates and times.

All meals will be available to all, 18 years of age or younger, for free. These meals may be picked up by parents or guardians. Children do not need to be present. All meals need to be taken and consumed off site as there is no congregating at our District buildings during this time.

Meal opportunities Nov. 16-20: 

Option one: daily meal pick-up. We will have three meal pick-up sites: Hillcrest (main entrance), Sunnyside (main entrance) and Pulaski Community Middle School (Door No. 2).  Meals will be available Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and no sign-up is required. 

Option two: bulk meal distribution once a week on Wednesday, Nov.18, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Pulaski Community Middle School, Door No. 2. For bulk meal distribution, this form will be required to be completed prior to pick-up so we can prepare appropriately. Sign-up must be completed by noon on Tuesday, Nov.17. Seven days’ worth of meals will be provided during this time. Heating instructions will be available on our website for meals to be prepared appropriately at home. 

Meal opportunities Nov. 23 and Nov. 24:

Option one: daily meal pick-up will be available only on Monday, Nov. 23, and Tuesday, Nov. 24. Service will be between 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.  On Tuesday, Nov. 24, four meals will be provided at pick-up for the remainder of the week.  Daily meal pick-up will be offered at the above dates and times at Hillcrest, Sunnyside and PCMS.

Option two: bulk meal distribution will again be available for the week, however, with Thanksgiving, we will be holding bulk meal pick-up on Tuesday, Nov. 24, between 3 to 5 p.m.

For bulk meal distribution, this form will be required to be completed prior to pick-up so we can prepare appropriately. Sign-up must be completed by noon on Monday, Nov. 23. Seven days’ worth of meals will be provided during this time. 

Please note: There will be no meal service available Wednesday, Nov. 25, through Friday, Nov. 27. Meals for these dates will be available for pick-up Monday and Tuesday of this week.

Reminder: if you have signed up for bulk meals, please be sure to pick them up.  We have seen increased numbers of no-shows and this leads to food waste, which we do not want to see. If you are unsure if you signed up, please contact our Food Service offices. 

We love serving our community, and we want to ensure all families wishing to receive meals have the opportunity to do so.  Meals are available for children in your household 18 years old and younger. While the opportunity might exist to get more than your household’s allotted share of meals, we ask that you visit only one distribution site or select only one of the options above. This helps us ensure that there are enough meals to go around to all children. Thank you for your cooperation. 

This institution is an equal opportunity provider. 

Nov. 9, 2020

Hello PCSD families,

In order to help you stay informed about the health of our district, today we are launching the PCSD COVID-19 Dashboard.  This dashboard will be updated daily and contains several pieces of important information.

One feature of this new dashboard is a snapshot of our community’s COVID-19 data.  The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has provided specific guidance for districts to help determine the risk of introducing and transmitting COVID-19 within schools.  When the surrounding community’s COVID-19 case numbers are in the “red” threshold this risk is at its highest; when the numbers are within the “green” threshold there is a very low risk of transmitting COVID-19 in schools.  This guidance is further explained at the Indicators for Dynamic School Decision-Making site (for more details please visit the CDC webpage HERE).

The first two indicators, or core indicators, are the most useful pieces of information for gauging the level of disease activity within the community.  As noted in the recommendations shared with the PCSD Board of Education, if our core indicator data shows a seven-day downward trend starting from Nov. 4  to Nov.  10, we will begin a return to face-to-face learning with early childhood through third grade students on Nov. 16.  You can view our seven-day burden trend-line on our dashboard.

In addition to the core indicators, secondary indicator data is also provided.  The secondary indicators help to assess the severity of illness in the community and whether the local health care system can serve more patients.  These indicators are also used as guidance for decision-making.

Finally, our Red Raider Health Report has been reformatted and is now available on the dashboard.  This new format includes both the original COVID-19 health information for our staff and students by building as well as graphics that help illustrate trends in our staff and student’s health over time.  Please note that student data has been updated as of today, November 9th, after being paused during virtual learning.

We encourage you to check our dashboard frequently to stay up-to-date on the latest community and PCSD COVID-19 data.  You can access the dashboard HERE and navigate to the different pages by clicking the arrow in the lower left-hand corner.  The numbers from the previous day update nightly.

Thank you for your continued support of our students, staff, and for all your efforts to help keep our community healthy.  As always we encourage you to reach out if you have any questions.

Stay well,

Allison Space

PCSD Superintendent

Nov. 10, 2020

Hello PCSD families,  

I truly hope this message finds you all well. As stated in the Board-approved recommendations, it was necessary for there to be a downward trend to reopen on Nov. 16, this did not happen. The dashboard is found here for you to view. The recommendations, found here, also stated that if the 16th was not achieved, we would attempt Nov. 30 as the second possible reopen date. Below you will find a communication outline for families regarding the possible return to our phased approach of reopening, as well as a few updates that are important for you to be aware of: 

• We are extending the full virtual learning experience through Nov. 24. If our core indicator data shows a downward trend  (community COVID cases decreasing), students in Early Childhood - Grade 3 will return to face to face learning Monday, Nov. 30. They will attend Monday/Tuesdays and Thursday/Friday with Wednesday remaining a virtual learning day. Grades 4-12 will remain in the virtual environment. 
• An update will be given to the BOE at the Nov. 18 Board meeting of data and projected start. Family Communication will go out on Nov. 19, with any COVID-related updates from the Board meeting. 
• We continue to monitor the health of our community. Please report sickness to your child’s school. Our hotline is available for any questions you may have involving COVID-19. (920-822-6003) 

As always, we encourage you to reach out if you have any questions that you feel we can help you with. It is our sincere hope that as we continue to bring more students together in smaller groups, we will soon be able to have our students back face to face as we did in September.

Please continue to gather safely, wear face coverings and wash hands often. Our practices outside of school are the key to being able to have students face to face once again. 

Stay well, 

Allison Space

PCSD Superintendent

Free meals will continue to be offered through the 2020-21 school year.

With virtual learning extended through Nov. 13, we wanted to provide an update reminding our families and community of meal opportunities during this time.  All meals will be available to all 18 years of age or younger, for free. These meals may be picked up by parents or guardians, children do not need to be present.  All meals need to be taken and consumed off site as there is no congregating at our District buildings during this time.

Meal opportunities Nov. 3-13:  

·      Option one: daily meal pick up. We will have three meal pick-up sites; Hillcrest (main  entrance), Sunnyside (main entrance) and Pulaski Community Middle School (Door #2).  Meals will be available Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and no sign up is required.  

·      Option two- bulk meal distribution once a week on Wednesday afternoon/early evenings from 3 to 5 p.m. at Pulaski Community Middle School, Door #2. For bulk meal distribution, this form will be required to be completed prior to pick up so we can prepare appropriately. Sign up must be completed by noon on the Tuesday prior to distribution (i.e. sign up by noon on Nov. 3 for meal pick up on 11/4). Seven day’s worth of meals will be provided during this time.  Bulk meal pick up dates are scheduled for Nov. 4 and Nov. 11 at this time. 

Heating instructions will be available on our website for meals to be prepared appropriately at home.  

We love serving our community and we want to ensure all families wishing to receive meals have the opportunity to do so.  Meals are available for children in your household 18 years old and younger.  While the opportunity might exist to get more than your household’s allotted share of meals, we ask that you visit only one distribution site or select only one of the options above. This helps us ensure that there are enough meals to go around to all children.  Thank you for your cooperation.  

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.  

Nov. 2, 2020

PCSD families,

With this Skylert, please find a survey that serves two purposes: 1) Gauge the PCSD families on our return to school in November and 2) Begin the planning for full online learning for Semester 2 for those families who want to continue or opt into that option for learning.

We are hopeful that our students will return to school sometime in November, but this will be dependent on the numbers in Northeast Wisconsin and with community spread. However, we know the comfort level of families is dependent on student safety and mitigation strategies. In the survey, we are gauging whether your family would feel safe in sending your children back to school at the EC-12th grade level in the hybrid learning scenario with cohorts. We are currently working on plans for K-5, which would include a learning scenario with cohorted students in a hybrid model.

As we begin planning for Semester 2, we are gathering information for planning the FULL ONLINE LEARNING OPTION for second semester.  This survey is to obtain information in planning for a semester transition. This is NOT an official sign up. Future communication will be coming closer to Semester 2. The survey will be open from Nov. 2 to 11, 2020. Please complete the survey for each child.

As a reminder, the current plan for our students is fluid and flexible dependent on the community spread numbers within Northeast Wisconsin, ability to operate the schools with staff and safety of students and staff. Prior to moving toward our current virtual learning (which has been extended to Nov. 13), we were in the following structure (and intend to move back to this format at some point):

K-5 face to face/ virtual OR 6-12 cohort/hybrid/virtual

       4K-Grade 5 (Elementary):  Face to Face with five days in person and early dismissal on Wednesday. 

       Grades 6-8 (Middle School):  Hybrid/Blended model with students attending two days in person in A or B cohort (Monday/Tuesday or Thursday/Friday)  and three days in virtual learning.

       Grades 9-12 (High School):  Hybrid/Blended model via flex mod schedule and students attending two days in person in A or B cohort (Monday/Tuesday or Thursday/Friday) and three days in virtual learning.

In terms of our Full Online Learning Option, we offer the following at Grades K-3 and 4-12:

Grades K-3: 

Students engage with the PCSD curriculum created and facilitated by PCSD teachers. The PCSD teacher facilitates and works with students from across our district in English Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies using our district-adopted resources. PCSD teachers create and post course content both synchronous (online at same time) and asynchronous (at own pace), grade student work, communicate with students and provide assistance as needed. Currently, we have two sections of kindergarten and second grade with one section of first grade and third grade. 

Grades 4-12:

Students engage in Acellus curriculum facilitated by four of our PCSD teachers (grades 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 and 11-12 are the breakdowns for the teachers). The PCSD teacher facilitates and works with students in English Language Arts, Math, Science and Social studies and two electives. Our teacher facilitates the learning through the Acellus curriculum and platform by grading, assisting students with questions and doing student progress checks and connections. PCSD teachers do not create course content, but use that of Acellus, which is Common Core Standards aligned. Each teacher will facilitate Acellus for about 50-65 students each at the 4-12 level.

A few general reminders for the PCSD K-12 full online learning programs:

Students are committed to full online learning for the entire semester and are not able to attend school face to face (K-5) or hybrid/blended model (6-12) or move between learning models if opting in.

If outbreaks require students in the face-to-face or hybrid model to move into virtual learning, online learning students will not be able to transition to the districts’ virtual learning. They will continue to learn in their online environment.

If you have any questions about the survey, please email to contactpcsd@pulaskischools.org. Again, please find the link to Online Learning Semester 2 Survey here.

Nov. 2, 2020

Hello PCSD Families,  

As always, it is my sincere hope that all families are doing well and staying healthy at this time. As you know I had outlined a timeline in the extension communication to update you again today, Nov. 2, pertaining to transitioning from the virtual back to a form of face-to-face/hybrid  learning.  At this time, I have a few updates that are important for you to be aware of.

• We are extending the full virtual learning experience through Nov. 13 with a potential push for a cohorted hybrid model at all levels at PCSD (EC-12th grade) to begin Monday, Nov. 16. I am hopeful this will meet the needs of more families while offering a safer and slower way back to how we started the year.  Information on this will come out to families on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
• A survey will be sent to all families today as well.  The survey has two purposes. 1) to gauge PCSD families on our return to school in November AND begin the planning for full online learning for semester 2 for those families who want to continue or opt into that option for learning.
• We continue to transition students into the buildings by various learning needs.  Building principals will continue to reach out to those families over the next two weeks through email to set appointments for your child to come into the buildings for those students that have been identified as needing extra support in learning.
• Our Build a Better Raider (BBR) program is up and running and will continue. 
• Parent Teacher conferences are upcoming over the next 3 weeks.  Your child’s  building has or will reach out with scheduling information. All conferences will be done virtually. 
• We continue to monitor the health of our community.  Please report sickness to your child’s school.  Though our Red Raider Health Report is paused for students at the moment, we are still monitoring the health of our students. Our hotline is available for any questions you may have involving COVID-19. (920-822-6003)
• Stay connected this month and beyond through these unique opportunities:
  • FaceBook live with Big Brothers Big Sisters coming up soon
  • Sign up for a Front Porch Photo opportunity

The communication timeline is as follows:

• Tuesday, Nov. 10:
  • Updates and Information to families about Cohorted Hybrid model at all levels.
• Monday, Nov. 16:
  • Students transition from virtual learning to cohorted hybrid model at all levels  OR remain in the virtual learning model based on district gating criteria.

As always, we encourage you to reach out if you have any questions that you feel we can help you with.  It is our sincere hope that as we continue to bring more students together in smaller groups we will soon be able to have our students back face to face as we did in September.  Please continue to gather safely, wear face coverings and wash hands often.  Our practices outside of school are the key to being able to have students face to face once again.

Stay well,

Allison Space

PCSD Superintendent

Hello PCSD families,  

It is my sincere hope that all families are doing well and staying healthy in this time of virtual learning. As you know I had outlined a timeline in the extension communication to update you on Oct. 26 of transitioning from the virtual. At this time, I have a few updates that are important for you to be aware of.

●      We continue to transition students into the buildings by various learning needs. Building principals will be reaching out to those families this week through email to set appointments for your child to come into the buildings for extra support in learning.

●      Transportation may be provided for your child to take part in these face to face learning times. Breakfast and lunch will also be provided.

●      Our Build a Better Raider program will be reopening this week and information will be available through our athletic department.

●      Parent Teacher conferences are upcoming and information on scheduling those will come to you this week. All conferences will be done virtually.

●      We continue to monitor the health of our community. Please report sickness to your child’s school. Though our Red Raider Health Report is paused for students at the moment, we are still monitoring the health of our students. Our hotline is available for any questions you may have involving COVID-19. (920-822-6003)

●      Stay connected this month and beyond through these unique opportunities

•  FaceBook live with PACE and guests from the community on Oct 28th at noon
• Send in your Trick-or-Treat Halloween photos to be shared across the district
• Sign up for a Front Porch Photo opportunity

●      The communication timeline is as follows:

●      Friday, Oct. 30:

• Review current COVID and staffing data to determine safety of reopening to a hybrid model of instruction. (both face to face and virtual)

●      Monday, Nov. 2:

•  A decision will be made regarding the model of instruction and families will be notified.

●      Monday, Nov. 9:

• Students transition from virtual learning OR remain in the virtual learning model based on district criteria.

As always, we encourage you to reach out if you have any questions that you feel we can help you with. It is our sincere hope that as we continue to bring more students together we will soon be able to have our students back face to face as we did in September. Please continue to gather safely, wear face coverings and wash hands often. Our practices outside of school are the key to being able to have students face to face once again.

Stay well,

Allison Space

PCSD Superintendent

Oct. 16, 2020

Hello PCSD families, 

It is my sincere hope that all families are doing well and staying healthy in this time of closure. As you know, it is our goal to bring students back in a face-to-face learning model. As we keep our students in the center of all of our decisions, it is not yet feasible to do this. Our numbers in our community continue to grow and in consulting with health advisers, the health department and neighboring districts, it is in the best interest of our students and staff to remain in the virtual environment. Remember that in our original closure letter we stated we would assess the health of the community and look at the “bring us back” factors that closed us originally. Those factors are still in the high risk areas for transmission of COVID-19 in schools.

Though the Red Raider Health Report for students is currently paused during the closure period, we still have almost 200 students who have been reported in need of quarantine due to symptoms or a positive test result. At this time, we have 20 staff members who are requiring quarantine.

This letter is to inform you of the extension of the current school closure through Friday, Nov. 6, with an expected return date of Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. We readily acknowledge the frustration that many families are experiencing during this time and we want you to know that many of the factors in bringing our students and staff back to school are out of our control due to the spread of COVID-19. We have received many positive comments about the structure of our virtual learning for this fall closure versus our spring closure. Based on the changes made between the balance of synchronous (live) and asynchronous (self-paced), our student engagement and learning has increased.

We have initiated a process of defining data-based criteria for reopening our schools to in-person learning. A subgroup of the Brown County superintendents will hold its next meeting today, Oct. 16, to define reopening criteria. The superintendents have come to a broad consensus that aligning our dashboards with the same data source is an important first step.

From there, individual districts can define the points at which to shift instructional models in-person or toward virtual learning, as necessary, in response to changing community health conditions.

We understand that virtual learning can bring about stress for planning and so we would like you to have a timeline of communication for future planning.

• Monday, Oct. 26:
  • Communication to families with updates on transition from virtual learning
• Friday, Oct. 30:
  • Review current COVID and staffing data to determine safety of reopening to a hybrid model of instruction. (Both face to face and virtual)
• Monday, Nov. 2:
  •  A decision will be made regarding the model of instruction and families will be notified.
• Monday, Nov. 9:
  • Students transition from virtual learning OR remain in the virtual learning model based on district criteria.

During this virtual learning time, we appreciate the effort you as families have put forth working with your children and our staff. We encourage you to continue to reach out when you need support. As it is our ultimate goal to have all students back to in-person learning, It is our responsibility as a community and as a school district to lead by example. Collectively, by working together to slow the spread of COVID-19, we can focus our efforts on mitigating the spread and remembering we are #RaiderStrong together!

Stay well,

Allison Space

PCSD Superintendent

With the extension of the closure, we want to update you on our meal service moving forward for the next few weeks.  We are coming up on the end of October, and with the end of October, there is no school on Oct. 22 and 23.

To give our staff a much-needed break, we will not serve meals on either Oct. 22 or 23. Meals provided at Sunnyside, Hillcrest and PCMS during the day on Oct. 21 will provide three-days’ worth of meals to cover Oct. 21-23. We will resume our regular curbside service as we have over the last two weeks on Monday, Oct. 26.

Meal service will be available at the following building locations and times for the week of Oct. 19:

• Sunnyside (Main Entrance): Meals available Oct. 19-21 between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
• Hillcrest (Main Entrance): Meals available Oct. 19-21 between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
• PCMS (Door 2): Meals available Oct. 19-21 between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

*Daytime meal pick up on Oct. 21 at the above locations will include three-days’ worth of meals to cover Oct. 22 and 23.

Bulk meals (includes seven-days’ worth of meals) will continue to be available on Wednesday Oct. 21.  Sign-up is required for bulk-meal pick-up and must be completed by noon on Tuesday, Oct. 20.  Complete this form to order meals for pick up on 10.21. 

Meal service will be available at the following building locations and times for the weeks of Oct. 26-30 and Nov. 2-6:

• Sunnyside (Main Entrance): Meals available Monday through Friday, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
• Hillcrest (Main Entrance): Meals available Monday through Friday, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
• PCMS (Door 2): Meals available Monday through Friday, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Bulk meals will continue to be available on Wednesdays, Oct. 28 and Nov. 4, from 3 to 5 p.m. Again, sign up is required for this pick-up option and must be completed by the Tuesday prior no later than noon.  Here is the form for bulk meal sign up.

Thank you,

PCSD Food Services

Due to district closure and move to virtual learning, PCSD has adjusted the district calendar. 

Wednesday, Oct. 21, will be now be a Student Attendance Day Virtually rather than a Professional Development Day with No Students.  Thursday, Oct. 22, and Friday, Oct. 23, will remain as no-school days for students as indicated on the 2020-2021 District Calendar. 

Dear parents, students and staff of the PCSD, 

The health and wellness of our students, families and staff is always a top priority within the Pulaski Community School District.  In response to our ever-changing environment, we have created a hotline to address any questions or concerns related to COVID-19. This will continue to be available throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We have added the COVID Connections Hotline  (920-822-6003) to our district website.

The hotline is a confidential automated messaging system that will gather information and disseminate it to the appropriate staff member for next steps and follow-up if necessary. 

This hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for your convenience. 

Families should call in regards to: 

• Questions regarding exposure protocols, test results and quarantine dates.
• Reporting of positive results. 
• Reporting of an individual with COVID-19 or student who is considered close contact. 
• General COVID related questions.

This information is more important than ever so we can track student’s needs and support our families. This data will be used to help us continue to inform our families with the Raider Health Report and will help us make informed decisions moving forward. 

Stay healthy!

PCSD Student Services

Free Meals to be offered from PCSD Food Services

With news released regarding moving to full virtual learning at this time, we are reminding everyone of our plan for meal service available during the closure.  Meals will be available to all 18 years of age or younger for free.  These meals may be picked up by parents or guardians, children do not need to be present.  All meals need to be taken and consumed off site as there is no congregating at our District buildings during this time.

Meal Service for 9/30, 10/1 and 10/2:

Wednesday, September 30, Hillcrest Elementary will be open for meal pick up from 10:45 am -12:00 pm.  Three days worth of meals will be provided, no meal service will be available at Hillcrest Thursday, October 1st or Friday, October 2nd.

For the remainder of the week where students are not in session (Thursday, October 1st and Friday, October 2nd) meals will be available for curbside pick up at Sunnyside (main entrance) and Pulaski Community Middle School (Door #2).  Meals will be available from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. No sign up is required.

Beginning October 5th, there will be two opportunities to access meals:  

Option one- meal pick up during the day, we will have three meal pick up sites; Hillcrest (main  entrance), Sunnyside (main entrance) and Pulaski Community Middle School (Door #2).  Meals will be available Monday through Friday from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and no sign up is required.  

Option two- bulk meal distribution once a week on Wednesday afternoon/early evenings from 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm at Pulaski Community Middle School, Door #2. For bulk meal distribution, this form will be required to be completed prior to pick up so we can prepare appropriately 7 days worth of meals will be provided during this time.  Heating instructions will be available on our website for meals to be prepared appropriately at home.  

Again, all meals will be served to kids 18 years of age or younger for free.  If picking up meals during the day, no sign up is required.  If choosing to use our bulk meal distribution, please complete the form prior to pick up.  

PCSD Moves Students to Virtual Learning

Superintendent Allison Space shares a message for moving to full virtual learning. See the video here.

Sept. 28, 2020

PCSD families,

The difficult decision to move all PCSD students to virtual learning has been made. Virtual learning will begin Monday, Oct. 5, and will continue until we have a better idea of the health of our community. The decision was not an easy one and many factors went into making it, including our current community spread of COVID-19, our increasing number of students and staff who are becoming symptomatic or positive, the hospitals being close to capacity as well as the overall safety of our students, staff and community members. A timeline below is included for the transfer to full virtual learning. We do understand the great burden of closing school as families will have to make arrangements for childcare and the adjustment to virtual learning. 

I am so very proud of our students and staff. Opening our doors this fall felt like such an accomplishment. Our plan is still solid, it is just a plan better suited for a time when our community is at a healthier place. Students have done an amazing job of following the safety protocols of mask wearing, hand sanitizing and distancing to the best of their ability. Staff have been upbeat in a time that is less than normal, and I appreciate that. We couldn’t ask for a more dedicated family of educators doing whatever it takes to help all our students. It is now up to the community to work together to stay safer at home, and help mitigate the spread by pulling together so we can recover as a community and return to school. Our goal has always been to have all students back face to face and in our schools. In order for this to happen, we need you to help mitigate the spread by continuing to wear face coverings, physically distance as much as possible, stay home from large gatherings and remain home when sick.  This is up to all of us now.  

Schedule for this week: Elementary Schools

Monday-Wednesday, Sept. 28, 29 and 30: School full day, no early release on Wednesday, Sept. 30

Thursday and Friday  Oct. 1 and  2: No school for students Virtual Planning Days

Monday, Oct. 5-Friday, Oct. 23: All students move to virtual.  

Hillcrest Elementary will continue on the virtual learning schedule this week as planned previously. Following this week, Hillcrest students will be on the district elementary schedule.

Lannoye will not have school on Monday and Tuesday for teacher virtual planning and will move to virtual learning for Wednesday through Friday. Following this week, Lannoye students will be on the district elementary schedule. 

Schedule for this week: Grades 6-12 

Cohort A: Monday and Tuesday

Cohort B: Wednesday, Full Day (This is normally a virtual day for all 6-12 students but Cohort B students would be in attendance and report for a full day of learning and to gather resources for the district closures virtual learning.)

Thursday and Friday,  Oct. 1 and 2: No school for students Virtual Planning Days

Monday, Oct. 5- 23: All students move to virtual.  

Important things to remember moving forward:

Virtual learning will continue through Oct. 23 at minimum and we will re-evaluate at that point by consulting with our local health agencies and our school nurses.  

Please continue to report illness to school while in the virtual learning mode so we can monitor our health levels of students and staff.

Free breakfast and lunch will be served for all students. Communication will be forthcoming this week about pick up times.

Our online learners will continue in their learning platform and program

We will update families about the school calendar regarding Oct. 21 and 22 in the next week or two. 

Specific information pertaining to virtual learning will be sent to you from each building principal. Expectations will be shared again with you regarding virtual learning. Our Technology Department will help troubleshoot as well as provide support with hotspots for learning connectivity for any student/family who needs it.

Co-curriculars and activities at this time will be canceled during the closure time frame.

Again, I would like to thank you for your patience and support for our students and staff during this time, as they are working tirelessly to educate each student every day in whatever platform we are in. What makes PCSD so #RaiderStrong is working together, and the decisions we make in our community will affect how quickly we can get our school doors back open to serve our children face to face. Thank you for that continued Raider attitude!

Stay well!

Allison Space

PCSD Superintendent

A message from the PCSD Food Service Department,

With news from the PCSD administrative offices of Hillcrest Elementary's closure, the Food Service Department will begin offering curbside meal pick-up on Sept. 21, available at Hillcrest Elementary, for the next two weeks. These meals are free for any children 18 years of age or under.

Curbside meal service will be offered two days a week and will provide multiple meals for the week to all children.  Hillcrest curbside meals will be available on Mondays and Wednesdays throughout the building closure: Sept. 21, Sept. 23, Sept. 28 and Sept. 30.

Please see specific details listed below for meal pick-up at Hillcrest Elementary:

Where: Main entrance at Hillcrest Elementary

When: Monday and Wednesday during school closure: Sept. 21, Sept. 23, Sept. 28 and Sept. 30.

Time: Pick up will be available between 10:45 a.m. and noon on dates indicated above

All meals may be picked up for free for any children 18 and younger.  At this time, we are not requiring pre-registration for meals.  Parents and/or guardians are allowed to pick up meals for children.  

Please note, there is no congregating allowed at Hillcrest Elementary when consuming meals.  Meals must be taken offsite to be consumed.  We also remind families of proper food safety when taking meals back home; any food not consumed within 30 minutes of pick-up should be stored in the refrigerator until consumed.  Cook all hot items to a minimum of 165 degrees F and keep all cold items refrigerated below 40 degrees F and above 32 degrees F.

For any additional questions, please contact our offices at 920-822-6009.

Important Information for Lannoye Elementary families.

As we always take the health and well-being of our students and staff seriously, at this time we are implementing a building closure at Lannoye Elementary.  Please read the following information.

Sept. 27, 2020

Dear families,

This letter is to notify you that due to the increased number of positive cases and exposures of COVID-19 at Lannoye Elementary,  the building will be closed from Monday, Sept. 28, through Friday, Oct. 9, 2020.  Classes will resume face to face on Monday, Oct. 12, 2020. This closure will be for 14 days to allow for recovery of all positive cases and quarantined students and staff.  The vital functions of the building can not be carried out without a school closure due to securing staff for multiple positions within the school.

During this 14-day period, we will be moving from a face-to-face learning model to our virtual learning platform.  Virtual learning will begin Wednesday, Sept. 30, and is dependent on the health of our staff. Communication around expectations for virtual learning were shared previously via district communication.  Jen Sommers, Lannoye principal,  will share more information about the specifics for virtual learning with you on Tuesday, Sept. 29.   

We are actively working with the overseeing health department to quickly identify, notify, and quarantine any students or staff who may have come into close contact with them and who may be at risk of getting sick. This notice is part of our current District plan to mitigate risks for our students, staff, and families.  While exposure to COVID-19 can occur in any community setting, it is important for families to know when there has been a medium risk exposure brought into the school setting. Notification and information helps us continue to be diligent in our efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19 in our schools and community.    

If your child had close contact with the individual who tested positive for COVID-19, you will receive a separate letter with special instructions about monitoring symptoms, quarantining, testing, and how to keep others in your home from getting sick. The school nurse or the local health department will be contacting you with additional information. Close contact is defined by DHS as "living with an individual who is positive for COVID, coming in contact with respiratory secretions of an infected individual (coughed/sneezed on, shared glasses/food/personal items), having physical contact with an infected individual, or being within 6 feet of an infected individual for more than 15 minutes’. If you are notified as a close contact, someone from the overseeing health department may reach out to you with questions. Please assist them as they work to investigate and control COVID-19 in our school. 

The symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to the regular seasonal influenza and include fever, coughing, and shortness of breath. Some have reported additional symptoms, such as a runny nose, sore throat, nausea, lethargy, lack of appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea. Parents of students exhibiting flu-like symptoms or staff exhibiting flu-like symptoms are asked to contact their healthcare provider for further guidance.

We are closely monitoring this situation and will provide you with updates as we know more. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact the District Offices at 920-822-6001.

Sincerely,

Allison Space, Superintendent

Pulaski Community School District

Dear families,

This letter is to notify you that due to the increased number of positive cases and exposures of COVID-19, PCSD 4K programming located at Peaceful Beginnings, will be closed from Monday, Sept. 21  through Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. 4K will resume face to face on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. This will be a 14-day closure to allow for recovery of all positive cases and quarantined students and staff. The vital functions of the 4K programming can not be carried out without a classroom closure.

During this 14-day period we will provide learning opportunities for the 4K students. We will be mailing the 4K packets learning to begin Thursday, Sept. 24, but this will depend on the health of our staff. Students that receive special education services such as speech and language programming will receive a phone call from the therapist within the next few days to set up virtual services at this time.

We are actively working with the overseeing health department to quickly identify, notify, and quarantine any students or staff who may have come into close contact with them and who may be at risk of getting sick. This notice is part of our current District plan to mitigate risks for our students, staff, and families. While exposure to COVID-19 can occur in any community setting, it is important for families to know when there has been a medium risk exposure brought into the school setting. Notification and information helps us continue to be diligent in our efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19 in our schools and community.

If your child had close contact with the individual who tested positive for COVID-19, you will receive a separate letter with special instructions about monitoring symptoms, quarantining, testing, and how to keep others in your home from getting sick. The school nurse or the local health department will be contacting you with additional information. Close contact is defined by DHS as "living with an individual who is positive for COVID, coming in contact with respiratory secretions of an infected individual (coughed/sneezed on, shared glasses/food/personal items), having physical contact with an infected individual, or being within 6 feet of an infected individual for more than 15 minutes". If you are notified as a close contact, someone from the overseeing health department may reach out to you with questions. Please assist them as they work to investigate and control COVID-19 in our school.

The symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to the regular seasonal influenza and include fever, coughing, and shortness of breath. Some have reported additional symptoms, such as a runny nose, sore throat, nausea, lethargy, lack of appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea. Parents of students exhibiting flu-like symptoms or staff exhibiting flu-like symptoms are asked to contact their healthcare provider for further guidance

We are closely monitoring this situation and will provide you with updates as we know more. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact the District Offices at 920-822-6001.

Sincerely,

Allison Space, Superintendent

Pulaski Community School District

Dear Families,

This letter is to notify you that due to the increased number of positive cases and exposures of COVID-19 at Hillcrest Elementary, the building will be closed from Monday, Sept. 21, through Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. Classes will resume face to face on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. This closure will be for a 14-day quarantine to allow for recovery of all positive cases and quarantined students and staff. The vital functions of the building cannot be carried out without a school closure, as we are unable to secure subs.

During this 14-day period, we will be moving from a face-to-face learning model to our virtual learning platform. We anticipate virtual learning to begin Wednesday, Sept. 23, but this will depend on the health of our staff. Communication around expectations for virtual learning were shared previously. Kris Wells, Hillcrest principal, will share more information about the specifics for virtual learning with you early next week.

We are actively working with the overseeing health department to quickly identify, notify, and quarantine any students or staff who may have come into close contact with them and who may be at risk of getting sick. This notice is part of our current District plan to mitigate risks for our students, staff and families. While exposure to COVID-19 can occur in any community setting, it is important for families to know when there has been a medium risk exposure brought into the school setting. Notification and information helps us continue to be diligent in our efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19 in our schools and community.

If your child had close contact with the individual who tested positive for COVID-19, you will receive a separate letter with special instructions about monitoring symptoms, quarantining, testing, and how to keep others in your home from getting sick. The school nurse or the local health department will be contacting you with additional information. Close contact is defined by DHS as "living with an individual who is positive for COVID, coming in contact with respiratory secretions of an infected individual (coughed/sneezed on, shared glasses/food/personal items), having physical contact with an infected individual, or being within 6 feet of an infected individual for more than 15 minutes". If you are notified as a close contact, someone from the overseeing health department may reach out to you with questions. Please assist them as they work to investigate and control COVID-19 in our school.

The symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to the regular seasonal influenza and include fever, coughing, and shortness of breath. Some have reported additional symptoms, such as a runny nose, sore throat, nausea, lethargy, lack of appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea. Parents of students exhibiting flu-like symptoms or staff exhibiting flu-like symptoms are asked to contact their healthcare provider for further guidance.

We are closely monitoring this situation and will provide you with updates as we know more. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact the District Offices at 920-822-6001.

Sincerely,

Allison Space, Superintendent

Pulaski Community School District

PCSD parents and staff,

The Red Raider Health Report has been updated.

The district will be posting the Red Raider Health Report to share the most current information about our students and staff.

Please check this out at https://www.pulaskischools.org/reopening/red-raider-health-report

Nicole Borley  

Director of Student Services 

Title IX Coordinator

Pulaski Community School District

Hello, Pulaski Community School District families, 

We are sending out our family resource guide, once again, with our September resources for families. 

As we continue to come across new information and resources, we will communicate those items to our families.  If there are specific topics you'd like addressed or specific resources you're interested in, please do not hesitate to reach out. 

Once again, we are all in this together and thank you for all of your support in reopening our schools safely physically and emotionally.  Stay #RaiderStrong

SEL Family Resource

Lara Kuchenbecker 

Assistant Director of Student Services 

lbkuchenbecker@pulaskischools.org 

920-822-6026

Good morning, 

Late Monday afternoon, the USDA issued a press release titled, “USDA extends free meals for kids through December 31st, 2020.”

According to the press release;

“USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is extending a suite of nationwide waivers for the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO) through the end of 2020, or until available funding runs out. This includes:

• Allowing SFSP and SSO meals to be served in all areas and at no cost;
•  Permitting meals to be served outside of the typically-required group settings and meal times;
•  Waiving meal pattern requirements as necessary; and
• Allowing parents and guardians to pick-up meals for their children.

Collectively, these flexibilities ensure meal options for children continue to be available so children can access meals under all circumstances. USDA is taking this unprecedented action to respond to the needs of its stakeholders, who have shared concerns about continuing to reach those in need without enlisting the help of traditional summer sites located throughout communities across the U.S. While there have been some well-meaning people asking USDA to fund this through the entire 2020-2021 school year, we are obligated to not spend more than is appropriated by Congress.”

What this means for PCSD is that all meals served to students including breakfast and lunch will be free of charge beginning Sept. 1 and going through Dec. 31, 2020, or until funding runs out. Meals will be counted and recorded at our Point of Sale Cashier stations as students come through, but they will be free of charge. Meals picked up curbside by online learners or families will also be free of charge to anyone 18 and under.

Other important notes:

• Students must select a full complete meal for breakfast or lunch to be free.
• If a student brings a cold lunch and would like to purchase a milk, that milk will be 35 cents. For a meal to be free, the student will need to choose a complete breakfast and lunch. 
• Meals will be free to those students learning in person or online learners. Online learners may pick up free meals at Door #2 at PCMS Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. If picking up meals curbside, please complete our Google Meal order form that was previously sent out.

Other program offerings outside of breakfast and lunch:

• Snack Milk: We will continue to have Wisconsin School Day Milk available to students in K-5, however this program will still be charged based on your child’s payment status (Free/Reduced/Paid).
• A la Carte Sales: Limited a la carte sales will be available at PCMS and PHS only and will be expanded as the school year progresses. 

Please remember we are asking students to limit cash on hand transactions. We will still accept cash, however, we are asking these be kept to a minimum. 

Feel free to reach out to our Food Service Offices for any additional information at 920-822-6009.

Caitlin Harrison, NDTR

PCSD Food Service Director 

District parents and staff,

Due to Governor Tony Ever’s state-wide mandate for face coverings and additional requests for online learning, the Pulaski Community School District has extended the window to opt in for online learning to 5 p.m. Aug. 7.  In order to opt-in, you must complete the form in Skyward for each child you intend to opt-in for our full online learning.  There are no exceptions to missing the deadline or not completing the Skyward form for each child.  PCSD will be on a tight timeline to adjust district staffing, hire online teachers, change class lists, rebuild master schedules, obtain licenses for the online learning program, roster students in the program, course selection for students and provide quality training for staff for the online learning program. 

As a reminder the current plan for our return to school is as follows but will need to be flexible and fluid with guidance from the Department of Health Services and Department of Public Instruction:

• 4K-Grade 5 (Elementary): Face to Face with five days in person and early dismissal on Wednesday.  4K will not have an option to opt in
• Grades 6-8 (Middle School): Hybrid/Blended model with students attending 2 days in person in A or B cohort (Monday/Tuesday or Thursday/Friday)  and three days in virtual learning
• Grades 9-12 (High School): Hybrid/Blended model via flex mod schedule and students attending 2 days in person in A or B cohort (Monday/Tuesday or Thursday/Friday)  and three days in virtual learning

In terms of the Full Online Learning Option, we are able to provide specific information on what the program will look like for your child’s grade level.

Grades K-2: 

Students will engage with the PCSD curriculum created and facilitated by PCSD teachers.  The PCSD teacher will facilitate and work with students from across our district in English Language Arts,  Math, Science and Social Studies using our district-adopted resources.  PCSD teachers will create and post course content both synchronous (online at same time) and asynchronous (at own pace), grade student work, communicate with students and provide assistance as needed. Currently, there will be a section of Kindergarten, first grade and second grade, each with their own PCSD teacher.  The teacher will be from our current staffing and will cover all students who have signed up for online learning from across all five elementary schools. This will look similar to Spring virtual learning with changes based on feedback from Spring.

Grades 3-5:

Students will engage in Acellus curriculum facilitated by one of our PCSD teachers.  The PCSD teacher will facilitate and work with students from across our district in English Language Arts,  Math, Science and Social Studies and two specials of your choice (Foundations of Music, Discover Spanish and/or Introduction to Coding).  Our teacher will facilitate the learning through the Acellus curriculum and platform by grading, assisting students with questions and doing student progress checks and connections.  PCSD teachers will not be creating course content, but will be using that of Acellus which is Common Core Standards aligned.  The learning of students in grades 3-5 will be facilitated by one PCSD teacher.  This will look different from Spring virtual learning as it will be more self-directed and self-paced.

Grade 6-12:

Students will engage in Acellus curriculum facilitated by two of our PCSD teachers.  The PCSD teacher will facilitate and work with students from the middle and high school in English Language Arts,  Math, Science and Social studies and two electives of the student’s choice.  Our teacher will facilitate the learning through the Acellus curriculum and platform by grading, assisting students with questions and doing student progress checks and connections.  PCSD teachers will not be creating course content, but will be using that of Acellus which is Common Core Standards aligned.  Each teacher will facilitate Acellus for about 50 students each.

General reminders for the PCSD K-12 full online learning programs:

• Students are committed to full online learning for the entire semester and are not able to attend school face to face (K-5) or hybrid/blended model (6-12) or move between learning models until the start of the semester 2.
• If outbreaks require students in the face to face or hybrid model to move into virtual learning, online learning students will not be able to transition to the districts’ virtual learning. They will continue to learn in their online environment.
• Students will make a decision for Semester 2 of the 2020-21 school year at a later date.
• Students will be able to use their district issued iPad for online learning.  Insurance for the iPad device for full online learning will be $25 per device or may be declined with the family assuming 100 percent of the repair cost if the device is damaged or broken.  This can be paid as part of the online registration process.
• Attendance, participation and accountability checks will be enforced.  If checks are not favorable, this could result in failure of the course, partial repayment of the Acellus program or ineligibility for further online options.

Here are options for PCSD families which must be completed by 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7:

1. If your plans are for your child(ren) to return to school in the fall in either the face to face model (4K-5) or hybrid/blended model (6-12), then you need not do anything. Your child will be returning to school in the model that is suitable for attendance on Sept. 1, 2020
2. If during the last opt in window you completed the Skyward form and you want to continue with the full online learning you also don’t need to do anything.  You can check in Skyward to be sure that you completed the form during the last window.
3. If you opted in for online learning during the last window and you no longer wish for your child to do the full online learning and plan to do the face to face option (4K-5) or hybrid/blended learning you need to notify Sandy Boring, Technology Administrative Assistant  at sjboring@pulaskischools.org.
4. If you are opting in for full online learning during this extended window, you must complete the  Skyward form (no exceptions will be allowed) for each child(ren) you are agreeing that will be attending the Pulaski Community School District through the full online learning program.

If you have any questions or concerns on the plans not answered in our Reopening Schools FAQ, please email to contactpcsd@pulaskischools.org.