APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) — In-person class started this week in the largest district in the Fox Valley.
It’s been a short school week for students in the Appleton School District thanks to the MLK day Holiday, but it’s been the first week that they haven’t spent entirely behind a computer screen.
“We’re three days in, and so far, it’s gone really, really well,” said Appleton School District CFO Greg Hartjes. “Kids have responded to all of the mitigation strategies that we’ve put in place.”
Those strategies include masks and social distancing both on the bus, in the classroom, and even while walking around in the halls. Plenty of signage around the school buildings gives a distinctly different classroom experience than ten months ago.
Ten months ago was the last time most students saw the inside of their classrooms.
“For students it’s been a little more strange [than staff],” said Hartjes. “Especially our Kindergarten students. For them, this was their first week of school.”
Kindergarten through 4th graders are in the classroom all day, five days a week. 5th through 12th grades are using a part-time cohort model, with students in attendance two days a week.
