MADISON, Wis.— Madison Metropolitan School District Superintendent Dr. Carlton Jenkins on Wednesday night stood by the district’s decision to pivot to virtual learning as COVID-19 cases rise in Wisconsin.
The district announced it was making the move on December 30, days before students were set to return from winter break on January 3.
Jenkins addressed the decision Wednesday evening during a special school board meeting.
“It’s real. The health part is serious,” he said, “but so is the social-emotional impact. We do not take these decisions lightly.”
“I’ve been in this fight for a long time. It’s changing rapidly. If someone had told me Omicron was coming on, I would’ve been happy to take that information,” he added.
As a superintendent in Minnesota at the beginning of the pandemic, Jenkins said, he was one of the first educators to make the decision to close schools. He said he would have liked to make this latest decision sooner for MMSD but that the science has been changing so quickly he didn’t have that chance.
Citing the county’s 18% positive rate and at-capacity hospitals, Jenkins said it’s the district’s responsibility to keep kids, parents, caregivers, and teachers healthy.
He added that’s why the district passed a vaccine mandate for all faculty. As of December 28, 79 MMSD staff members have been terminated for not complying with that policy.
The district has also purchased N95 masks for students and staff, and district health advisors say that moving forward, masking and testing will be critical to keeping schools open. MMSD offers PCR and rapid COVID tests at 30 sites across Madison.
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Still, many parents were angry, emotional, and vocal, saying the district simply isn’t doing enough for students’ mental health.
Virtual instruction is set to begin Thursday, and current plans have students returning for in-person learning on Monday.
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