The Eau Claire Area School District Administration Building, 500 Main St.

The Eau Claire school board will vote Wednesday, Feb. 24, on a plan to bring kindergarten through fifth-grade students back into the classroom four days a week beginning April 5.

Since the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, most of the district’s 11,000 students have attended school in-person only two days a week as part of the district’s coronavirus policies. Now – like other districts in the region and state – the Eau Claire school board is considering easing those restrictions as the number of COVID-19 cases and quarantines declines. (For more details on the district’s considerations, see this article from our Feb. 25 issue.)

According to a meeting agenda posted on the school district’s website, district administrators recommend the approval of the motion. “The Administration will present its recommendation, rationale, process of decision-making, specific school and district data; furthermore, it will detail instructional model decisions, future communication, safety protocols, personnel impact, and other departmental perspectives,” the agenda states.

No specifics of the new instructional model were immediately available.

Here’s a media release from the district explaining the details of the meeting, including how members of the public can listen in and speak:

ECASD Board to Consider Expansion of In-Person Learning at February 24 Special Meeting

EAU CLAIRE, WI — The Eau Claire Area School District Board of Education will hold a special meeting Wednesday, February 24.

The purpose of the meeting is for District administration to present a proposal to increase the amount of in-person instruction for grades K-5 to four days a week starting April 5, 2021. The Board will be asked to vote at the meeting. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. and will be held virtually.

Members of the public who wish to address the board during the public comment portion of the meeting must sign up to speak. To do so, they must provide their name, address and a brief statement regarding the specific subject about which their comments pertain.

Between 6:30 p.m. and 6:50 p.m., moderators will be available via Webex chat and via voice chat for those who call in. The moderators will assist those who wish to speak during the public hearing with the logistics of using Webex. Signup for those who wish to speak will close at 6:50 p.m.

During the meeting, there will be a 30-minute period during which community members may address the board to express viewpoints or concerns on the potential expansion of in-person learning at ECASD. Each citizen will have up to two minutes to address the board, as long as they are communicating new information not addressed by a previous speaker. The board will not hear personal complaints regarding specific school personnel or others connected to the district.

If the board has received more requests to speak than time allows, the board will randomly select from those who wish to speak on the same subject.

To learn more about the special board meeting and to find instructions on how to join virtually, please visit https://www.ecasd.us/District/Board-of-Education/Board-Live-Stream.

###