Winter break is a little longer than expected for students in the Madison school district. Last week, district leaders announced they were extending winter break, postponing classes that were scheduled to start today.
Students now have a few extra days of winter break, leaving some families scrambling. The Madison Metro School District is expected to have virtual instruction this Thursday and Friday.
No plans for in-person classes have been released yet. School officials say they hope in-person classes will resume as early as next Monday, January 10th. Another announcement will be made this Thursday.
The school board announced their decision to extend winter break last Thursday, then explained their decision at a press conference held last Friday.
Superintendent Carlton Jenkins says the extension is aimed at keeping the district and community safe from rising COVID-19 cases, citing staff shortages and the high-risk of spreading COVID-19 during the busy holiday season as other factors in the decision.
191 new cases of COVID-19 were reported within the MMSD over a two week time period in the last half of December.
Though students don’t start school until Thursday, faculty and staff were required to report back to their locations today to plan and prepare. Meanwhile, the district is still offering free meals for students during the extended winter break.
Outside of the school district, the city of Madison has also seen a drastic increase in COVID-19 cases since the holiday season.On New Year’s Eve alone, 1,890 new cases were reported within Dane County, a single-day record that was previously set and broken by the two previous days.
For more information on COVID-19 statistics, visit https://publichealthmdc.com/
