Sauk Prairie School District to remain in hybrid model

Jeff Wright, Sauk Prairie School District Superintendent, recommended to the board at their Sept. 28 meeting that they remain in a hybrid model for the time being. At the last meeting, Wright had floated a potential return to in-person classes--but it was only a draft. “We are heading in the wrong direction,” said Wright, in terms of the metrics used to determine when in-person classes can start. He noted that Sauk Prairie does have the lowest new case rate in Sauk County, however. Wright also said two classes are quarantine. Board member Dennis Virta complimented students, faculty, and staff on modeling good behavior by wearing masks. He said he hoped that behavior will be picked up by some in the area. All the board members took time to visit schools over the past few weeks, and all relayed positive experiences with the hybrid model. Dick Talmadge said, “Morale I know is not good right now,” but complimented the teachers and their efforts. Two teachers were approved for overload pay for this semester, as classes they have are equivalent to two classes. This led to the board discussing and acknowledging just how much extra work teachers are doing. Teacher Angie Schmidt had spoken at the beginning of the meeting about how much more teachers were working, struggling to find a work/life balance. Virta said it seemed teaching 37 students virtually “is the same” as teaching 25 in-person. Middle School Principal Ted Harter challenged that assertion, saying online teaching might be harder. A teacher then spoke explaining that in-person and online teaching were “different,” as opposed to one being harder than the other.