Here & Now

Wisconsin Schools Begin to Shift Gears and Resort to Online

Frederica Freyberg:

280 out of the state’s 421 school district reported plans to begin the term with some form of in-person instruction. Things are changing. Many schools now reverting to online, at least temporarily. The challenges of learning during COVID were front and center in the state superintendent of schools’ annual state of education address on Thursday. I spoke with Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor following that address. Superintendent, thank you very much for being here.

Carolyn Stanford Taylor:

You’re welcome. Thanks for inviting me.

Frederica Freyberg:

So how would you grade how this coronavirus school year is going, just a couple of weeks into it now?

Carolyn Stanford Taylor:

Well, I think we would give them an “A” for effort, because I know all of our educators and district administrators have been busy. They have not missed a beat since corona presented itself and we had to shut down our schooling in person. They have been preparing since March, getting ready for this fall.

Frederica Freyberg:

How concerned are you that several districts now have had to pull back and revert to online after positive cases have come up in their schools?

Carolyn Stanford Taylor:

That was one of the things they prepared for, for those districts who decided to go in-person. They also had other plans, so there’s a virtual plan, there’s a hybrid plan, just in case. Even though they put in all the precautions that they could have done to make sure that staff and students were safe, you don’t control all the variables. And so the planning was already in place for if they needed to close temporarily and have students go to online.

Frederica Freyberg:

Now, you say that you’ll be asking for additional funding for special education and mental health services. Why is that even more critical now?

Carolyn Stanford Taylor:

So we know that many of our students with IEPs, Individual Education Plans, need to have some services that are in person. But we also know that over a span of time, we’ve lost that contribution from our state. It has been at a high of 60 plus percent and down to 25% support from our state. And we’re trying to get that amount back up because what happens is we still have to provide those services and then districts are pinched by having to take money from the general fund that would support all kids to support special education. And so if we can make a commitment to supporting our kids with special needs, those dollars that were taken from the general fund can be replaced and districts can use those in other ways.

Frederica Freyberg:

What are you finding about how critical the needs are for mental health services at this time?

Carolyn Stanford Taylor:

We know from our youth risk behavior survey that prior to the pandemic, we had one in five students who presented with some mental health issue who had some concern around anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation. And with COVID, them being separated from friends, separated from school contact, with hunger in some instances and unemployment in families, it’s just served to escalate those concerns. So we know there was a need before the pandemic and we know there’s an even greater need right now.

Frederica Freyberg:

Addressing racism was key in your address. What is your message around equity in our schools and communities?

Carolyn Stanford Taylor:

One of the things I think we need to do is to reexamine our systems. Our system of education has been in place for years. And it was based on a certain type of student. What we’re hearing our students and our families from marginalized populations saying is that we feel disenfranchised. That the curriculum oftentimes doesn’t make me feel like I’m a part of this thing called schooling. I’m not learning about myself and my heritage. There’s not the authentic teaching and appreciation for who I am and what I bring. And I think we have to seize this opportunity, listen to those voices, look at our standards that talks about how we educate and how we talk about our history with different populations. And we have to integrate that. We have to listen to the voices of our students, of our parents and others in our community who are saying that we, too, are a part of making the future of this country great. And we have to make sure that we act on it. We don’t just listen, but we act on it.

Frederica Freyberg:

We need to leave it there. Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor, thanks very much.

Carolyn Stanford Taylor:

Thank you.