COVID-19 Communications 2020-21

Dear HSSD Families,

Summer school is in full swing! The sights and sounds of students coming together in the halls and fields of our schools inspires our preparations for the fall. As indicated in my last communication June 3, I am writing today to provide updates regarding details for the start of the school year in September. Please review the information below to assist in your planning.

Face Coverings

As has been the recommendation for summer school, face coverings will remain optional for students and staff for the 2021-22 school year. Any future potential changes to this protocol will be informed by public health officials and the HSSD Medical Health Advisory Team.

Please note: a face covering requirement will remain in effect for students who choose to ride the bus. The federal mandate that applies to public transportation has not changed at this time. We will update this protocol based on the latest federal requirements as they are determined.

Bay View and Bay Port Schedules

As has been previously communicated, Bay View and Bay Port will not continue the block schedule format used last year during the pandemic and will return to schedules similar to those in place when we began the 2019-20 school year, prior to the pandemic. Minor adjustments to those schedules and related updates will be communicated directly to families by Principals.

Lineville Arrival and Dismissal Times

Similarly, the arrival and departure times at Lineville will revert to their prior schedule, after a one-year adjustment due to the pandemic. The Lineville school day will begin at 8:25 a.m. and students will be dismissed at 3:08 p.m. for the 2021-22 school year.

Virtual Learning Option

HSSD will offer an all-virtual learning option for students in grades K-8. If you missed the sign-up period, please contact Becky Zimmer at 920-662-7729 by July 12, 2021 to discuss scheduling options.

School Nutrition Updates

Breakfast and lunch will continue to be served free of charge for all students ages 18 and younger for the 2021-22 school year. Visit the School Nutrition website for information regarding the summer meal program and additional resources for families eligible for free and reduced lunch.

Exposure Protocols and COVID-19 Hotline  

HSSD will maintain its COVID-19 exposure, quarantine, and contact tracing protocols for the start of the 2021-22 school year. The procedures outlined on the HSSD website have been updated throughout the year to reflect the latest guidelines for individuals depending on the nature of their exposure and their vaccination status. 

The HSSD COVID-19 hotline (920-662-7233) will be available for families and staff weekdays throughout the summer and seven-days-a-week in the fall for reporting COVID-19 positive test results and asking questions regarding possible exposure and symptoms. The district will no longer be using the Frontline App for symptom tracking and reporting effective June 30, 2021.

Cleaning Protocols

HSSD will maintain its practice of daily cleaning and disinfection in accordance with the latest CDC and Department of Health Services guidelines. We will continue to review and adapt these practices as appropriate.

Survey Results

The Board of Education received a report from the recent COVID-19 response and planning survey. We appreciate that more than 1,600 individuals responded. The survey results report to the Board can be viewed on the HSSD COVID-19 website. 

COVID-19 Testing

HSSD will continue to refer staff and families to local health care providers for COVID-19 testing, as had been the practice last school year. There are no plans at this time for school-based COVID-19 testing.

Vaccination Clinic at Bay Port 

The final day of the COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Bay Port was June 26. We are thankful for the partnership with Prevea, and I am pleased to report that more than 100 students, staff, and community members visited the clinic for voluntary vaccination.
 

Thank you for taking the time to read this important message. The HSSD COVID-19 website is the best place to view timely updates as planning for fall continues throughout July and August. 

In case you missed it, we had amazing weather for the Class of 2021 Commencement ceremony outdoors at the Bay Port High School stadium on June 13. Check out the photo gallery on the HSSD Facebook page and join in the celebration of our 484 graduates!

With Independence Day approaching, please accept my best wishes for a joyful and relaxing holiday weekend.

With Unity,

Damian LaCroix
Superintendent
damilacr@hssdschools.org
920-662-8103

Results from the June 2021 COVID-19 Response and Planning survey were presented to the Board of Education Monday, June 21. Click here to view the survey results.

Dear Howard-Suamico School District Families and Staff:

Thank you for your patience, endurance, and support in working together during this remarkable school year. As the Howard-Suamico School District continues its planning for next fall, the district would like your thoughts about our current COVID-19 safety protocols and input regarding 2021-22. 

To measure changes in opinion, some of the questions within are aligned to prior questionnaires conducted by the district during the last 15 months.

This brief questionnaire will be open from June 10 through noon on June 17, 2021. It is being conducted by the Donovan Group, an independent third party. All responses are anonymous. Click here to complete the survey.

Thank you in advance for your participation. Please accept my best wishes for a restful and rejuvenating summer.

With Unity,

Damian LaCroix, Superintendent
Howard-Suamico School District 

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

As we approach our final day of school next Wednesday, I am writing today to provide an update regarding a mask recommendation for HSSD summer school Session 1 beginning June 14. We will pivot from our prior expectation of a mask requirement to a new recommendation that masks are strongly encouraged, but not required, for students and staff for both summer school sessions. Please note: in accordance with federal guidelines, a mask requirement will remain in effect for summer school students while riding the bus.

The HSSD Medical Health Advisory Team convened last night for the second of eight scheduled meetings. The team includes parents who are medical health professionals, Board of Education members, and school district personnel. They reviewed community health data regarding COVID-19, including recent HSSD data that has demonstrated a noticeably positive trend since the group’s first meeting. The team also discussed recent recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

I asked the team to react to the proposed change in the district’s mask requirement. Thoughtful discussion noted the improved local data, increasing number of vaccinations, other mitigation strategies remaining in place (e.g., quarantining, contact tracing, physical distancing, air filtration, etc.) and an important consideration that the district maintains the right to reverse course regarding masks if local health conditions significantly change.

We are grateful for the recent positive data trend and these related facts: 

• There are no COVID-19 positive cases reported among HSSD students in more than two weeks. 
• There are no COVID-19 positive cases currently reported among HSSD staff. 
• There are fewer than 20 students and staff who are in quarantine due to possible COVID-19 exposure or symptoms.

Updates for 2021-22 School Year

We are finishing strong and preparations and planning are underway for the fall. Expect all students in grades K-12 to attend full days, five days per week, beginning in September. Related updates on COVID-19 safety mitigation plans for the 2021-22 school year (masks, physical distancing, etc.) will be shared by June 30. School-specific schedule updates will be forthcoming from Principals later this summer.

COVID-19 Response Survey

Please look for an email invitation next week for families and staff to participate in a short COVID-19 response survey. This feedback will enable us to evaluate processes and procedures from this past school year - and help inform decisions moving forward. The district is working with the Donovan Group, an independent third-party, to administer the survey and report results.

COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic at Bay Port 

There are appointments available for the Prevea COVID-19 vaccination clinic hosted at Bay Port High School Saturday, June 5. This is completely voluntary and optional for students age 12 and older (with parent permission), families, staff, and residents. Click here for more details and to register.

Thank you for taking the time to read this important update. I extend personal best wishes for a positive finish to the school year and an enjoyable summer.

With Unity,

Damian LaCroix
Superintendent
damilacr@hssdschools.org
920-662-8103

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

Students, families, and staff of the Howard-Suamico School District are invited to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in collaboration with Prevea Health. You do not need to be a Prevea patient to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at the Bay Port vaccination clinic.

The COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic with Prevea Health will be located at Bay Port High School, 2710 Lineville Road, Green Bay. Please use the main entrance doors and proceed to registration.

First dose of Pfizer - Saturday, June 5, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Second dose of Pfizer - Saturday, June 26, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Appointments are recommended; limited walk-ins available. Masks are required. Please bring your insurance card. To schedule an appointment, visit: myprevea.com or call 1-833-344-4373

Please note

• Individuals who are 12 to 15 years of age must have a parent/guardian present for both doses.
• Individuals who are 16 or 17 years of age are required to have parent/guardian consent to receive vaccination. In the event that a parent/guardian cannot be present, a consent form must be signed and brought to both doses.
• There is no cost for the vaccine and immigration status is not needed. Translation device will be available. 
• For more information, visit: prevea.com/vaccine.

Resources

Vaccine scheduling and appointment information
Consent form for 16 and 17 year-old minors

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

As we enter the home stretch of the 2020-21 school year, I am writing to share some timely and important updates.

Medical Health Advisory Team

On Wednesday, May 12, the newly-formed HSSD Medical Health Advisory Team convened for the first of eight scheduled meetings in 2021. The role of the team is to help inform important upcoming decisions related to the health, safety, and wellness of students and staff. I am grateful for the volunteer efforts of the medical professionals on this team from all three major health systems in Northeast Wisconsin, most of whom are HSSD parents. Board of Education members Chrissy Amtmann, who is also a pediatric nurse, and Vanessa Moran are serving as Board liaisons to the team. Medical Health Advisory Team members, meeting agendas, and minutes can be viewed on the HSSD website.

Mask Requirements for Remainder of School Year and Summer School 

The advisory team endorsed HSSD maintaining its mask requirement for all staff, students, and visitors for the remainder of the current school year. 

Additionally, the team supports maintaining a mask requirement for all indoor summer school courses during Session I, June 14 - July 2, and supports an optional mask recommendation, rather than a requirement, for outdoor summer school courses in both sessions. Session II (July 6-23) indoor mask expectations will be communicated later in June. 

Further, masks are strongly suggested, rather than required at outdoor athletics events and our Bay Port Class of 2021 graduation ceremony June 13. If graduation is held inside due to inclement weather, however, masks will be required for participants and spectators. 

Yesterday afternoon, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced new guidelines for fully-vaccinated individuals wearing masks indoors:

Fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance in any setting, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance. 

This is excellent news and a welcome sign of progress. The Medical Health Advisory Team will review the implications of this update for HSSD students and staff at its next meeting.

Looking Ahead to 2021-22

As the Medical Health Advisory Team continues to monitor and report on evolving health conditions related to COVID-19 through the summer months, I will ask for its recommendation regarding the district’s mask policy and other COVID-19 mitigation efforts to start the 2021-22 school year.

To be clear, no decision has been made to date regarding a mask requirement for next September. I am aware of rumors on social media that a decision has already been made regarding a mask requirement next fall. These rumors are false. I anticipate a recommendation and decision by early July regarding masks being required or optional for students and staff next year.

COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic at Bay Port 

Based on interest and inquiry from our student leaders at Bay Port High School, an optional COVID-19 vaccination clinic for HSSD students and families will be hosted in partnership with Prevea on Saturday, June 5 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. (for first doses) and Saturday, June 26 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. (for second doses). Informational sessions led by Bay Port students and details regarding an online registration process will be shared with families when available. Please note: parent/guardian attendance and permission will be required for vaccinations for students ages 12-15. For students ages 16-17, only a signed parent permission form will be necessary.

Updated COVID-19 Quarantine Protocols Posted Online

The HSSD COVID-19 exposure protocols have been updated online to reflect new, less restrictive quarantine guidelines for vaccinated individuals. Please refer to these protocols if you have a question, or call the HSSD COVID-19 hotline at 920-662-7233.

In closing, please accept my gratitude for more than 1,000 thank you notes sent to our teachers and staff by students, parents and community members as part of the Howard-Suamico Education Foundation Giving Gratitude campaign. If you missed it, here is a link to view a highlight video. Your support for our staff - especially this year - is deeply appreciated.

With Unity,

Damian LaCroix
Superintendent
damilacr@hssdschools.org
920-662-8103

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

With long-awaited warmer weather and the official first day of Spring on March 20 comes the excitement for outdoor activities and our upcoming Spring Break. Tuesday was the best and brightest day of 2021 so far, and we are grateful for the residents who joined us at the first of three Community Information Sessions for the upcoming HSSD referendum. There will be two more in-person sessions at the Bay View Middle School Auditorium Thursday, March 18 at 6 p.m. and Wednesday, March 31 at 8 a.m. We will also have an online webinar version of the information session available for viewing on the HSSD website next week.

Thank you for your ongoing interest and engagement. Please review the important updates below.


Referendum Updates

• Tuesday, March 16 marks the beginning of early voting for local public offices and the HSSD referendum. Visit our website for more information on the referendum and how to request an early voting ballot.
   
• Beginning tomorrow, HSSD will publish a weekly referendum email update for families and staff each Friday. Our goal is to keep you connected to up-to-date information and answer questions related to the referendum.

Calendar, Commencement, and Summer School

• Don’t forget! Turn your clocks ahead one hour for Daylight Saving Time beginning Sunday, March 14.
   
• A reminder: March 19 and April 5 will be no-school days for students in grades K-6.
   
• Following Spring Break March 29-April 2, students in grades 7-12 attending in person will return to school Monday, April 5 and students in all grades attending in person will return Tuesday, April 6.
   
• The 2021-22 HSSD school calendar has been released and is posted on the district website.
   
• To support our planning and staffing for the 2021-22 school year, we are asking families with students entering grades K-8 next fall to complete a brief questionnaire to indicate potential interest in a new K-8 virtual learning program or a K-6 project-based learning program. Responses are due by March 22. 
   
• Graduation update: Discussions with Bay Port administration are in progress regarding the HSSD commencement ceremony scheduled for Sunday, June 13, 2021. Look for more details to come in the near future.
   
• HSSD is planning in-person and virtual options for Summer School. More information regarding registration and class options will be available in April. Ongoing updates will be posted on the HSSD Summer School website.

COVID-19 Reminders

• All students and staff should continue to use the Frontline screening app each day before arriving at school. Directions for download and use are linked on the HSSD website. This is an essential component of our in-person learning plan and your participation is important.
   
• Please use the HSSD COVID-19 Hotline (920-662-7233) for questions or to report COVID-19 exposure and COVID-19 test results. The hotline voicemail is monitored daily by our student services and organizational development team members. Working in tandem with the District’s exposure protocols, our hotline is a valuable resource for understanding how COVID-19 exposure or a positive test result will affect your family. The best way we can reduce the possibility of school-based COVID-19 exposure is to keep students home from school when they are sick.

With COVID-19 vaccinations now available for our staff, please join me in sharing appreciation for our local medical providers and health care workers as they engage in this enormous logistical undertaking. We are grateful for the role they play in keeping our schools safely open for in-person learning.
 

With Unity,

Damian LaCroix
Superintendent
damilacr@hssdschools.org
920-662-8103

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

As we begin the second semester and look ahead to February, I am writing to provide important updates based on the January 25 Board of Education meeting and related planning meetings that followed.

Beginning Monday, February 15, HSSD will return to daily in-person learning options for all students according to the grade-level specific schedules below. In addition to the following in-person options, virtual learning options at home will also remain available for any interested student for the rest of the 2020-21 school year. School-specific details for families and staff will be provided by Principals in the days leading up to February 15.

Schedules Beginning Monday, February 15:

• 4K students will continue their current schedule, daily in-person Monday-Thursday
• Grade K-4 students will continue their current schedule, daily in-person Monday-Friday
• Grade 5-6 students at Lineville will change to a daily in-person schedule Monday-Friday
• Grade 7-8 students at Bay View will change to a daily in-person schedule Monday-Thursday
• Grade 9-12 students at Bay Port will change to a daily in-person schedule Monday-Thursday

Fridays at Bay View will be virtual learning days for students, with some in-person opportunities based on qualifying need and interest. Look for additional details tomorrow in a message from Bay View Principal Steve Meyers. 

At Bay Port, students are strongly encouraged to attend school on Fridays in person and/or virtually. Fridays will continue to be PIRATE Time days with in-person learning opportunities for all students throughout the day. Please discuss these opportunities offered through Edficiency with your child. Look for additional details tomorrow in a message from Bay Port Principal Mike Frieder. 

Fridays will also serve as professional development and collaboration days for grade 7-12 staff. In order to continue providing simultaneous in-person and virtual learning options for the remainder of the year, this weekly time is for teachers to collaborate and plan. 

Additionally, grade K-6 staff will have professional development days scheduled monthly on the following dates: February 12, March 19, April 5, and May 7. These will be no-school days for students in grade K-6.

Updates

• Families of Bay View and Bay Port students should look for an email update from school Principals Friday, January 29, regarding the option to register for virtual learning for the remainder of the school year. Students who are not registered for virtual learning will be expected to be physically present at school for in-person learning on February 15.

• With the transition, a common question relates to physical distancing at school. Based on the size of the classroom and the number of students in the class, students will be physically distanced to the extent possible. Additionally, we will strive to socially distance in other school settings.
  
  To be clear, maintaining six feet of distance between individuals in some spaces and at some points throughout the school day will not be feasible.

• Due to the transition, bus routes for Lineville, Bay View, and Bay Port are being recalculated. School Principals will send out a more information regarding transportation in the coming days. Please note that there will be an increased occupancy on our grade 5-12 buses. We do not anticipate any bus occupancy changes for students in grade K-4.

• All students are eligible to continue receiving no cost breakfast and lunch in and out of school. Meals-to-go continue to be available at Bay View, Bay Harbor, and Meadowbrook on Fridays. Visit the HSSD COVID-19 website for details.

• Parent/Teacher conferences will take place virtually beginning the week of February 22. More information will be forthcoming from your school Principal regarding sign up for virtual conferences.

• The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has announced that all K-12 teachers and school staff will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination tentatively beginning March 1. Our healthcare partner, Bellin Health, has the employee information it needs to expedite vaccination for eligible and interested HSSD staff at the designated time. I am pleased to report that 74 HSSD staff members who provide medical and related therapies at school have been determined to be eligible and have already been offered to receive the vaccine based on their Phase 1A designation.

Ongoing Reminders

• All students and staff should continue to use the Frontline screening app each day before arriving at school. If you have not already done so, directions for download and use are linked on the HSSD website. This is an essential component of our in-person learning plan and your participation is important.
• Please use the HSSD COVID-19 Hotline (920-662-7233) for questions or to report COVID-19 exposure and COVID-19 test results. The hotline voicemail is monitored daily by our student services and organizational development teams. Working in tandem with the District’s exposure protocols, our hotline is a valuable resource for understanding how COVID-19 exposure or a positive test result will affect your family.

• The CDC cites five mitigating strategies which HSSD will continue to employ and we encourage our families and staff to follow in any public setting: 1.) consistent and correct use of masks; 2.) social distancing to the extent possible; 3.) hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette; 4.) cleaning and disinfection; and 5.) contact tracing in collaboration with the local health department.

Thank you for your continued engagement and commitment to our students, staff, and each other throughout this challenging school year. Truly, our collective success depends on our collective will to work cooperatively together as a community to overcome these ongoing challenges.

With Unity,

Damian LaCroix
Superintendent
damilacr@hssdschools.org
920-662-8103

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

With the start of something new comes the hope of something great.

As we contemplate the beginning of a new calendar year, further steps in our transition back to in-person learning lie ahead. Following a planned virtual learning buffer after the holiday break, we will resume our September schedule for HSSD students learning in-person beginning Monday, January 11. Grades 4K-4 will have a regular in-person daily schedule and grades 5-12 will resume in a blended virtual and in-person schedule. Principals have communicated schedule details unique to each of our schools.

We will apply what we have learned from these transitional steps to develop and communicate our plans for an all-day, every-day in-person learning option for students in the near future. Important work remains in front of us. The continued partnership of our families and community is crucial to maintaining safe environments for our students and staff.

Reminders:

• All students and staff should continue to use the Frontline screening app each day before arriving at school. If you have not already done so, directions for download and use are linked on the HSSD website.
• We have updated our COVID-19 Exposure Protocols document to reflect the new CDC guidance for 7 and 10-day quarantines when certain conditions have been met. 
• Please use the HSSD COVID-19 Hotline (920-662-7233) for questions or to report COVID-19 exposure and COVID-19 test results. The hotline voicemail is monitored daily by our student services and organizational development teams. Working in tandem with the exposure protocols, our hotline is a valuable resource for understanding how COVID-19 exposure or a positive test result will affect your family.
• The CDC cites five mitigating strategies which HSSD will continue to employ and we encourage our families and staff to follow in any public setting: 1.) consistent and correct use of masks; 2.) social distancing to the extent possible; 3.) hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette; 4.) cleaning and disinfection; and 5.) contact tracing in collaboration with the local health department.

In closing, as a history teacher and citizen, I am deeply troubled by the violence, death, and destruction at the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Virtue, civility, the rule of law, and a peaceful transition of power are hallmarks of our constitutional republic. Sadly, some did not live up to these basic expectations earlier this week. I am equally moved, however, by the leadership demonstrated in the wake of the violence, including our educators’ efforts to provide context, a forum for discussion, and a comforting, listening ear for concerned students. As this community seeks to support our students in processing recent events, please accept this link to resources posted on the HSSD website to guide conversations with your children.

In his last public speech, Patrick Henry declared, "Let us trust God, and our better judgment to set us right hereafter. United we stand, divided we fall. Let us not split into factions which must destroy that union upon which our existence hangs." May we consider this historical statement as we soberly reflect on the lessons of Wednesday - and embrace the challenges and opportunities of 2021.

With Unity,

Damian LaCroix
Superintendent
Howard-Suamico School District
damilacr@hssdschools.org
920-662-8103

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

I am pleased to report progress toward our goal of students returning to in-person learning. As I visited our eight schools on Monday, I saw happy masked faces among our students and our staff. I also appreciated a number of thoughtful conversations about our next steps. I observed optimism that planning and preparation are allowing us to serve students in-person to the best of our ability. I am filled with gratitude for all my colleagues who made this challenging transition possible. Relatedly, I appreciate the messages of support for our teachers and staff that families have shared with me this week. Our work is not done.

Additionally, please accept my sincere thanks for your attention to the items highlighted in a message last week from our Student Services and Organizational Development teams. Use of our Frontline screening app is at a high point, and your feedback on clarity and usability led to updates to the app this week. Please continue using this resource each day your children are attending school in person. Families and staff are also using our COVID Hotline (920-662-7233) to ask questions and provide updates that allow us all to stay safe and informed. We continue to maintain current COVID-19 data regarding HSSD and Brown County on our website.
 

Updated Exposure Protocols

It is important for you to know that in our ongoing meetings with the Brown County Health Department, we are learning about recommended changes to the CDC COVID-19 exposure and quarantine guidelines. You may have heard recent reports in the news on this topic. There will be updates to the HSSD COVID-19 Exposure Protocols in place for January 2021 regarding newly-advised 7, 10, and 14 day quarantine periods depending on individual circumstances. However, for the final seven school days of the calendar year, HSSD will maintain our current protocols when contact tracing and when advising hotline callers.
 

Related Updates

It is encouraging to observe the decrease in COVID-19 community burden rate and improving hospitalization data on our HSSD dashboard. That said, it is more important now than ever to maintain our diligence staying safe by wearing face coverings in public and planning holiday gatherings that will limit the chance of spreading the virus. Steps we have taken as a community and choices we make as individuals have produced recent improvement in local COVID-19 data. Our collective actions have made our schools and community safer. Now is the time to maintain our focus so HSSD can provide an all-day, every-day learning option for each of our students as soon as safely possible. Keep up the good work!

I look forward to providing further updates on our progress next week before our winter break. In closing, please continue to join me in supporting your students and our staff during this time of transition. Throughout the district this week responsiveness, compassion, and thoughtful professional preparation were on display. Together we enabled our younger students to return to safe and caring schools. I am excited for our Bay View and Bay Port students to share the same opportunity on January 11. Keep On!
 

Together,

Damian LaCroix
Superintendent
Howard-Suamico School District
damilacr@hssdschools.org
920-662-8103

P.S. Thank you to all who have completed the Board of Education referendum planning survey and thank you for encouraging your neighbors, friends, and family who are Howard or Suamico residents to participate. The Board and its Community Task Force look forward to survey results informing next steps in a planning process. The survey remains open for responses until Wednesday, December 16 at noon. Click here to participate in the survey. 

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

Continuing to follow best practices for COVID-19 safety will support our ability to remain learning in person while providing essential learning services for our students. In preparation for 4K-6th grade students returning to schools next week, December 7, please review this important update regarding safety protocols and procedures.  

• Frontline App: Before students and staff return to in-person learning, please ensure you can successfully login and complete the COVID-19 screening app (questions have been updated). Directions for app set-up can be found on the HSSD website (scroll to bottom of page). If you require assistance, please fill out this Google form and a representative from our team will respond. Enhanced monitoring of screening submissions will be taking place in our return to in-person learning and your support is essential for safety and success.
   
• HSSD COVID-19 Hotline: To confirm accurate attendance, contact tracing, and quarantine procedures, please call the COVID-19 Hotline 920-662-7233 (662-SAFE) to ask COVID-19 related questions and to report potential exposures, pending test results in the household, and positive test results. A representative from the Student Services team or Human Resources team will respond to you promptly and confidentially. Your participation and ongoing communication is essential for safety and success.
   
• Face Coverings: Face coverings continue to be required in all school buildings and busses. Please visit the HSSD website for guidelines or click here for a visual reference.  Your participation and ongoing compliance is essential for safety and success.
   
• Close Contacts: To reduce quarantining due to close contact with a positive COVID-19 case, schools are re-examining learning spaces and adjusting (where possible) to increase distance between students and staff. In past cases involving contract tracing, close contacts were most prevalent in situations involving: A) eating (snack breaks and lunch) together within six feet; B) carpooling to and from school; C) small group work; or D) meetings. While our contact tracing process at school is continually assessed and adjusted based on updated guidance, it is important to note that most close contacts traced in September happened outside of HSSD school buildings. Your participation and ongoing cooperation is essential for safety and success.
   
• Updated COVID-19 Exposure Protocols: HSSD COVID-19 protocols are continually updated and reviewed based on guidance from the CDC, Brown County Health Department, and medical partners. Please review the latest protocols on our HSSD website. Please keep your children home if they are not feeling well and call the HSSD COVID-19 Hotline. Your participation and ongoing partnership is essential for safety and success.  

Thank you in advance for your help. With your participation, we can return students to school and create a more safe and supportive learning environment for everyone. We look forward to welcoming our students back to campus next week!

Sincerely,

Jennie Garceau
Executive Director of Student Services
920-662-7881
jenngarc@hssdschools.org

Elisia Lewis
Director of Human Resources
920-662-7710
elislewi@hssdschools.org

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

As we conclude American Education Week, I am writing today with appreciation for your feedback on HSSD’s return to in-person learning plan. I am pleased to report the impressive participation of more than 4,000 students, staff, and families completing our Virtual Learning survey (summary and results posted online); as well as the continued engagement of the Board of Education and insights from Bellin Health during Board meeting Monday, November 16. Additionally, more than 400 staff members joined me online yesterday afternoon for an informational update and question-and-answer meeting. I have been reminded this week how invested our learning community is in its schools - and how much it demonstrates care through active participation. Thank you. 

Based on direction from the Board of Education, input from medical professionals, and data provided by surveys, adjustments have been made to our phase-in plan that I am excited to share today. While lengthy, please carefully read the information below.

Context

An updated plan was reviewed by Board of Education members during the time leading up to this communication. The plan outlined represents the best blend of:

1. Getting students back to in-person learning sooner than originally projected; 
2. Preparing staff for a major transition back and establishing the conditions for long-term success; 
3. Communicating with families and staff in advance so preparations can be made following Thanksgiving; 
4. Enabling time to survey families to select individual preferences for online learning; 
5. Providing time to survey staff and provide consultation with those who express legitimate reasons for potential alternate placements; 
6. Enhancing safety protocols, including expanded contact tracing capacity and staff COVID-19 testing through our partnership with Bellin Health.

Timeline

Nov. 23: Students in grades 7-12 will be able to participate in school-based academic and co-curricular activities with safety protocols in place. These activities integrate in-person learning and connection at school on a limited and small group basis. At the middle and high schools these activities include: academic support meetings with teachers and staff; modified club meetings; performing and fine arts lessons; labs; workshops; classroom access; athletics practices; and facilities use. Additional details for participating will be shared by your school principals, coaches, and advisors.

Dec. 7-18: Grades K-6 return to in-person learning using an every-other-day rotation for two weeks before Christmas. For grades K-4, students with last names beginning with A-L will attend in-person on Monday and Wednesday both weeks as well as Friday, December 11 (Note: December 11 is no longer a professional development day for staff). Students with last names beginning with M-Z will attend in-person Tuesday and Thursday both weeks as well as Friday, December 18.

For grades 5-6 at Lineville, students with last names beginning with A-L will attend in-person on Monday and Wednesday both weeks and students with last names beginning with M-Z will attend in-person Tuesday and Thursday both weeks. Friday, December 11 and Friday, December 18 will be virtual learning days for all Lineville students.

4K resumes regular in-person schedule both weeks.

• What is new: We are providing every-other-day in-person attendance option and adding grades 5-6 Lineville students to the plan. 4K resumes its regular schedule for in-person learning.
• What is the same: Our youngest learners have a choice to return to in-person learning Dec. 7. There will be accommodations for any student who chooses to remain at-home during this two week span. Principals will send a form for those parents who will not be sending their child(ren) to school December 7-18.
• Rationale:  Mounting evidence shows schools that carefully reopened with safety protocols have not had major outbreaks - especially at elementary levels. It has been 55 days since we transitioned to all virtual learning on September 25. HSSD requires transition time to retrain and reintegrate. Lessons learned in this phase will be applied to stage and scale the return to in-person learning for older students following the New Year.

Dec. 7-18:  All staff in grades 7-12 return to buildings for daily delivery of remote instruction. Grade 7-12 students will continue virtual learning Monday-Thursday; Phase 1 and 2 students previously invited will continue to attend in-person; school counselor office hours will be initiated to support social and emotional wellness needs; and in-person PIRATE Time will be held on Fridays.

• What is new: Grades 7-12 staff return to buildings using HSSD safety protocols. In-person PIRATE Time opportunities available for all Bay Port students Friday, December 11 and Friday, December 18; school counselor office hours expanded.
• What is the same: Previously invited Phase 1 and 2 students continue to attend school in-person. 
• Rationale: As this age group of students is potentially more susceptible to COVID-19 spread, we are deliberately phasing more slowly. This also allows time to survey students and explore  choice options for second semester. Creating space and time to transition well supports the long-term goal of successful in-person learning.

Dec. 21-22: No in-person or virtual learning for students or teaching staff on these days. This calendar change was previously announced in August when we exchanged December days to provide summer virtual training for staff.

Jan. 4-8:  Grades 4K-12 virtual learning at home for all - this is a change from previous communication.

• Rationale: Limiting post-holiday contact is a strategy employed by many other school districts and colleges. This should help reduce potential exposure and risk of spread within school settings following the winter break.

Jan. 11-22: Return to in-person learning all day, every day for grades K-4 and Plan B blended schedule for grades 5-12 (similar to September). 4K resumes regular in-person schedule.

• Rationale: This step represents an acceleration of the previous plan by bringing students back prior to the second semester by employing familiar learning models from September. It is dependent upon a successful transition leading up to this point.  

Jan. 25: Second semester begins with expanded choice options in grades 4K-12. Communication regarding process steps for students to select from available second semester virtual and in-person learning options will be forthcoming in December.

• Potential Second Semester Options:
  • Grades 4K-4 (all-day and every day)
  • Grades K-6 Florida Virtual Online
  • Grades 5-12 blended every other day rotation (includes synchronous online from home option)
  • Grades 9-12 blended every other day rotation and/or every day in-person (i.e. based on number who stay virtual and ability to socially distance)
  • Others: To be determined
     
  • Eventual 4K-12 return to full-time in person option for all. This remains to be determined and will be based on several factors including community spread of COVID-19, staffing capacity, access to testing and vaccinations, etc.

Request for Help

It is imperative that our collective behavior over the next two months, including the holidays, reflects a unified desire to have students and staff learning in-person as safely as possible. As repeatedly stated by Bellin President and CEO Chris Woleske and Dr. James Ebben at the Board of Education meeting, schools are dependent on the support and assistance of families and community to help achieve the above plan. Candidly, our community track record thus far has not reflected a willingness to change behaviors to limit COVID-19 spread in support of our schools. Any success we hope to experience requires collective discipline and shared sacrifice. Without it, we may be forced to revert to virtual learning on a classroom, school and/or district-wide basis for an extended basis. With it, we have the potential to scale in-person learning opportunities beginning in January, and beyond. 

Return to Reporting Protocols

Another crucial element of our ability to successfully execute the phase-in plan will be families and staff resuming daily use of our updated COVID-19 exposure protocols, calling the COVID-19 Hotline (920-662-7233) to report COVID-19 positive test results and student exposures outside of school, daily use of the Frontline self-screening app, and keeping students home when sick - all of which had been our practice in September. Families and staff should resume reporting COVID-19 information to HSSD via the COVID-19 Hotline starting Monday, November 23. We will resume public reporting of student COVID-19 testing and quarantine data reported to HSSD on Wednesday, December 2.

Related Updates

• As previously communicated, we have already phased in 354 students who are participating in on site in-person learning. Our principals have shared with me how gratifying it has been to see students and staff working together in-person again.
• Winter sports practices have begun with safety protocols in place and no COVID-19 exposures reported among the groups at practice. While implementation of athletics was secondary to academics, this remains an important strategy for providing hope, addressing social and emotional needs, and allowing us to learn how to coexist with COVID-19 in a non-classroom setting.
• Updates regarding Bay View Middle School athletics will be shared directly with Bay View families when available.
• With the exception of the Howard-Suamico Community Pool, HSSD facilities are not available at this time for rental by outside groups, including youth athletics programs. 

Conclusion

In the face of challenges brought by this pandemic, I remain thankful as we approach a major American holiday. In the middle of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, prompted by a series of editorials written by Sarah Josepha Hale, proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated on the 26th, the final Thursday of November 1863. In the Proclamation, Lincoln says:

And I ...commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

Despite living in a different time - and fighting a different battle - may we embrace the same spirit of thankfulness and call to unity as that summoned by America’s greatest President during a time of national crisis.

Together,

Damian LaCroix
Superintendent
Howard-Suamico School District
damilacr@hssdschools.org
920-662-8103

• Virtual Learning Survey Summary
  • Family Survey Data
  • Staff Survey Data
  • Student Survey Data

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

In preparation for the week of Thanksgiving, School Nutrition curbside meal pickup will take place Friday, November 20. Sign up for the November 20 curbside meal pickup on the School Nutrition website. If you have already signed up for Curbside Meal Pickup or Home Meal Delivery, the service will continue as scheduled. 

There will be no curbside meal pickup or home meal delivery Wednesday, November 25 or Friday, November 27.

The Thanksgiving meal will include Jennie-O turkey ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, cinnamon bread, fruit, vegetables, and milk. Included in each bundle bag will be the USDA required amount of food to meet the meal pattern requirements providing multiple meals and leftovers through November 29. 

Thank you to our collaborative partners for their generous Thanksgiving donations: Festival Foods, The Giving Tree, and the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation. 

To sign up and to learn more about curbside meal pickup, visit the School Nutrition website.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Laura Rowell
Director of School Nutrition
laurrowe@hssdschools.org 
920-662-7723

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

Thank you for your response to our Virtual Learning survey which closed this morning. More than 4,000 families, students, and staff invested time to share their perspectives and inform our planning. We have begun to analyze the results and will post them on the HSSD website next week. 

In addition to reviewing survey data, the HSSD leadership team met with representatives from Bellin Health this week to conduct a review of our phase-in plans and evaluate future partnership regarding COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, and ongoing evaluation of HSSD safety protocols. We are grateful for the leadership of Bellin Health President and CEO Chris Woleske and her team in support of our students, families, and staff.

Please see updates regarding our phase-in planning below.

• This week we have 265 students learning in our schools in one-on-one and small group settings as part of Phase 1 and Phase 2 of our reopening plan. Thank you to our families and staff for engaging in this successful step in our phase-in process. We look to further expand the number of students participating in Phase 2 next week.

• Phase 3 will begin Monday, November 23 with students able to participate in school-based academic and co-curricular activities with safety protocols in place. These activities include in-person opportunities for learning and connection at school on a limited and small group basis for students in grades 7-12: academic support meetings with teachers and staff, and at the middle and high school levels, modified club meetings, performing and fine arts lessons, labs, classroom access, and athletics practices and facilities use. Details for participating will be shared by your school principals, coaches, and advisors in the near future.

• As part of Phase 3, winter sports practices will begin in accordance with the modified WIAA schedule: November 16 for varsity girls basketball, varsity boys hockey, dance and cheer teams and November 23 for varsity boys basketball, varsity wrestling, and varsity boys swimming. Junior varsity and freshman teams will begin practice one week after the start of their respective varsity teams.
  
  Practices will take place under Bellin Health and WIAA safety protocols specific to each activity. Additionally, we are exploring COVID-19 rapid surveillance testing of our students participating in WIAA sports in cooperation with Bellin Health. We will provide details on this partnership as they become available.
  
  Look for updates regarding Bay View Middle School athletics in the coming weeks.

• Regarding facilities, the Howard-Suamico Community Pool will reopen with limited services Wednesday, November 18 - visit the pool website for more information. The Pirate Strength and Performance Center at Bay Port will open with limited access for students beginning Monday, November 30.

• HSSD will be extending Plan C virtual learning until Monday, December 7 for grades 4K-6 and until Monday, January 4 for grades 7-12.
  
  With the above in mind, please note that Phase 4 includes a return to some form of in-person learning for grades 4K-6 students starting Monday, December 7 - and a return to some form of in-person learning for grades 7-12 students starting Monday, January 4. We will provide an update regarding schedule and details next week on Thursday, November 19. A crucial element of our ability to successfully execute this part of the phase-in plan will be families and staff resuming daily use of our updated COVID-19 exposure protocols and the self-screening app during Phase 4.

• Phase 5 is projected to be an expansion of in-person and virtual learning options. Phase 5 is tentatively scheduled for the start of the second semester, Monday, January 25. Look for more specific details to come before winter break.

As we anticipate upcoming holiday gathering traditions, we encourage our families and staff to stay safe and make choices that will support our momentum toward returning students to in-person learning. Thank you for your ongoing and shared commitment to our children, schools and community. While tested, I remain confident that we will thrive by persevering and moving forward together. 

With Unity,

Damian LaCroix
Superintendent
Howard-Suamico School District
damilacr@hssdschools.org
920-662-8103

Dear HSSD Families,

As we move toward the Thanksgiving holiday, I am writing to share a time-sensitive virtual learning survey. Your participation is requested to help inform our ongoing planning efforts in HSSD.

In the survey, we will be benchmarking responses with prior surveys from April, May, and July, as well as asking some new questions. In addition to questions about virtual learning this fall, the survey also includes questions related to social and emotional well-being to inform response and planning for our Student Services team. Finally, based on recent feedback, the survey includes questions regarding perceptions of the HSSD plan to return to in-person learning.

This survey is open to adults in households with HSSD students. Two separate surveys will be available for HSSD staff and for students from Lineville, Bay View, and Bay Port. 

The survey will be open for responses until Thursday, November 12 at 9 a.m. The survey takes approximately 5 minutes to complete per HSSD student in your home.

The results of the survey will be shared with the Board of Education, department leaders, building principals, and teaching staff so that we can make timely, thoughtful, and data-informed adjustments to plans as needed. The results will also be posted for families on the HSSD website.

Thank you in advance for your participation. Please click here to complete the survey.

If you have any questions regarding the survey, please contact Brian Nicol, Director of Communications, at brianico@hssdschools.org or 920-662-7825.

With appreciation,

Damian LaCroix, Superintendent
920-662-8103
damilacr@hssdschools.org

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

For the past several weeks, parents, students, and staff have been asking for clarity on specific criteria concerning how and when HSSD would determine transitions between learning models. In the wake of a record-setting day in Wisconsin relative to new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths due to COVID-19, we are providing that clarity now. It is the result of thoughtful collaboration, application of  data, and guidance from the nation’s health protection agency. At the Board of Education meeting Monday, October 26, the HSSD leadership team presented a data-based model that will be used to guide our eventual return to in-person learning. The dashboard with criteria information has been posted on the HSSD website and will be updated daily beginning this week. In summary:

• The model relies on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Indicators for Dynamic School Decision-Making. The CDC guidelines frame our decisions regarding the physical health of our students, staff, and community. This CDC advice is also the basis for criteria for the De Pere, Ashwaubenon, and Green Bay school districts. It is important to note this information was not available until September 15.
• Based on current community health data shown on the dashboard, and applying HSSD’s decision-making criteria, HSSD will be extending Plan C virtual learning through at least Monday, November 23. Should the community health data make a notable improvement between now and late November, we will provide updates on transition plans.
• Guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics has been influential in our thought process:

Unfortunately, in many parts of the United States, there is currently uncontrolled spread of SARS-CoV-2. Although the AAP strongly advocates for in-person learning for the coming school year, the current widespread circulation of the virus will not permit in-person learning to be safely accomplished in many jurisdictions.

I acknowledge the weight of burden on our families, students, and staff the longer we remain in full-time virtual learning. We are striving to support growing mental health challenges worsened by the pandemic. Some believe our reopening criteria is unreachable and needlessly delays the return of students to school. Allow me to emphasize our goal remains the return of students to school as soon as safely possible. During the interim we will intensify efforts to support students academically as well as socially and emotionally. This CDC link, Coping with Stress, provides information and resources on how to get immediate help in a crisis.

With these facts in mind, we have begun planning for a phased return to in-person learning with the hope that our community health data will come back to acceptable levels in due time.

• Phase 1 is underway, with 47 special education and high-need identified students meeting with teachers 1:1 and in small groups at schools beginning this week. Similar programs are in place at other Brown County school districts.
• Phase 2 includes expanding those opportunities, including transportation, to a larger group of students who have been identified as needing additional academic, social, and emotional support. An update on the timeline for this expanded school access will be shared once details are available.
• Phase 3 involves student and family choice in accessing in-person opportunities for learning and connection at school on a limited and small group basis for students in grades K-12. This may include academic support meetings with teachers and staff, and at the intermediate, middle, and high school levels, modified club meetings, performing and fine arts lessons and classroom access, and athletics practices and facilities use. We remain hopeful progress toward Phase 3 will be evident in November.
• Phase 4 would be a return to in-person learning beginning with grades 4K-4 students.

To be clear, none of the above plans to phase-in our return to school will be fully possible if the community spread of the virus continues to grow. It is daunting to announce return-to-school criteria when Brown County is so far from the intended targets. Put simply, we need and want improvement, soon! As stated last week, I encourage you to exercise your personal influence in persuading others to make safe and responsible decisions with our students in mind. I am grateful for those who have embraced this call to action. We can do this - together.

With Unity,

Damian LaCroix
Superintendent
Howard-Suamico School District
damilacr@hssdschools.org
920-662-8103

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

I am writing today with an update regarding our planning to reopen schools for in-person learning.

In my most recent email to families and staff, I indicated HSSD will remain in Plan C virtual learning until at least November 6. In the interim, we have made progress toward launching a new dashboard that contains gating criteria, or the data we will use to decide when we can safely reopen schools for in-person learning. While my intention was to share our final criteria today, we remain engaged in the work and will have a complete update to present next week. Please accept the notes below as a measure of our progress.

• Thanks to a collaborative effort among Brown County school districts, led by De Pere, Green Bay, and HSSD, we have determined the data source for our gating criteria will be provided by Brown County Health and Human Services. We will also be incorporating regional data from the Wisconsin Hospital Association.
   
• In addition, we will be applying that data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Indicators and Thresholds for Risk of Introduction and Transmission of COVID-19 in Schools. This resource was announced recently by the CDC and provides the framework for our gating criteria.
   
• Brown County school superintendents are meeting next week with County Executive Troy Streckenbach. The goal is to share our dashboard and explore ways our school systems can work even more closely with the county health department.
   
• HSSD will introduce our gating criteria and launch our updated dashboard Wednesday, October 28 on the HSSD website. At that time, and based on those criteria, I will provide an update regarding a timeline for returning to in-person learning and a process for how we will use the gating criteria for decision making.

Allow me to close with a personal appeal for your help.

As a community, we have an opportunity and an obligation to adapt our behavior and bring the spread of coronavirus under control. Among the feedback I receive in response to our decisions, there is unity in the belief that the best place for our children is safely in our schools working with our staff. I wholeheartedly agree. I take personal responsibility for making progress toward this goal. I wear a mask in public. I wash my hands more frequently. I watch my distance around others. I avoid large indoor gatherings and I leverage my influence with colleagues, family, and friends.

A posting on the UW School of Medicine and Public Health website recently stated:
Compounded stress and exhaustion from worrying about the coronavirus is leading to "COVID Fatigue," a shorthand way of talking about an overall sense of exhaustion based on the combination of challenges people are facing during the pandemic.

While acknowledging the reality of COVID-related challenges, I am also appealing to our community to unify in opposition to them. As we enter the cold and flu season, now is time to amplify our efforts to combat COVID. I encourage anyone who values a return to in-person learning to continue making the aforementioned basic steps part of their daily routine. I assume that most, if not all, who are reading this message are consistently doing so. Therefore, I request your assistance in exerting personal influence with others who may not be practicing these behaviors. Change will not happen overnight, only through collective will. We require a focused, sustained effort from our community in support of our children. I am incredibly proud of all within Howard-Suamico School District who recognize their resilience as a personal challenge and affirmation that our small sacrifices are for the greater good.

I also believe that basing our decisions on reliable, publicly available data and guidance from health care and science professionals at the local, state, and national levels is the prudent course of action regarding student and staff safety. While reasonable people may disagree on the interpretation and application of the data, we will rely on the information sources listed above to help guide upcoming decisions. I look forward to announcing a gating criteria plan that reflects these thoughts and principles next week.

We are at a critical point in determining our timeline to safely return to school in person. As we spend more time indoors due to colder weather, as we evaluate how, when, and whether we gather in groups over the upcoming winter holidays, and as we contemplate what each of us can do, individually, to support our collective desire to return to school in person, I encourage you to exercise your personal influence in persuading others to make safe and responsible decisions with our students in mind.

With Unity,

Damian LaCroix
Superintendent
Howard-Suamico School District
damilacr@hssdschools.org
920-662-7709

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

As we complete our second week of virtual learning at home, I am writing with an update regarding our planning to reopen schools to in-person learning.

In my most recent email to families and staff, I indicated we would evaluate our initial reopen date of      October 23 and communicate updates as necessary. Due to current community health conditions related to COVID-19 spread, including hospital capacity, HSSD will remain in Plan C virtual learning until at least November 6. This decision aligns with changes announced this week by the Unified School District of De Pere and Ashwaubenon School District. The Green Bay Area Public School District also remains in a virtual learning plan at this time.

I readily acknowledge this extension will be frustrating and disappointing to some. I empathize with the added difficulties of working parents who are challenged to fully support their children’s online learning experience to the extent they would like. I am saddened that the rampant Brown County spread of the virus has put us in this situation. While not responsible for community behaviors, we never want anyone to feel less than satisfied about our school system, and so I'm sincerely sorry if this decision contributes in any way to family hardship.  

In response, we have initiated a process of defining data-based criteria for reopening our schools to in-person learning. A subgroup of the Brown County Superintendents will hold its next meeting Friday, October 16 to define reopening criteria. The Superintendents have come to a broad consensus that aligning our dashboards with the same data source is an important first step. From there individual districts can define the points at which to shift instructional models in-person or toward virtual learning, as necessary, in response to changing community health conditions. 

With regard to HSSD, we are evaluating a multi-metric model based on CDC guidance that includes a 14-day rolling burden rate average and percentage of positive tests at the county level, and hospitalization data at the regional level. Our timeline for completion and announcement of criteria is October 23. Additionally, we are working on a plan, supported by the development of the criteria referenced above, to potentially phase in a return to in-person learning starting with our youngest learners at the elementary level. We will share reopening plan details as soon as they become available.

Parent-Teacher Conferences and Virtual Learning Survey

Principals will be communicating the process for signing up for virtual parent-teacher conferences in October and November. Engagement and communication between school and home is critical for student success regardless of our learning environment. We are pleased to provide a flexible schedule and options for families and teachers to connect and discuss student progress. We are also developing a virtual learning survey for families and staff to support our continuous improvement efforts. Your feedback this spring positively impacted our plans for virtual learning in the fall. Stay tuned for an opportunity to share your thoughts on our progress.

Board of Education Referendum Planning Survey

Thank you to all those who responded to the Board of Education Referendum Planning survey. We had a record number of respondents! Based on the survey results received at its Monday, October 12 meeting, the Board has charged a community-based Task Force with exploring solutions to our facilities needs. I look forward to reporting the group’s progress to you. The survey report is available on our website at www.hssdschools.org/community/referendum.

Free Drive-Up Flu Shot Clinics

Brown County Health has asked school districts to share information regarding their upcoming free flu shot clinics, featuring drive-up service. Clinic dates and locations are: October 22 from 4-6:30 p.m. at Edison Middle School and October 24 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Green Bay West High School.

COVID Notifications

The HSSD COVID dashboard will continue to report staff positive cases and quarantines on a weekly basis, while we will simultaneously pause student reporting since families have been understandably less likely to report illness and exposure in a remote learning environment. 

In closing, you may have heard the report from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services that the Tuesday, October 13 statewide number of reported COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths each reached all-time high daily totals. The current spread of the virus in Brown County and the Fox Valley appears to be driving those statewide numbers. This is regrettable news as it relates to our reopening efforts. Dr. Mario Ramirez, who served as the acting director for the Office of Pandemic and Emerging Threats at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2015 states:

And if you have more disease than that in the community, it becomes more likely that you’re going to have disease spread within your schools, and then those are the situations where it’s less safe to have your schools open...The most return on investment you’ll get in terms of reducing disease in your school is opening when it’s safe to do so, based on the community spread. And next I would say is effective screening.” -Education Week, Volume 40, Issue 8, October 7, 2020

For the sake of our students, families, and staff, I remain hopeful that we will come together as a community to do our part and slow the spread of the virus in order to reopen our schools for in-person learning.

With Unity,

Damian LaCroix
Superintendent
Howard-Suamico School District
damilacr@hssdschools.org
920-662-7709

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

Thank you to those who reached out to us with questions, concerns, and statements of support regarding our difficult decision to transition to learning at home for the time being. I am writing to provide updates related to our adjustment to virtual learning beginning tomorrow, September 30, and to share a progress report on efforts to reopen HSSD schools as soon as safely possible. 

Regarding reopening criteria, the district Emergency Response Team has been in contact with the Brown County Health Department regarding its new dashboard as a potential data resource to guide our decision making. In addition, we will continue to rely upon the HSSD COVID-19 dashboard and the consultation of health care professionals at Bellin and Prevea. Today I met with several Brown County Superintendents and we committed to the formation of a work group to study and develop clear reopening criteria for any school district to adapt to its needs. Our first meeting is Friday, October 2. I will provide ongoing updates on the group’s progress.

We are committed to understanding and evaluating relevant community health conditions in support of efforts to reopen our schools. It is important to know that an initial step in that process is assessing our ability to safely provide in-person instruction at school to our most vulnerable learners. We are evaluating a phase-in approach to returning to in-person learning and will provide updates on our progress. 

We acknowledge that child care for our youngest students represents a significant challenge for some of our families. In response, we are also developing plans with a third-party child care provider for additional off-site options for families. Again, I will provide updates as they become available.

In the meantime, be advised our current transition to virtual learning at home will be effective until at least Friday, October 23, 2020. We will evaluate and report on our status every two weeks thereafter. 

Please see additional information related to our transition:

• HSSD School Nutrition will begin curbside meal pickup at three district locations: 1) Meadowbrook;      2) Bay View; and 3) Bay Harbor each Friday from 10:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Service begins Friday, October 2. Each bundle of one week’s pre-packaged meals will be available free of charge for all children under the age of 18.
• A new School Nutrition option provided in partnership with Lamers Bus Lines is free home delivery of meals each Friday starting October 9. To sign up, click here to complete a brief form. 
• Attendance will be taken throughout the time period of virtual learning at home. It is important for our staff to support family and student engagement by tracking when and how often our students are logging in to their online classes. Please direct questions regarding attendance to your school secretary.
• Our district Instructional Technology team will be available for support and updates. Visit the technology website for resources.
• Although we will be learning at home, please continue to use the HSSD COVID-19 hotline (920-662-7233) to report COVID-19 test results and to ask questions. It is important for the district to maintain an accurate database and dashboard of student and staff members who have tested positive for the virus as we contemplate reopening plans and timeline.
• Visit the HSSD website for progress updates.

Our planning to reopen HSSD schools again has begun. A collective community effort to slow and limit the spread of coronavirus is the most critical tool we can use to achieve our goal. We encourage our students, staff, and families to continue taking personal responsibility to bend the trend in our community. Wear a face covering when outside the home. Wash your hands frequently. Maintain safe social distance in all public settings and avoid large social gatherings. The sooner we come together in opposition to coronavirus, the sooner we can bring our students back in person. Thank you in advance for your support.

With Unity,

Damian LaCroix
Superintendent
Howard-Suamico School District
damilacr@hssdschools.org
920-662-7709

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

I am writing with a mixture of deep disappointment and incredible pride as we announce all HSSD Schools and 4K programming will transition to our Plan C virtual learning model beginning Wednesday, September 30 and until community health conditions improve. We will maintain our current schedule Monday and Tuesday, September 28-29 to allow staff, students, and families time to prepare for the transition. Further updates will be forthcoming from our principals and teachers regarding daily student schedules as we transition next week.

My pride is for our staff and students who have taken commendable steps to limit the spread of COVID-19 in our schools. HSSD procedures and protocols have been praised by our local healthcare leaders as thoughtful, thorough, and exceptional. The selfless service of our teachers and staff in reopening our schools under these conditions is humbling. 

Candidly, I am most disappointed for our students. They have been patient, understanding, and happy to be back in our schools. They have done everything we have asked to be safe together and with their teachers. I am disheartened because something outside of our control, the unchecked community spread of COVID-19, is forcing us to make this change. 

Evidence points to unsafe behaviors in our community as the source for the surge in COVID-19 infections. After meeting with leaders from Bellin and Prevea in the last 24 hours, I learned that hospital staff and capacity in our community are burdened and at the point of crisis. I learned that, in their words, “Not a single instance of community spread has been due to schools being open.” Rather, it is the persistent spread of the virus outside our schools that is putting the safety of students and staff at risk. While I firmly believe that schools are the best and safest place for our children, the guidance from our local healthcare leaders makes it clear that even an exceptional COVID-19 mitigation plan in schools cannot withstand the current levels of community spread. 

It is with a heavy heart that we are making this transition, but with hope for better days ahead. The flexibility of our plan allows for this shift to Plan C - and we are ready to apply lessons learned from last spring and this fall to improve the learning experience in a virtual environment.

We encourage our students, staff, and families to continue taking personal responsibility to bend the trend in our community. Wear a face covering when outside the home. Wash your hands frequently. Maintain safe social distance in all public settings and avoid large social gatherings. 

Please see additional information related to our transition:

• Continue to look for progress updates on the HSSD website.

• We will re-evaluate our status every two weeks based on criteria under development with the support of the Brown County Health Department and local healthcare leaders. 

• The District Office and school offices will remain open during this transition.

• We will communicate updates regarding School Nutrition services for families next week.

• Students previously enrolled in our K-6 virtual model will continue in their current program.

• Principals will communicate school specific information directly to families.

I am grateful that our community and staff united around a plan to reopen our schools this fall. I am grateful for the four weeks of learning we have shared at home and at school. Our plan to reopen again will only work if we can also unite behind sustained, basic health and safety measures in our community. Thank you in advance for your support.

With Unity,

Damian LaCroix
Superintendent
Howard-Suamico School District
920-662-7709

Dear HSSD Families and Staff:

The sincere outpouring of community support, sharing of warm memories, and deep sadness for the passing of our colleague and friend Heidi Hussli has been both humbling and heartwarming this week. Thank you to all who have taken time to console a student, colleague, friend, or family member of Heidi’s during this time of sorrow.

In addition to the supportive outreach over the last three days, we have also received questions. This is understandable and expected in the wake of a sudden loss. The purpose of this communication is to provide updates on our response plan, to answer common questions, and to share additional details with permission of Heidi’s family. Please view the question and answer document at the end of this email for more information. 

The District Emergency Response Team is supporting students and staff as they prepare to return Wednesday. Relatedly, Bay Port High School families and staff will continue to receive schedule updates directly from Principal Mike Frieder and his team in the coming days.

Continue to keep Heidi’s family and friends in your thoughts and prayers as we mourn her loss and honor her legacy.  

Together,

Damian LaCroix
Superintendent
Howard-Suamico School District
920-662-7709
damilacr@hssdschools.org

Questions and Answers

Q1: How did Mrs. Hussli become infected with coronavirus? 

In ongoing conversations with local healthcare leaders, we understand that it is not possible to definitively determine where or how most people become infected with coronavirus. However, in a conversation with Heidi’s family Friday evening, they granted permission to share information regarding what they believe to be true.

Heidi requested bereavement leave from school to attend a funeral of a close family member Thursday, September 3 and 4, 2020. At the funeral, face coverings were worn, but social distancing was inconsistent. Many attendees were in close contact with Heidi as they offered condolences. Heidi’s family indicated that based on this event, and the timing of her onset of symptoms, they believe she contracted the virus at the funeral. Others who attended the funeral have also tested positive for COVID-19.

Five days later, Heidi returned to school Tuesday, September 8. However, she departed a short time after arriving when she began to feel ill. She was tested for COVID-19 Wednesday, September 9, notified the district of a positive test result Thursday, September 10 and began quarantine at home. 

The contact tracing process revealed that Heidi had been wearing a cloth face covering and an additional plastic face shield while she was at Bay Port. Heidi also employed a plexiglass barrier at her desk. It was determined that no students or staff had come in close contact with Heidi at school, as defined by Brown County Health and the district’s exposure protocols.

Two days later on Saturday, September 12 Heidi notified the district that she had been hospitalized due to increasingly serious COVID-19 symptoms. Tragically, her condition worsened midweek and she passed away Thursday morning, September 17. While we acknowledge the sensitive nature of this information, and the unusual practice of including it here, Heidi’s family supports sharing it to help counteract rumors.

Q2. Where can I donate a gift? Will there be a memorial fund?

Yes. The Howard-Suamico Education Foundation (HSEF) is working closely with Heidi’s family to establish a fund in memory of Heidi. HSEF will work with the Hussli family to use the funds in a meaningful way in the future. When we have more details, including ways to donate, we will provide an update.

Q3: Is HSSD taking steps to review its safety plan at Bay Port?

Yes. This has been an ongoing practice since March 2020. We remain in contact with local health leaders on a daily basis. Each COVID-19 positive case reported to HSSD is evaluated and reviewed based on Brown County Health guidelines and exposure protocols. Additionally, we are meeting with Brown County Health Department leaders Monday, September 21 to further assess and evaluate our current COVID-19 mitigation plan supporting the safety of our students and staff.

We launched a data dashboard of COVID-19 positive cases and quarantines throughout the district on September 11, 2020 and updates are posted publicly once a week. Our most recent update indicated a decline in COVID-19 positive cases in the district, but an increase in the number of students and staff required to quarantine due to exposure. The majority of reported exposures have been attributed to students and staff being in close contact with family members who contracted COVID-19 from community spread of the virus.

Q4: Will a staff review of safety protocols take place?

Our observation has been that staff and students have done an exceptional job implementing safety guidelines and protocols. This has been supported by conclusions from Brown County Health throughout several contact tracing investigations. Having said that, in discussions with Bay Port staff this week, it was determined that reminders and additional review of protocols would be prudent. We will work with Brown County Health and our local healthcare partners to provide additional support for staff where needed.

Q5: Will Bay Port’s schedule and learning plan change?

We will return to learning at Bay Port Wednesday, September 23 according to our current Plan B model. Details have been shared directly with Bay Port students and families.

At this time, we will continue the blended learning model at Bay Port based on guidance of local health officials and the Brown County Health Department. We maintain frequent contact with these advisors and will communicate changes to learning plans at any of our schools, should the need arise.

Q6. How will HSSD determine whether to more fully reopen or close a school?

Each situation is different. In our conversations with Brown County Health Department regarding contact tracing and individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19, it has been determined that our preventative social distancing plans and face covering requirements in schools have been instrumental in limiting close contact exposures among students and staff. This has significantly reduced the number of individuals asked to quarantine based on presumed exposure.

While there is no one-size-fits-all pandemic playbook for the decisions to reopen or close schools, it is important for families and staff to know that every individual situation reported to HSSD is monitored and advised by the Brown County Health Department. All HSSD decisions related to in-person instruction and workplace attendance, on an individual or group basis, are made as a result of consultation with Brown County Health resources and ongoing updates from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Q7: Am I allowed to switch my student to virtual learning at home at this time?

Yes. As indicated in our Reopen Plan, we will maintain family choice options throughout the 2020-21 school year. We are accepting grade K-6 requests to switch to virtual learning at this time based on staffing levels; contact Becky Zimmer with questions at 920-662-7729. Any student in grades 7-12 may request a switch to virtual learning by contacting your school counselor.

Q8: Will Bay Port students and staff be able to see a counselor when school resumes? 

Counseling resources remain available for students and staff this week and beyond. Call 920-662-7325 to schedule an appointment to meet in person, over the phone, or online. 

Q9: What should I do if I have questions regarding possible exposure, or COVID-19 testing?

Staff and families should continue to use the confidential, 24/7 HSSD COVID-19 Hotline for questions. Call 920-662-SAFE (7233).

Q10: What if I have questions that are not addressed in this Q&A document?

Visit the HSSD website for ongoing updates. For exposure or COVID-related illness questions, call the HSSD COVID-19 Hotline. Staff should view the website Staff Portal for ongoing updates or contact their building principal. All other questions: email Superintendent Damian LaCroix at damilacr@hssdschools.org.

Dear HSSD Families and Staff:

The purpose of this communication is to inform you of sad news involving one of our staff members. We are deeply saddened to share with you that this morning at 10:30 a.m. we were notified that Heidi Hussli, a teacher at Bay Port High School, passed away today following a brief hospitalization related to COVID-19.

Heidi’s family gave us permission to share the following message: 

“Our family is grateful for the support of Heidi’s friends and colleagues at school. We are devastated by her loss and we respectfully request privacy as we grieve and reflect. We are deeply grateful to the staff at St. Mary’s Hospital for their professionalism and care. Heidi is at peace now.”

This news is heart-wrenching to all of us who have known Heidi. Her positivity and passion for her students and her craft left a lasting mark on our school community.

Building Crisis Teams convened today to support students and staff in the days to come. Additionally, here is a resource for communicating with your children about grief and loss.

Regarding our schedule at Bay Port High School, Friday, September 18 PIRATE Time Plus meetings are cancelled. We will support students and staff with availability of counselors on site Friday, call 920-662-7325 to schedule an appointment. 

Additionally, Bay Port High School will pause our learning plan Monday and Tuesday next week, September 21-22, to support the well-being of our staff and students. Students and teachers will not participate in online or in-person learning activities on these days, but school will be open for students and staff who desire support. Counseling will also be available over the phone or online by appointment.

We will continue to evaluate our protocols supporting the physical safety of our students and staff related to current COVID-19 cases and quarantine numbers at Bay Port. We will return to the current schedule at Bay Port Wednesday, September 23.

Our other schools will proceed according to their current schedules.

Please keep Heidi’s family in your thoughts and prayers as we join together to support one another and her family during this difficult time.  

Sincerely,
Damian LaCroix
Superintendent
Howard-Suamico School District
920-662-7709
damilacr@hssdschools.org
 

Mike Frieder
Principal
Bay Port High School
920-662-7024
michfrie@hssdschools.org

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

I’m pleased to be sharing an update following our second week of school. We are adjusting to new schedules and routines and continuing to make connections with each other as learning continues. Below please find updates on the HSSD COVID-19 response.

To Reopen or Close?

A frequently-asked question we have received is: “How will HSSD decide if a classroom, school, or the entire district can more fully reopen to all day, every day learning, or may be forced to close due to changing health conditions?”

In short: each situation is different. In our conversations with Brown County Health Department this week regarding individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19, it has been determined that our preventative social distancing plans and face covering requirements in schools have been instrumental in limiting close contact exposures among students and staff. This is good news that has significantly reduced the number of individuals asked to quarantine based on presumed exposure. 

While there is no one-size-fits-all pandemic playbook for the decisions to reopen or close schools, I want our families and staff to feel confident in the knowledge that every individual situation reported to us is monitored and advised by the Brown County Health Department. All HSSD decisions related to in-person instruction and workplace attendance, on an individual or group basis, are made as a result of consultation with Brown County Health and ongoing updates from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The teamwork and high-quality customer service of our Organizational Development and Student Services departments in managing and communicating these issues has been exceptional.

COVID-19 Dashboard

Regarding our commitment to provide families with up-to-date information on the status of COVID-19 in our schools, HSSD is launching a COVID-19 dashboard today. While maintaining confidentiality requirements on behalf of those we serve, we will provide updates on the number of COVID-19 positive cases and exposure-related quarantines in our schools. 

The dashboard will be posted on the HSSD website and will be updated weekly. This information describes our capacity to successfully keep our schools open and is one data set out of many that inform decisions on whether to change status. Please note: the data presented on the dashboard includes the status of individuals who are learning virtually at home or have not yet attended school this year. Also, we will continue to notify staff and families directly if an individual tests positive for COVID-19 in their school.

Frontline Health Portal App

After ongoing feedback and updates with our vendor during the first week of school, the Frontline Health Portal App is fully up and running and we have more than 3,000 students and staff using the tool for daily self-screening of COVID-19 symptoms. Visit the Operations page of the HSSD COVID-19 website to learn how to download and use the app each day before coming to school.

In closing, please continue to use the HSSD COVID hotline 920-662-7233 (SAFE) to report positive test results, to report exposure to a COVID-positive individual, or to ask a question regarding either. This hotline has been an effective communication tool in our first week back to school. Visit our website for the latest updates and for an archive of prior communications. 

Thank you, again, for your critical role in keeping our students and staff safe and in keeping our schools open. 

With Unity,

Damian LaCroix, Superintendent
Howard-Suamico School District
damilacr@hssdschools.org
920-662-7709

Good morning HSSD Families,

This past week we faced a few service interruptions with our WiFi and filtering system vendor. These complications may have caused frustration for both our staff and students. We were fortunately able to get the necessary solutions in place to minimize this going forward. 

We thank you for your patience and understanding. To help parents and students stay informed of future system outages, we have developed a few improvements. We will be utilizing a pop up banner on the website to keep users informed on the status of any system outages. 

Also, if parents and/or students would like to receive future notifications of service interruptions, interested parents/students may sign up to enroll in a notification system called Remind. If you choose to sign up for this service you will receive notification of any future interruptions directly on your phone. If you would like to be informed of these system-wide outages please follow the instructions here. Sign Up for Remind.  

In response to a frequent question, we have developed a process for parents to receive a parent access code to Schoology so they can see how their children are progressing through an automated system. By completing the following form you will receive a personalized letter with your child’s pass code. This will need to be done for each child as it is unique to them. Schoology Parent Access Code Form

Finally, if your child is having technical difficulties please have them submit their questions using the following form so our IT team can support them. Student IT Help desk Form

Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding as we continue to improve the educational educational experiences for the students of HSSD.  

Kyle Siech, Director of Technology
Howard-Suamico School District

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

With gratitude, I’m pleased to provide an update following our first week of school as we enter into the Labor Day weekend.

Thorough planning and preparation over the summer allowed us to reopen our school doors to students on time and according to plan. The most common theme from my conversations with parents, students, and staff this week was how good it felt to be back together: in person or online, regardless of the safety precautions in place. 

I am appreciative of the attitudes and cooperation of our students in adapting to new procedures and routines this week. Our elementary principals and their teams were especially grateful for the staggered start that allowed our littlest learners to have additional time in smaller groups to adjust to new experiences in our schools. Thank you to our families for your flexibility in supporting this first week schedule.

Our K-6 fully virtual option, taught by HSSD teachers, also launched this week. We are pleased to provide this choice for families and I am humbled by the speed and care with which our staff embraced this new HSSD learning model.

The blended learning models in place at Lineville, Bay View, and Bay Port are also off and running. I encourage students and families to continue to contact our teachers and principals with questions. We have invested time and care to apply lessons learned from our spring school closure. We continue to evaluate, adapt, and adjust our approach daily with the goal of remaining safely open for learning. 

COVID-19 Hotline and Website

In closing, please continue to use the HSSD COVID hotline 920-662-7233 (SAFE) to report positive test results, to report exposure to a COVID-positive individual, or to ask a question regarding either. This hotline has been an effective communication tool in our first week back to school. Family engagement and support for our COVID-19 exposure protocols and keeping students home when they exhibit symptoms will be critical success factors for us as our school year continues.

Visit our website for the latest updates and for an archive of prior communications. 

Thank you, again, for your partnership in promoting the health and wellness of our students and staff. This week represents a good start to 2020-21. Our long-term success depends on consistency, perseverance, and teamwork in opposition to COVID-19. Your active involvement is essential in keeping our schools open. Let’s stay the course!  

With Unity,

Damian LaCroix, Superintendent
Howard-Suamico School District
damilacr@hssdschools.org
920-662-7709

Dear Howard-Suamico School District Families and Staff,

On August 31, 2020, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that school breakfast and lunch will be free to all children 18 and under through December 31, 2020. This means that all Howard and Suamico children 18 and under can get free breakfast and lunch daily, regardless of whether they are enrolled in HSSD. 

Students are able to receive free breakfast and lunch daily while attending school. Those students attending school online, when not able to receive free meals at school, are encouraged to preorder the free meals at this link. Younger siblings are also eligible for free meals and are encouraged to use the preorder link and the curbside pickup schedule below. Please fill out one form per child. These preordered meals will include breakfast and lunch for multiple days and will be prepared similarly to our COVID-19 meal distribution from March-August 2020. Meals will include breakfast and lunch entrees, fruit and vegetable choices, and multiple low-fat milk options. For students who have preordered, meal curbside pick up locations and times are as follows:

• Bay View 3-4:30 p.m. Fridays
• Meadowbrook 4-5:30 p.m. Fridays

Free meals for children became effective on September 1, 2020. If your child participated in breakfast or lunch this week while at school, those meals were free and will continue to be so until December 31, 2020. 

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact HSSD School Nutrition at 920-662-7723.

HSSD is an equal opportunity provider. Thank you for allowing us to serve your family. 

Dear Howard-Suamico School District Students, Families, and Staff,

We are excited to see our students again Tuesday and Wednesday. Here is a first day of school message from Superintendent Damian LaCroix and our Principals. 

We are united!

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

I hope this email finds you well as the school year draws near. As we communicated July 31 when we shared the final draft of the plan to reopen HSSD schools, we are following up with more details regarding the following:

• COVID-19 Exposure Protocol: Attached is a document called HSSD COVID-19 Exposure Protocol, which outlines the steps taken when a student or staff member presents with COVID-19 symptoms, is exposed to a COVID-19 positive individual, or tests positive for COVID-19. The document also highlights HSSD notification protocols for COVID-19 positive individuals in school.

• Appropriate Face Coverings: Also attached is a flier entitled Face Coverings identifying types of face coverings that are acceptable and unacceptable within HSSD schools. 

• COVID-19 Hotline: The COVID-19 Hotline phone number is 920-662-7233 (SAFE). The purpose of this confidential hotline is to allow students, parents, and staff to ask COVID-19 related questions, to report COVID-19 testing results, and to report COVID-19 exposure.

• Frontline Health Portal Mobile App: Students and staff will use a district-provided mobile app called Frontline Health Portal for daily self-screening prior to entering HSSD school buildings. The mobile app will be available for download and use soon. We will provide directions when the app becomes available.

Keep an eye on your mailbox next week as we will send a follow up packet to your home, including printed copies of the attachments to this email, further details regarding the COVID-19 Hotline, and a magnet which will walk families through the steps to take each morning before school. 

As always, the latest information regarding reopening HSSD schools can be found on our website at www.hssdschools.org/covid19. If you have questions regarding any information within this email, please contact the HSSD Student Services Office at 920-662-7881 or maggjoll@hssdschools.org. 

With Unity,

Jennie Garceau
Executive Director of Student Services

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

To inform and equip you for our return to school - and in response to feedback regarding the Reopening HSSD Schools Plan, we have created a series of brief Q&A videos with Superintendent Damian LaCroix. The first episodes are now available online. Click here for the HSSD YouTube channel. Other episodes will be added in the coming weeks.

In case you missed it, HSSD joined the other Brown County school districts, health care and community business leaders, and Green Bay Packers President Mark Murphy Wednesday to ask for community support. Our collective goals are staying safe and healthy, and slowing the spread of COVID-19 in order to reopen our schools to every student every day as soon as possible. As the Green Bay Press-Gazette reported, “we can’t do it without you.”

Thank you for your continued engagement and support. Visit www.hssdschools.org/covid19 for ongoing updates.

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

When we started the reopen planning process this spring, I indicated that feedback from families and staff would be critical in forming a viable plan to reopen our schools and that our plan would need to adapt to changing community health conditions. Following our two initial drafts and with gratitude for your continued engagement and feedback, today I am pleased to share the HSSD Reopening Schools Plan.

Notable updates since our last draft include:

• Special bussing requests including daily service to and from day care providers will be granted.
   
• Lineville school hours will change to 7:55 a.m. - 2:38 p.m. for the 2020-21 school year to accommodate bus fleet transportation limitations and allow us to manage special bussing requests.
   
• HSSD will provide a full at-home online learning option to accommodate any family or student who prefers it for any reason. Students who select full-time online learning will have the option to return to the current form of in-person instruction at the end of each quarter. The deadline for online program enrollment is August 7, 2020 at 5 p.m. Click here to enroll.
   
• Details regarding Plan B student groups have been added for Lineville, Bay View, and Bay Port, including weekly and daily sample student schedules.
   
• Two staff professional development days have been added: August 12-13 or 19-20. In exchange, Winter Break will now begin December 21. 
   
• Fox River Classic Conference announced plans for fall sports start dates and conference-only competitions. Schedules are subject to change based on conditions.

We continue to monitor COVID-19 status with guidance from Brown County Health and our local health leaders. I will provide updates as necessary, should conditions change that allow us to alter our plans to better meet the needs of students and staff. Please continue to remain informed on the HSSD COVID-19 response by visiting our website. 

Your engagement and feedback have been crucial in helping us improve the plan throughout this process. Thank you. I’m also grateful for the creativity and commitment of our Task Force and parent and student focus groups in refining this plan. Finally, I am indebted to our principals and teachers who have led the way advocating for students and staff. Please continue to partner with us as we begin to put the plan into action. As we move forward together to prepare for the start to the school year, I will remain in touch with updates.  

With Unity,

Damian LaCroix, Superintendent
Howard-Suamico School District
damilacr@hssdschools.org
920-662-7709

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

As we transition through the halfway point of summer, I trust this communication finds you well. Our HSSD reopen schools task force held its seventh meeting Wednesday and I am writing to share an update on our progress. Please view the second draft of our HSSD Reopening Schools 2020-21 plan here.

Notable updates within the second draft of our plan include:

• Face coverings will be required for all HSSD K-12 students, staff, and visitors. Medical exemptions will be allowed on a case-by-case basis.

• Students and staff will self-screen for COVID-19 symptoms daily at home prior to entering school buildings. A mobile app will be provided by the district in the near future.

• Lineville Intermediate School will begin the school year in a Plan B instructional model.

• In partnership with Lamers, we are actively seeking solutions for special bussing requests including daily service to day care providers. Transportation registration survey for families will remain open until Monday, July 27.

• Daily deep cleaning and school nutrition service details.

• An update and next steps following the July 23 WIAA-issued guidance regarding the start of fall sports seasons.

Thank you for your continued engagement in the development of our plan. After reviewing the second draft, families and staff can share feedback and questions via this brief survey. The final HSSD Task Force meeting is next week and we are on track to announce our reopening plan Friday, July 31.

Please continue to remain informed on the HSSD COVID-19 response by visiting our website. As our team works to develop a thoughtful, comprehensive plan for our students and staff to return as safely as possible, we will depend on your continued engagement, understanding, and support for a successful reopening.  

With Unity,

Damian LaCroix, Superintendent
Howard-Suamico School District
damilacr@hssdschools.org
920-662-7709

Dear Lineville Families,

At the beginning of the planning process for opening schools in the fall, it was our sincere hope to bring our students back five days per week. However, in considering how to do so, while maintaining physical distancing and limiting interactions with large groups of students, it has become apparent that returning all Lineville students five days per week is not going to be feasible. There are 1,000 people each day who work and go to school at Lineville, and we do not have the square footage in classrooms, bathrooms, or hallways to accommodate so many students under current circumstances in a way that will maintain safety and ensure quality learning experiences. As a result, serious consideration is being given to a blended model, or Plan B as presented in the draft HSSD shared on July 2.

By moving to a Plan B model (students at Lineville in-person 2 or 3 days per week), we would be able to maintain physical distancing while providing a safer and more comfortable environment for students. Additionally, the academic experience we can provide will be more rigorous because it will allow for small group and individual instruction, paired with additional practice, enrichment and problem solving activities delivered virtually.

The purpose of this survey is to enlist additional input and inform our thinking as to the structure within a Plan B model. Your feedback will help us to design a format that best meets the needs of students, while being as sensitive as we can be to the needs of families. Please share your responses by Tuesday, July 21 at 4 p.m. Click here to participate in the survey.

With appreciation,

Phil Hart, Principal
Kate Malcore, Associate Principal

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

I trust this communication finds you and yours well. Our HSSD reopen schools task force met yesterday for the fifth time and I am writing to provide an update on our progress. Thank you for reviewing the first draft of our plan and providing feedback through Thoughtexchange. We are grateful for more than 45,000 ratings of 1,000 questions and comments submitted. This real-time feedback is incredibly helpful as we evaluate and define the details of our reopening plan.

Thoughtexchange remains open until Sunday, July 12 at 8 p.m. Once the Thoughtexchange is complete, we will provide a summary to the task force and the Board of Education, in addition to posting an update on the HSSD COVID-19 website.

The coalition of Brown County school superintendents, Greater Green Bay Chamber of Commerce representatives, and healthcare leaders from Bellin, Prevea, Aurora, and the Brown County Health Department met this morning for the third time. Our focus today was what defines a coronavirus outbreak, what might trigger a school shutdown, and gating criteria for schools reopening or moving among instructional models throughout the school year. The group continues to meet weekly to support consistency and coherence in our decision-making and communications.

Our task force action teams are developing a Frequently Asked Questions document based on input from Thoughtexchange. Three emerging themes are among those we are actively evaluating and will be addressing in our updated draft 2.0 plan later this month. This is a non-inclusive list - just a snapshot - as many other important details will also be included in the next draft plan.

• Classroom and school cleaning schedule and process
• School schedules and classroom adjustments to maintain feasible social distancing
• An updated and more specific decision on masks for staff and students

In closing, please continue to remain informed on the HSSD COVID-19 response by visiting our website. Thank you for your patience as our team works to develop a thoughtful, comprehensive plan for our students and staff to return as safely as possible. We will depend on your continued engagement, understanding, and support for a successful reopening. 

With Unity,

Damian LaCroix, Superintendent
Howard-Suamico School District
damilacr@hssdschools.org
920-662-7709

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

At our third HSSD COVID-Comeback Task Force meeting Wednesday, June 24, action teams reviewed and cross-referenced the recently released Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) Education Forward plan for safely and successfully reopening Wisconsin Schools. The DPI document can be summarized as follows:

• It is an outline.
• It is non-binding guidance.
• It is a starting point.
• Individual school districts are responsible for plans and protocols of their own making.
• Our community health environment will continue to change; HSSD plans need to be adaptable.

At its June 22 meeting, the Board of Education received an update on family and staff responses to an HSSD planning survey concerning our return to school in 2020-21. Thank you to the more than 2,100 parents and staff who responded. A summary is available online on our HSSD COVID-19 response website.

HSSD remains in weekly contact with local Brown County school district superintendents, the Brown County Department of Health Services and other private health agencies such as Prevea, Bellin, and Advocate Aurora.These partnerships have been valuable in the initial stages of our planning process and will prove to be crucial as our schools reopen in the fall.

We are on target to meet the goal of a first draft of the HSSD reopening plan by the end of June. HSSD will announce the first draft of the plan July 2 and will share our work to date with families and staff at that time. We will also continue to share relevant updates as our planning process continues throughout July.

Howard-Suamico Community Pool Update

• We are excited to announce the Howard-Suamico Community Pool is in the process of staffing and reopening for limited programming. In the meantime, the pool will remain closed to the public until at least mid-July. Relatedly, swim lessons will not be available in July; a limited set of offerings is being considered for August. Please stay tuned for a reopening date and stay current by visiting the Community Pool website.

In closing, please continue to remain informed on the HSSD COVID-19 response by visiting our website. Thank you for your patience as our team works to develop a thoughtful, comprehensive plan for our students and staff to return as safely as possible. We will depend on your continued engagement, understanding, and support for a successful reopening. 

With Unity,

Damian LaCroix, Superintendent
Howard-Suamico School District
damilacr@hssdschools.org
920-662-7709

Dear HSSD Staff,

I hope this update finds you well. The official first day of summer is just a few days away, but thankfully warmer weather is already here! Our planning for reopening schools in the fall is progressing and I am writing with an update regarding our second HSSD task force meeting, held Wednesday, June 17. 

At the most recent meeting, we expanded membership on the three action teams (Instructional Core/SEL, Operations/Resources, and Stakeholders/Communications) to ensure representation from each of our schools and departments. I am grateful for the time and talents of our colleagues in support of this vital work.

The task force reviewed input from more than 2,100 responses to our HSSD 2020-21 Planning Survey. We will present a summary of the survey to the Board of Education Monday, June 22 and will post the summary online next week. Notable responses include:

• If schools are open, do you intend to send your child(ren) to school this fall?
  • Yes 75% (1,636)
  • Uncertain 23% (501)
  • No 1% (27)
• If the guidance from the Department of Public Instruction and the Brown County Health Department recommends that it is safe for in-person instruction, would you be comfortable having your student return to school this fall?
  • Comfortable with minimal or no concerns 51% (1,097)
  • Comfortable with concerns 32% (687)
  • Somewhat comfortable 12% (265)
  • Not at all comfortable 5% (113)

As the task force continues its work throughout the summer and related elements are formulated, we will provide more opportunities for staff and family input. We anticipate an important update with guidance from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Monday, June 22 which will further shape our thinking. We also remain in frequent contact with the other Brown County School Districts and local public and private health system leaders to understand and apply relevant recommendations.

The third task force meeting is Wednesday, June 24. We will share an update with families and staff following the meeting. We remain on track for a first draft of the district reopening plan which we intend to share with families and staff before the July 4 holiday weekend.

In closing, please continue to stay informed on the HSSD COVID-19 response by visiting our website. I wish you a well-deserved rest and recharge this summer. Thank you for your patience and professionalism. Be assured that I will keep you updated as plans progress.

With Unity,

Damian LaCroix, Superintendent
Howard-Suamico School District
damilacr@hssdschools.org
920-662-7709

Dear HSSD Families and Staff,

With the 2019-20 school year at a close, we turn our focus to the fall and our planning efforts to reopen Howard-Suamico School District buildings to students and staff. 

A task force of HSSD teachers and district leaders met June 3 to begin the work of developing plans and contingencies for the fall. The Board of Education received a progress update Monday, June 8. Next steps include a meeting of 10 Brown County school district superintendents Monday, June 15 along with representatives from the Brown County Department of Health Services and other public and private health agencies. The HSSD task force will convene its next meeting Wednesday, June 17.

To help guide our next task force meeting, we are inviting parents and staff to share input and concerns by clicking here to participate in a survey, open from June 10-16. Similar surveys are being used in other Brown County school districts to support our collective planning efforts. In addition to reporting results of the survey to the HSSD task force, we will post the results online on our HSSD COVID-19 response website.

Our goal is to have a first draft of the HSSD reopening plan by the end of June. We will share details and opportunities for parents, students, and staff to engage in subsequent steps of our planning process as they become available.

Other Updates

• Thank you to Bellin Health for its guidance and expertise in reviewing the HSSD staff safety plan for our nine school facilities. We are grateful for the partnership in support of community health!
   
• Details for families in need of food benefits support throughout the summer will be coming later this week from our School Nutrition Department. This is in addition to our continued free lunch service for all students Mondays and Wednesdays through the summer. Please look for an email with application information or call the School Nutrition team with questions at 920-662-7723.
   
• Device return update for students completing grades 8 and 12: any district-issued iPads or MacBooks that have not been returned should be brought to the HSSD District Office. Office hours are Monday-Thursday 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
   
• In case you missed it: we celebrated 476 Bay Port graduates with a Virtual Commencement program last Sunday. The online event drew rave reviews! Click here to watch.

In closing, please continue to stay informed on the HSSD COVID-19 response by visiting our website. Thank you for your support throughout this challenging spring. We will rely on your continued engagement for a successful reopening this fall. 

With Unity,

Damian LaCroix, Superintendent
Howard-Suamico School District
damilacr@hssdschools.org
920-662-7709

View communications sent in the 2019-20 school year regarding COVID-19.