COVID-19
It’s amazing to think how quickly circumstances have changed in the last few weeks! During the week of March 9 – 13, administrators were reviewing the existing Pandemic Plan and preparing for the possibilities the future may hold. On Friday, March 13, an emergency after school meeting was held to debrief all MAPS staff about how we will proceed should our buildings close. Not long after our meeting adjourned, Governor Tony Evers announced a statewide closure of all school districts until further notice.
Due to the identification of people testing positive for the Coronavirus to our south, I decided to close all MAPS buildings on the evening of Sunday, March 15 in the interest of student and staff safety.
Since that time there has been a flurry of activity involving our students, staff and families. Board Meetings and Committee Meetings have been conducted through a combination of face-to-face and virtual presence. Administrative meetings and staff meetings have consistently taken place as virtual meetings. We continue to remain informed as policies and procedures continue to be challenged in light of our new means of conducting business.
We are in a much better position than other districts as we meet these recent challenges. While effective connectivity to the Internet from home is not an option for all families, our students have the 1:1 technology available to them. The structure of our district allowed us to understand our roles and to effectively develop a plan in a short amount of time. We were able to make the transition from the school properties to home as the only personnel physically present are the Building and Grounds employees and limited food service staff.
I appreciate the struggles our families are facing and the flexibility you have shown during this unprecedented time. Please continue to work with your child’s teachers and your building principals as we are all available to you.
As MAPS Bluejays, we continue to build our culture using a simple formula. Event + Response = Outcome, or E + R = O. We can’t control the events in our life, but we have complete control of our response to the event. By choosing a disciplined response, we are able to obtain a positive outcome. We will continue to choose disciplined responses as we meet the needs of our students, our families and each other.
Information and Progress for Meals Pick Up
Meals became available for pick up during Spring Break beginning on Monday, March 23. Meals picked up on Monday consisted of breakfasts and lunches for Monday and Tuesday. Meals picked up on Wednesday consisted of breakfasts and lunches for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Meals will be provided each and every Monday and Wednesday until further notice. Meals may be picked up every Monday and Wednesday from 8:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. at Door 23 at Merrill High School as a drive up service. Meals are available to all students, public and parochial, at no cost.
Below are the numbers of meals prepared and provided:
• Monday, March 23 – 365 students fed for a total of 1,460 meals
• Wednesday, March 25 – 492 students fed for a total of 2,952 meals
I continue to be impressed by the production of our Taher food service employees as they are operating with a limited number of staff per the state requirements.
We will continue to update our website with important information. Please check our web page frequently at https://www.mapsedu.org/district/corona.cfm
It amazes me how our families, our district and our community have provided services and resources during this period. There are so many people that continue to go above and beyond to keep our community safe! Thank you to those who continue to meet the demands of all residents!
John Sample
Proud Superintendent