Following a significant rise in positive COVID-19 cases and student and staff absences, the 723 4th and 6th graders enrolled at Northside Intermediate School in Milton will transition to virtual instruction beginning December 16th at 9:00 a.m.

The District shared the following message with impacted families:

The School District of Milton has been working alongside the Rock County Public Health Department to actively monitor the spread of COVID-19 in our area. Earlier this week, we
alerted families to a significant increase in the number of students attending Northside Intermediate who are either in isolation or who have been directed to quarantine due to
confirmed cases of COVID-19 within the school.

As of Wednesday morning, 21 students and 2 staff members are in isolation for having tested positive for COVID-19. An additional 95 are in quarantine due to in-school exposures
within Northside. In-school exposures have been as a result of lunch hour exposures, small group instruction periods where physical distancing was not maintained, or improper mask use by positive individuals. 23 more students are in quarantine due to outside of school exposures.

In total, 27% of the students at Northside are out today. These absences are due to positive COVID-19 test results, quarantine orders, and non-COVID related illnesses. A number of students and staff are out while they await the results of their COVID-19 tests. Some students are also absent as parents have expressed concerns about potential exposure to COVID-19 within Northside. We also have 6 unfilled teacher absences today.

Following our discussions with the Rock County Health Department, Superintendent Dahman has decided to pause in-person instruction at Northside Intermediate and switch to a virtual learning model for all Northside students. This shift will take effect Thursday, December 16 and will only affect Northside students.

The decision to switch to virtual was made after careful consideration of the above data. This temporary shift to virtual allows the District to balance the need to provide students
and staff with a safe, learning environment with our responsibility to provide students with a consistent and quality education.

Students may choose to complete in-person instruction December 15. Virtual synchronous instruction will begin at 9am on Thursday for all Northside students. We plan for  students to return for in-person instruction following winter break on Monday, January 3. Information on lesson plans will be communicated directly from your student’s teacher.

DEVICE PICK UP – To support student learning during virtual instruction, students will be sent home with their iPads today. For those students who are out today and/or do not have their District iPads with them, please contact your student’s teacher or front office staff to arrange pick up. If you have any concerns about WiFi connectivity, please contact the front office. (608-868-9280)

Families interested in a breakfast and lunch meal pickup during virtual instruction, are asked to contact our Director of Nutrition, Michael Gosdeck at (gosdeckm@milton.k12.wi.us) to make arrangements.

Families are expected to continue to self-monitor for COVID symptoms throughout the virtual instruction period. If anyone in your household becomes symptomatic, they must isolate themselves. If your student is symptomatic, do not send any not fully vaccinated siblings to school. Please contact the Northside attendance line if any member of your family tests positive for COVID-19 during the virtual instruction period or winter break