Schools

MIDDLETON–Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District (MCPASD) Board of Education member Bob Green asked Superintendent Dana Monogue to comment on the closure of Elm Lawn Elementary following three individuals testing positive for COVID-19 at the board’s regular meeting Oct. 12. 

Monogue said three staff members tested positive at the building and all quarantining and contact tracing protocols have been used. The district is working with Public Health of Madison and Dane County (PHMDC) to determine the best course of action.

The building is closed through the end of the week for deep cleaning. All staff at the building have been alerted, Monogue said. The families of a small number of students attending Elm Lawn in-person were also contacted.

Green said going forward he would like any cases and closures included in the pandemic planning discussions.

MIDDLETON–The Middleton Cross Plains Area School District (MCPASD) Board of Education voted to continue virtual learning through the semester or until health metrics for returning to in-person learning put out by Public Health Madison Dane County (PHMDC) are met. The board will revisit the decision at its Dec. 7 meeting or schedule a special meeting in the event PHMDC metrics are met.

Superintendent Dana Monogue presented two options for the board to vote on at its Sept. 28 meeting: 

Option one: Remain in virtual model until PHMDC/CDC guidelines are met.

Option two: Bring PreK through second grade students into schools in a blended model starting on Nov. 2 and delay bringing 3-12 students into schools until PHMDC/CDC guidelines are met.

On Aug. 21 PHMDC released health metrics for in-person instruction, which the board committed to following at its Aug. 24 meeting.

MIDDLETON–The garden at Elm Lawn Elementary has been a collaboration between parents, students, staff and the Plant Dane Native Plant Program, and now the space has been certified a Monarch Waystation by Monarch Watch.

Elm Lawn parent Nicole Westphal, and the PTO re-envisioned the space that first became a garden in the 1990s as a Girl Scout Gold Project. Over the years it was also a BSA Eagle Scout project and has fluctuated back and forth from being a vegetable garden to an ornamental garden, even sitting idle for a while. Now the space is home to vegetables, herbs and perennial, annual and native plants.

MIDDLETON–The Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District Board of Education reviewed the latest developments in the district’s planning for students returning to school in the fall. The board chose to have all grade levels begin school virtually, but will revisit the decision at its Sept. 28 meeting based on new data and experiences of schools that are offering in-person instruction.

Superintendent Dana Monogue said a shift to in-person instruction will be guided by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and Public Health of Madison and  Dane County. She noted no guidance had yet been given from either agency specific to schools but is expected imminently. 

MIDDLETON–The Middleton Common Council tabled an agreement with the Middleton Cross Plains Area School District (MCPASD) to provide police officers at Middleton High School (MHS) and Kromrey Middle School after voting to reconsider it. The agreement for the SRO (Student Resource Officer) program has come under scrutiny since its approval by the school board at the June 22 by community members, students, parents and alumni who are calling for suspending the program while it is reviewed. 

During the council meeting two members from the School Community Partnership committee presented a plan to suspend and review the program. School district administrators and Middleton police presented on the history of the program, its benefits and a review plan to be completed by January.

MIDDLETON–The Middleton-Cross Plains School District Board of Education unanimously adopted a plan to begin the year with a strictly virtual instructional model and pivot to full-time in-person instruction or a hybrid model later in the year based on local health data.

Superintendent Dana Monogue acknowledged the plan will please some families and disappoint others, but said the health and safety of students and staff is the district’s highest priority. 

“Schools have been placed in the middle of an impossible decisions, one where we must weigh the health and safety of our students and staff against concerns regarding the academic, social and emotional well-being of our students,” Monogue said.  

Monogue said under the current rate of COVID-19 infections locally staff or students would inevitably contract the virus. 

MIDDLETON–The Middleton-Cross Plains School District Board of Education unanimously adopted a plan to begin the year with a strictly virtual instructional model and pivot to full-time in-person instruction or a hybrid model later in the year based on local health data.

Superintendent Dana Monogue acknowledged the plan will please some families and disappoint others, but said the health and safety of students and staff is the district’s highest priority. 

“Schools have been placed in the middle of an impossible decisions, one where we must weigh the health and safety of our students and staff against concerns regarding the academic, social and emotional well-being of our students,” Monogue said.  

Monogue said under the current rate of COVID-19 infections locally staff or students would inevitably contract the virus. 

MIDDLETON–The Middleton Cross Plains School District (MCPASD) Board of Education reviewed and discussed the options district administration is considering for instruction in the fall. The options include a full return to in-person instruction, fully virtual and various hybrid models. The board meets on July 20 for a decision. Any plan approved by the board will need to meet the requirements and guidelines established by Public Health Madison Dane County (PHMDC) which have been delayed in light of emerging data on COVID-19 infection rates locally.

Superintendent Dana Monogue said the administration will have a final recommendation for the board and expect a vote at the July 20 meeting to give district staff as much time as possible to plan for fall.

MIDDLETON–Since canceling the traditional graduation slated for June, the Middleton Cross Plains Area School District (MCPASD) is now planning to hold a Drive-Up Graduation Ceremony at Middleton High School (MHS) July 25.

The district is still working out details out for the event, but officials are hoping it will include:

• Assigned times based on last names of students to keep traffic from backing up. This iwould be similar to the cap and gown distribution in late May.

• Graduates having their name introduced as they enter the loop adjacent to Bristol Street.

• MHS principal Peg Shoemaker, CSCS principal Jill Gurtner and Superintendent Dana Monogue would be on hand to congratulate graduates and their families as they get their diploma.

• A digital sign courtesy of the City of Middleton to congratulate graduates.

MIDDLETON–Kids teaching kids! While many parents worry about online learning, these teens are embracing it. When Middleton High School students belonging to Wisconsin's BadgerBOTS robotics team learned that they would not have in-person summer classes, they decided to create their own two-week, online lessons in Photoshop, Java programming, and CAD for kids aged 13-18. Without a pipeline of kids learning STEM skills, FRC Team 1306 worried they wouldn’t have enough students interested in robotics to continue in competitions.

Course DescriptionsNo prior knowledge or experience required

CAD and 3D Printing 101, July 20-July 31: