Wauwatosa Schools To Go Virtual For Rest Of Week

In order to "err on the side of caution," the Wauwatosa School District has decided to shift students who chose a hybrid learning system to a fully virtual model for the rest of the week, starting on Wednesday.

In letter from, Dr. Phil Ertl, the district superintendent, referenced the impending decision on Wednesday regarding a fatal shooting involving now suspended Wauwatosa Police Officer Joseph Mensah. The Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office will determine if Mensah will face criminal charges in the death of 17-year-old Alvin Cole.

Kimberley Motley, the attorney for the Cole family, confirmed to Patch the District Attorney John Chisholm will share his decision on Wednesday.

The DA's office hasn't confirmed to Patch the plan to announce the decision.

The Wauwatosa City Hall and library will close on Wednesday at noon and reopen on Monday.

Ertl's letter said:

"Whether Officer Mensah will face charges or not, we understand that individuals may find themselves dealing with feelings of pain, frustration, and anger, and there may be protests that take place in our community. While we hope any protests remain peaceful in nature, we also recognize that there is great uncertainty ahead.

To proactively err on the side of caution and protect the safety of our students, staff and families, we have decided to shift Cohort B Phase Into Learning students to a virtual learning model for the remainder of the week. We will continue to follow the hybrid schedule in this virtual environment.

Students in Cohort B will engage in asynchronous virtual learning on Wednesday and will participate in synchronous virtual learning on Thursday and Friday.

They will meet virtually with their instructors and peers at the times they would normally attend class in-person. Secondary students in Cohort B will be required to sign in to each class period's Zoom session on Thursday and Friday to be marked as "present." If a student is unable to attend a session, a parent or guardian must email the school's administrative assistant. This information can be found on each school's website.

Students in Cohort A will participate in asynchronous virtual learning on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The school day schedule will not change for these students.

We plan to resume our usual hybrid schedule on Monday. In the meantime, we will be closely monitoring events in our community to determine the best course of action for next week's schedule. We will communicate with families as soon as possible if these plans change.

Please note that there will be no recreation activities, Right at School care or after-school activities held on district property for the rest of the week and through the weekend. Extracurricular activities and sports may still take place. but cannot be held on district property or in Wauwatosa. Please contact your student's coach or activity leader with questions about practices or events.

Due to the short notice of this shift, meal pickup for all Cohort B students - including those enrolled in Phase Into Learning, Tosa Connected and WVA -Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Whitman and Longfellow Middle Schools. Families do not need to fill out a form and can simply come pick up their student's meals. If you are unable to pick up meals during that time, you may have someone pick up the meals on your behalf. They must just provide the student's name upon pickup.

And finally, we are actively preparing a variety of resources that will support all of our students and families during these uncertain times. That information will be provided in the coming days by your building principal or a member of our Student Services Department.

Again, our top priority is protecting the safety of our staff, students, and families. We look forward to welcoming our Phase Into Learning staff and student cohort groups back into our buildings next week. As always, thank you for your flexibility and understanding as we navigate these uncertain times together."