Class schedule on federal holiday creates confusion for some
By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
While seven Western Kenosha County schools kept their doors closed Monday for winter break, four resumed classes, which created confusion among some parents and apparently contributed to hundreds of absences at Westosha Central High School.
Westosha Central Principal Lisa Albrecht reported in an email Monday there were “approximately 420 students” not in attendance, which is about 37 percent of the total student enrollment.
Albrecht, however, chose to stay positive, noting the other 63 percent attended classes.
Westosha Central District Administrator Scott Pierce declined to respond to questions regarding the absences, calling the matter a “non-story.”
“We had students absent on Monday just as we do any other day,” he said in an email Tuesday.
However, other local school administrators offered further insight into the concern over resuming classes on Monday, which was a holiday for many because New Year’s Day fell on Sunday this year.
According to Brighton School District Administrator Penny Boileau, the school initially approved Monday as the first day back from winter break, but amended the academic calendar after parents expressed some concerns.
“As we got closer to the holidays, people began questioning if the day was an error on the calendar,” said Boileau in an email Tuesday. “When we realized Jan. 2 was the nationally recognized day for New Year’s Day, we had the board review it and they decided to change the calendar.”
Boileau said among the concerns were family commitments, including parents who had the day off and those who had child custody agreements.
“I talked with numerous families and it seemed like the best decision to not have school,” she said. “Many of our parents had the day off and we also have students who have divorced parents and the one parent who gets New Year’s Day had Monday, so it was nice for those families to be able to have family time.”
Brighton School attempts to match Westosha Central in holidays and early dismissal dates, but Boileau said Brighton has fewer short days.
Normal day at Bristol
At Bristol School, a Westosha Central feeder school, there were no significant issues on Monday, according to District Administrator Michael Juech.
“For us, we had 75 kids absent out of our 756, so a little under 10 percent,” Juech said in a phone interview. “We had a good number of students coming back eager to get in touch with their teachers.”
Juech, who was not the administrator when the academic calendar was approved, reported that all feeder schools attempt to match schedules with Westosha Central.
“We do work and collaborate with other school districts as best we can,” said Juech.
Like Bristol, other Westosha Central feeder schools, such as Salem Grade and Paris Consolidated were open.
Brighton School and Wheatland Center School, however, opted to stay closed.
Parent confused
Meanwhile, for a parent who has a daughter attending Wheatland School and another enrolled at Westosha Central, the calendars created confusion.
Marcia Pisani, who is satisfied with Westosha Central’s programs, said she thought Monday’s class schedule may have been an error.
“Overall, I am happy with Central, just surprised,” she said.
“I was definitely surprised they were open,” Pisani said on social media. Her daughter, Leah, is a sophomore at Central. “When my daughter mentioned it, I thought it might be a typo on their calendar.”
The calendar showed a different schedule at Wheatland, where Pisani’s daughter, Vivian, attends seventh grade.
“My younger daughter goes to Wheatland, and was off, I never would have guessed Central wouldn’t have been off as well,” said Pisano, who believes communication was essential in this circumstance.
“I do think it could have been communicated more clearly,” she said. “When Monday is a federal holiday and most of the grade schools are still on break, it is an easy thing to overlook on a school calendar.”
The four that stayed open were the only schools open in both Racine and Kenosha counties, which includes Racine and Kenosha Unified School Districts.