MPS families received notification Sunday night that all district schools will transition to virtual learning for at least the first week of 2022.
(UPDATE: Virtual learning will now continue for another week, with students expected to return to classrooms on Tuesday, Jan. 18.)
Schools were expected to reopen Tuesday after winter break.
Instead, students will learn at home on district-provided Chromebooks.
According to the information, MPS hoped to bring students back to buildings on Monday, Jan. 10, but later the board voted to extend virtual learning for a second week.
Here is the complete information from the district:
"Milwaukee Public Schools has announced that all MPS schools will transition to virtual learning beginning Tuesday, January 4, 2022. MPS was scheduled to resume in-person learning on January 4, 2022, but due to an influx of reported positive COVID-19 cases among district staff, this emergency safety measure is being implemented. All district staff that are not in quarantine in accordance with MPS COVID-19 protocol are expected to report to their work location.
"MPS will continue providing expanded COVID-19 testing opportunities for MPS students and staff Monday, January 3, 2022, at six MPS locations from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. When in-person learning resumes, testing will continue to be available for students and staff at each school location.
"To support students and families during virtual learning, student meals will be provided daily at various Stop, Grab & Go locations from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. More information on student meals will be posted on the district website, school websites, and social media.
"The district's goal is to resume in-person learning Monday, January 10, 2022, we will continue to assess the situation and provide updates as new information becomes available."
Throughout the school year, individual schools have transitioned to temporary virtual learning when the number of cases in the building have reached 3 percent over a two-week period.
This is the first transition of the entire district to virtual learning since many students returned to in-person learning in April.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
