COVID-19 Information
Please be assured that PRWS faculty and staff understand and share your concern for the well-being of our students, our employees and our school families during this high-stress time. Given the complex and rapidly evolving situation, we encourage you to visit the public resources linked below for the most detailed and up-to-date information on COVID-19. Please bookmark this page as we will continue to update it with information as it relates to PRWS.
The school office is receiving phone calls (608-637-7828), Monday through Thursday, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Voicemail will also be checked on a regular basis. You can also email [email protected] to reach the PRWS Returning to School Task Force.
Communication and Updates
PRWS COVID-19 Returning to School Plan – Draft
August 26: Town Hall Gratitude + Work Day This Saturday!
August 20: Town Hall Meeting Recording
August 19: PRWS Returning to School Plan & Town Hall Information: click here
August 13: Two Important PRWS Back-To-School Events: click here
August 1: Important Updates for the 2020-21 School Year: click here
July 15: Important Updates for the Coming School Year: click here
June 13: Important Updates from the Returning to School Taskforce: click here
April 16: Important Covid-19 Update for the PRWS Community: click here
March 25: Important Update from PRWS BOD and Finance Committee: click here
March 18: Governor Tony Evers directed DHS to close all K-12 schools (public and private) for instructional and extracurricular purposes. The mandated closure begins at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18, 2020, and will last through the end of the public health emergency declared by the Governor on March 12, 2020, or until a superseding order is issued.
March 16: Message to the PRWS School Community
March 13: Message to PRWS School Community
March 11: Message to PRWS School Community
Public Resources and Information
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
World Health Organization Coronavirus Advisory Info
World Health Organization Coronavirus Q&A
Wisconsin Department of Health Services COVID-19 Page
Vernon County Public Health Department COVID-19 Information
Additional Resources
How to Talk to Children About Difficult News
Explaining the News to Our Kids
How to Talk to Kids About the Coronavirus Outbreak
How to Talk to Kids About Coronavirus
A Comic About What Kids Want to Know About the Coronavirus
Coping During COVID-19: Resources for Parents
Research and Resources
What We Know About COVID-19 Transmission in Children, by Dr Naomi Bardach, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Health Policy, UCSF. In this webinar, Dr Barcach discusses transmission in general, as well as her work with a summer camp in the Bay Area in July. This is the first presentation in Session 1. Session 2 is all about how the virus is transmitted and risk mitigation strategies for schools. It also discusses some basic metrics for safe reopening.
How the Virus Gets in and How to Block It: Aerosols, Droplets, Masks, Face Shields, and More, UCSF COVID Grand Rounds from July 16, 2020: Covid-19
COVID-19 School and Community Resource Library from Mass General Hospital (affiliated with Harvard) and routinely update. Currently 100 pages (most recent updates highlighted in green) divided into 20 sections, each section has a summary of current data and links to studies, articles, policy statements, et cetera. The task force has routinely returned to this resource to help answer specific questions and to learn about newer data as it is emerging.
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction COVID-19 Guidance
Wisconsin Department of Health Services School Guidance
American Academy of Pediatrics: Clinical Guidance related to COVID-19 and school re-opening, including their recently updated support for universal use of cloth face coverings in the schools.
Harvard Global Health Institute for guidance on metrics and risk mitigation strategies for reopening.
Minnesota Department of Health School reopening guidance (link 1, link 2)
We Thought it Was Just a Respiratory Virus UCSF Magazine, Summer 2020. An excellent summary on COVID-19 illness with links embedded in the article.
- SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in an Overnight Camp (in Georgia)
- COVID-19-Associated Multisystem Inflammatory in Children
- COVID-19 MMWR main list
FAQ on masks from a pediatrician (NY)
AAP data report on children and COVID from 8/13
Johns Hopkins School resources
Healthy Children Parent Handout on MISC (severe illness related to COVID in children)
Masks do more than protect others (cruise ship data on masks)