By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
January 31, 2021
Highlights of the January 25 regular meeting of the Whitewater Unified School District include the following.
Students returned to in-person instruction on January 18. Middle School and High School students not wishing to return to in-person classes are now offered the opportunity to be instructed virtually by WUSD teachers. District Administrator Caroline Pate-Hefty reported:
78% of elementary school students have returned to the classroom.
73% of middle school students have returned to the classroom, and an additional 19% are participating in the “in-house” virtual model.
69% of high school students are back to in-person instruction, plus 18% in the “in-house” virtual model.
The Banner calculated that this equates to approximately 84% of the district students being instructed by WUSD teachers.
There were 45 contributions totalling $4975 to assist a district family whose home was destroyed by fire.
The board voted unanimously, with some reservation, to change the title for the chief executive officer of the district from District Administrator to District Superintendent. Research had indicated that the titles District Administrator and District Superintendent are used interchangably in the state, although the state licensure is for superintendent. Member Jim Stewart indicated that the title superintendent had been used in the district in the 1960’s. Caroline Pate-Hefty mused that this means that she is now the first female superintendent to serve WUSD.
Per the table below, district enrollment declined from 1808 to 1747 from September, 2020 to January, 2021, a net loss of 61 students. Almost all of the loss was at the middle and high school levels. Presumably the primary cause for the decline was students open enrolling to other districts that were offering in-person instruction during the first semester of the school year.
Per the table below, total enrollment in the district from September, 2019 to September, 2020 declined by 158 students. Combined with the loss of 61 students between September, 2020 and January, 2021, the decline of over 200 students apparently may result in a decline in State funding of over $1,000,000.
