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VOL. 124 NO. 47 www.whitebearpress.com $1.00
COVID-19 RELIEF FUND: City to distribute grants PAGE 9A
More than just a day care: Local care provider builds community
Back to school Recommended school policy options based on 14-day case rate range (Rate per 10,000 people)
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Elementary in-person; middle/ high school hybrid
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Both elementary and middle/high school hybrid
Elementary hybrid; middle/high school distance
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BY KATIE LEIBEL CONTRIBUTING WRITER
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Both distance
50 OR More Source: Minnesota Department of Health
BY SARA MARIE MOORE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
White Bear Lake Area Schools has pushed back the start date of school by a week so teachers have more time to prepare for students to be safer in classrooms as the COVID-19 virus spreads across the state. The district plans to then go forward with the plans it voted on in early August to conduct hybrid learning for all grades. Students will begin Sept. 14 or Sept. 15, based on their rotation. Students will be in classrooms two days a week, distance learning from home two days a week and do independent learning one day a week. The four lost days will not be added to the end of the school year but throughout the school year. “Having that extra time to prepare will allow us to start the school year in a better spot,” said Superintendent Wayne Kazmierczak at a school board work session Aug. 24. The majority of the board agreed with the later start date. Board member Angela Thompson made a motion to start secondary schools with distance learning Sept. 14 and begin hybrid learning for older students at the end of the month. She stated concerns that one week was
WHITE BEAR LAKE AREA SCHOOLS | SUBMITTED
White Bear Lake Area students will be in classrooms two days a week, distance learning from home two days a week and do independent learning one day a week.
not enough time to prepare. She said there are more and more questions coming, the closer the school year gets. “I don’t think we have a plan in place that makes me feel if I was a teacher that I would feel comfortable,” she said. The board voted 4-3 not to extend the start date past Sept. 14. Scott Arcand and Jessica Ellison sided with Thompson for a later start date. Ellison, who voted against the hybrid model earlier in August, said she had concerns with the extra
expectations placed on teachers for implementing social distancing. “It feels like a heavy load,” she said. She said she is thankful for all the work the district has done to try to start school but said that many questions remain unanswered. “This is an impossible situation,” she noted. “This is a really important decision and there are so many questions you are doing your best to answer — but maybe there are no answers.”
We all have a different idea of what a hero or good Samaritan looks like. We envision police officers, firefighters, volunteers, doctors and more, but we often forget some of the people in our community who play an integral part in keeping everything running. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to accomplish the things we do as a whole. One of those people is Judy Pilz. Pilz turns 79 years old Sept. 16. In 2022 she will receive her 45-year award from the National Day Care Association for being a licensed day care for that entire time. But her day care experience began even before she was licensed. “I’ve been doing day care since my daughter was born, and she’s going to be 49,” Pilz said. Taking care of that many children in our community has led her to raise and meld many young minds to become respectable adults, and she has also had a great impact on their parents. “It’s people like Judy who are the pillars of our community,” said Rebecca Blaesing-Bauer, whose children attended Pilz’s child care while they were growing up. “Judy helped me out in a horrible spot. She created a second home for my kids.” Pilz said that parents often told her that they worried more when their children went to visit with friends or attended school than when they were under her care. “My children are all biracial, and Judy has biracial grandchildren. Going to her home was a very safe and welcoming place for my kids,” Blaesing-Bauer said. Pilz continues to run her day care for a simple reason: because she loves children. When talking about her
SEE BACK TO SCHOOL, PAGE 8A
SEE DAY CARE, PAGE 8A
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