Emily Files

Schools across Wisconsin are shut down until at least April 24, as directed by Gov. Tony Evers. It’s one way the state is trying to flatten the curve of the coronavirus outbreak.

During the long closure, Milwaukee Public Schools has prioritized meeting families’ basic needs with free meal distribution. In terms of student learning, the district has given families printed and online "enrichment" materials that won’t be graded.

Monday was the first day of coronavirus-related school closures for thousands of children across Wisconsin. Late last week, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers ordered all Wisconsin K-12 schools to shut down in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Wisconsin parents and children are adjusting to a new reality — kids staying at home with no school for at least three weeks. To slow the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Tony Evers ordered all K-12 schools closed starting Wednesday through April 6. Many schools are closing earlier, starting Monday.

Updated Friday at 11:14 a.m. CT

On Wednesday, Wisconsin health officials announced the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state has jumped from three to six.

Colleges are taking unprecedented steps to minimize the coronavirus risk. UW-Madison will suspend in-person classes after spring break and move instruction online for at least three weeks.

Updated Thursday at 5:01 p.m. CT

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee employee who was tested for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, is not infected. The school also says it's canceling all spring semester study abroad programs. 

On Wednesday, UWM Chancellor Mark Mone announced the university was officially suspending in-person classes between March 30 (after a prolonged spring break) and April 10. 

When Andrew Martin was hired to work in MPS in 2012, he showed up to his assigned high school and was greeted with confusion. “The principal said, ‘Oh I didn’t know we were getting somebody. What position are you here for?’ And I said 'Well, I was hired as a social studies teacher,'” he remembers. 

The mix-up was sorted out, and Martin stayed with MPS for eight years. But along the way, he kept hearing other stories about human resources mishaps and delays that frustrate even teachers who really want to work for MPS.  

A relatively new Milwaukee college completion charity working to bolster the number of low-income students of color earning college degrees will more than double the number of young people it serves this year.

All-In Milwaukee provides for its students what many wealthy and middle-class collegegoers take for granted: financial support, help navigating unfamiliar systems, and connections to secure job placement after graduation.

High-quality early childhood education is often inaccessible for Milwaukee families. That’s the bottom line from a recently-released needs assessment commissioned by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.

In early February, Gov. Tony Evers signed Wisconsin’s first dyslexia law. It requires the Department of Public Instruction to create a guidebook about the common reading disability.