Richland Area Childcare Task Force Seek Parent/Caregiver Feedback The first 5 years of a child's life are critical for development, so flexible, quality, early childhood education is important to the success of all families. In Southwest Wisconsin, there are many great options for early childcare & education, but there continue to be unmet needs. The members of the Richland Area Childcare Taskforce are working to understand the needs for childcare and how a community response can help. This is a new initiative by Southwest Partners and other community leaders, and aims to include the voices of childcare providers and the families they serve. They are asking all parents and caregivers to share their perspectives in a new online survey or by contacting Extension Richland County at 608-647-6148. According to the co-chairs of Richland Area Childcare Taskforce, Becky Dahl and Liz Perkins, they plan to align local efforts with statewide work that is ongoing to assess needs and create a vision for quality, affordable and accessible child care across the state through Wisconsin’s Preschool Development Grant program. Says Dahl, “We are fortunate to be part of a regional grant with Wisconsin Early Childhood Association. The Wisconsin Early Education Shared Services Network is currently being successful administrated in our neighboring counties of Vernon, Monroe, and Dane. The grant has been expanded to Southwest WI, to include Richland, Crawford, Grant, Green, Iowa, and Lafayette Counties.” She notes that the regional approach is impactful because community members are traveling in and out of many neighboring counties for employment. Other members of Richland Area Childcare Taskforce (Jasen Glasbrenner, Brandon Fetterly, Chelsea Wunnicke, and Stephanie Ronnfeldt) are interested in both the family and economic impact of childcare availability, and the changes that have happened due to COVID 19. By participating in the survey, Parents and Caregivers can share their thoughts and experiences, to help the team craft solutions that resonate with their needs. They plan to share the results with decision makers, local elected officials, and businesses. Anyone interested in helping to build a stronger childcare network together, is welcome to contact any member of Richland Area Childcare Taskforce, or can inquire at Extension Richland County. |
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List of Ongoing Free COVID Testing Sites in Sauk County:
*Please note-Community Testing Sites are not providing antibody testing at this time. The tests that the Community Testing Sites are using detect active infection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. These tests are not antibody tests and will not tell you if you have previously have COVID and have now recovered.*
Remember you do not have to have symptoms to be tested, you could be carrying the virus and not even know it, making you asymptomatic.
Testing Every Monday from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Spring Green Fire/EMS
327 S Winsted St, Spring Green, WI 53588
Appointments are Required, call 608-393-2413
Testing In August Testing Tuesdays from 8:00 am- Noon
Reedsburg Ambulance Service
230 Railroad St, Reedsburg WI 53959
Appointments are Required, register online (you will be leaving the Sauk County website)
Testing Wednesdays from 2:00 - 7:00 pm
Sauk Prairie Healthcare
Wellspring Drive Through Bay, 95 Lincoln Ave, Prairie du Sac, WI 53578
Upcoming Testing dates: August 5th, August 12th, August 19th, August 26th.
Appointments are Required. Appointment booking for each testing date will open on the Thursday before. To make an appointment call 608-643-7603.
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Protecting Our Students and Community from Coronavirus
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When School Resumes
The safety of our students and staff is our top priority. When school resumes, please watch for the following symptoms. Keep students home from school and contact their physician to ask to be tested for Coronavirus if they have these symptoms:
- Fever
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
Please contact the school 608-986-2151 to report the absence and symptoms. Learn more about the symptoms and treatment of Coronavirus at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website. Those at highest risk for Coronavirus complications are older adults and individuals with compromised immune systems or heart, lung and kidney disease. See how Coronavirus is spread. It can take two to 14 days for a person to develop symptoms after initial exposure to the virus; the average is about five days.
We have no known cases of COVID-19 among students or staff in Weston School District.
We continue to closely monitor the situation with our School Nurses and Sauk and Richland County Health Departments, as well as review updates from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Department of Public Instruction and the CDC. Here is the latest information on confirmed cases in Wisconsin.
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What You Can Do and Our Cleaning Measures
Weston School District has a routine cleaning regimen in place to help reduce the spread of germs and communicable disease. In addition to our regular cleaning and disinfection, we are increasing the cleaning of high-touch areas and hard and soft surface items throughout the day. We will follow all guidelines of the CDC and our local and state health departments.
- Wash your hands regularly, for 20 seconds, using soap and hot water. Make sure to wash your fingertips. This is especially important after using the restroom, coughing or sneezing into your hands, and before preparing or consuming food.
- Avoid coughing or sneezing into your hands or in the air. Always try to cough or sneeze into a tissue, and then throw the tissue away. If you don’t have a tissue, cough/sneeze into your arm.
- As much as you can, avoid touching your eyes, mouth and nose.
- If children are feeling sick, please keep them home from school. Families should have a plan in place for keeping your child home, picking up your child if they are sent home sick, and if schools are closed.
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Travel Restrictions
This is a rapidly evolving situation, with the World Health Organization declaring Coronavirus a pandemic, the President and Governor declaring it a public health emergency and the President issuing a month-long ban effective March 13 on all travel from Europe, including the UK and Ireland, to the U.S.
The state of Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) is asking schools and organizations to:
- Cancel events with over 250 people
- Avoid non-essential domestic travel
- Avoid traveling to areas in the US with sustained community transmission of COVID-19 (currently Washington, New York, and California). See map of US sustained community transmission of COVID-19.
- Self-quarantine for 14 days upon return for anyone who travels to any U.S. states with confirmed community spread of COVID-19.
Many families have travel plans for spring break. If your family is planning to travel to a country with a Level 3 travel health notice, please contact the Weston School District at 608-986-2151 before returning to school. The CDC is asking you to self-quarantine for 14 days. Read more about travel on the CDC's website.
We appreciate your patience with this fluid situation and we will continue to update you as needed. Please rest assured that we will continue to put your students’ safety first. If you have any questions, reach out to Mr. Syftestad by email or at 608-986-2151.
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