In-person Learning

In case you missed it last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, proclaimed that schools should be reopened for in-person learning.

The spread of COVID-19 “among children and from children is not really very big at all, not like one would have suspected,” Dr. Fauci recently told ABC’s This Week. “So let’s try to get the kids back.”

I wholeheartedly agree.

A wide array of studies contend that virtual learning is not as effective as in-person instruction, especially for our most vulnerable students.

Here in Wisconsin, we have one of the largest achievement gaps in the country. We need our children back in the classrooms so that they do not fall even further behind.

The most recently available data shows that less than 40 percent of our students are meeting reading proficiency standards. Those percentages are even lower for children of color.

According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, if a child is not reading proficiently by the 4th grade, they will have a 78 percent chance of never catching up. In addition, two-thirds of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of 4th grade will either end up in jail or on welfare, the organization says.

As you can see, it is extremely important that our children receive in-person instruction to the extent it is possible. I recognize that it must be done safely and that individual districts may experience circumstances that require them to shut down temporarily. Frequently, our local schools have had difficulty remaining open due to staff shortages caused by quarantines.

That is why I believe local school districts should be making these decisions. They know their situations the best and I trust that they will act accordingly. But, if we can bring our students back to school safely, I think we should be doing all we can to make that happen.

As U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in announcing that British schools would be opened: “Keeping our schools closed a moment longer than is absolutely necessary is socially intolerable, economically unsustainable and morally indefensible.”

Election Hearing

As part of their investigations into the Nov. 3 election, the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections and the Senate Committee on Elections, Ethics and Rural Issues are currently holding a joint public hearing to hear claims of voter fraud and potential irregularities.

The hearing, which is scheduled to end at 6 p.m., can be viewed live by clicking on this link. Following its conclusion, you can watch the hearing in its entirety by using the same link.

Once the hearing and investigations are completed, we will have the facts we need regarding the allegations being made. I hope that each and every one of us will ultimately feel confident in the legitimacy of the election results.

No matter what the committees find or who is serving as our president, I will remain committed to upholding the Constitution and fighting for fair elections.

Quarantine Periods 

As we learn more and more about COVID-19, our responses have had to change to reflect the new pieces of information.

The latest example? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recently updated its guidelines on quarantine measures for those who are exposed to someone with COVID-19.

While a 14-day quarantine period is still considered to be the most ideal timeframe for limiting the spread of the virus, the CDC has identified 10-day and 7-day alternatives.

If you have come in close contact with an infected individual, the CDC says you only have to quarantine for 10 days if you have shown no symptoms during daily monitoring. However, the CDC still recommends that you check for symptoms through day 14.

If you have a negative PCR or antigen test and you do not display any symptoms during daily monitoring, the CDC says you only have to quarantine for 7 days. The test should be performed on days 5, 6 or 7 of quarantine but not before. You should also continue to check for symptoms through day 14.

This is encouraging news both for our health and our local economy. A number of businesses in our area have had to close temporarily because too many of their employees have had to quarantine for 14 days. These new guidelines will allow our residents to get back to work quicker, while also making sure it’s being done in a safe manner.

To find out more about these shorter quarantine periods, please view this webpage from the CDC.