has witnessed the commitment that Madison has to public education.

And that commitment came through once again at the height of the pandemic.

“Surviving the pandemic in Madison and working in our schools in Madison during the pandemic, made me so proud to be from Madison,” Muldrow said. “People put safety first and were considerate of one another and supported us when we were doing virtual learning. We passed two historic referendums while schools were virtual. That says something about the integrity of this community, our commitment to education and our understanding of the necessary steps that we had to take in order to survive that pandemic as a community and prioritize the health and safety of our students.”

While Madison’s children survived the pandemic, now MMSD and others need to pick up the pieces and make the necessary repairs to mind, body and soul so that all of Madison’s students can achieve to their fullest.

“We are able to have school take place in-person without masking for the first time in years,” Muldrow said in terms of the start of the 2022-2023 school year. “I think there is a lot of work to do in terms of reestablishing how our students can be successful at school. The needs that became more apparent during the pandemic — and the pandemic exacerbated — are mental health concerns we have for our young people and our educators. It changed the way that we relate to our schools and the purpose that they serve for our community. And so we are navigating a lot of really complex things. And what I feel really good about in terms of the state of our district is I feel like we are doing that together. I feel like we are working together as a board, as an administration and as a community to the best of our ability. That doesn’t mean that people don’t disagree. That doesn’t mean that people don’t think critically. But it does mean that at the end of the day, what people want is what is best for kids.”

And it is the health and wellness of the students and the staff that is a priority for the school board as it emerges from the pandemic.

“Our health and wellness policy has been an evolving policy over the course of the last few years,” Muldrow said. “At one point, there was policy around mandatory masking. That was the best way to keep people safe. We passed a policy mandating that folks be vaccinated in order to work for our district, in order to promote the safety and well-being of people. There have been some pretty significant shifts in our approach to health and safety and wellness and behavior as we try to respond to the strain that COVID-19 created for so many of our students and their families.”

As the world went virtual in March 2020, MMSD did the best it could to assist all MMSD students — and staff — to transition to the online classroom. Students made it to varying degrees and some didn’t make it at all. And so Muldrow feels that a fundamental shift needs to happen in how the community views the internet.

“I think the internet should be a public utility,” Muldrow exclaimed. “The district gave every kid a computer. Every kid got a Chrome Book. Whether or not that worked well was really developmentally specific for kids. We distributed hot spots. Distributing hot spots is not the same as the internet being a public utility. There is a lot of work that we need to do across government in terms of the school board, the city council, the Assembly for the state of Wisconsin in order to really gain from the lessons we learned during the pandemic.”

But the city of Madison couldn’t do it even if it wanted to.

“Right now, you can’t have the internet as a public utility in the state of Wisconsin,” Muldrow observed. “Our legislature prohibits that. That’s where a lot of that work needs to take place. And I think the role of school districts is to really say, ‘This is about people’s ability to access their education. This is about people’s ability to communicate. This is not something that should further define the haves and the have nots. This is a pretty incredible equity issue. And it’s more important to us that our kids have access to the internet, have access to virtual learning, and have access to the resources that are advancing technology than Verizon makes as much money as possible. I think if school districts are at the forefront of that conversation, we can make progress. I do think that there is a lot of work to do on that front.”

And as MMSD emerges from the pandemic, it is entering a new academic world, so to speak, as all MMSD schools have had some work done to their exterior and/or interior as the district implements the $350 million building referendum. It may symbolize a new “normal.”

Next issue: Present day issues