White Bear Lake Area Schools Delay Start Of School Year By One Week

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Students are getting ready to go back to school and many families are still figuring out their plan.

White Bear Lake Area Schools announced they would be delaying their start to the school year by one week. The decision came as the University of Minnesota also announced Monday it would delay school by two weeks and start online.

Tracy Peltier has three children in the district. She hasn't bought school supplies yet.

"I'm just kind of waiting to see what's really going to happen at this point now," Peltier said.

Mandy Wroolie, whose daughter is in the Osseo Area School district, still doesn't know what days her daughter will be in person or home for the district's hybrid model.

She is concerned about juggling work and distance learning. Wroolie owns MiniSota Play Café in Champlin, and her husband is working from home. She also worries about going from a hybrid model and having to pivot to fully distant.

"It's the fear of having to switch to this and switch to that," Wroolie said. "That's just not good for a 5-year-old to have to deal with."

Wroolie has her daughter on waitlists for private schools even though it's high for their budget.

Others parents told WCCO they'd like to see most of the kids go to fully distant learning, giving parents and teachers time to plan.

"I don't think we need to live in fear but I also think we need to do education well and not patchwork it together," Shannon Otto, from Vadnais Heights, said.

White Bear Lake is also giving students the option of either a hybrid model or fully distant.