Mankato Area Public Schools
Latest information related to COVID-19 (coronavirus)
March 19 update from Superintendent Paul Peterson:
Our goal is to assure learning excellence and readiness for all students. Finding ways to reach students to help ensure their needs–educational, health, emotional and social–are met through equitable distance learning is an opportunity Mankato Area Public Schools’ staff are focused on through next week. Plans are under development, and we look forward to sharing them with our students, families and communities.
Since in-class education has been put on hold, it’s important to reach out to those you know–students, parents, families, friends, the elderly and vulnerable adults. Neighborly contact–following social distancing guidelines–can make a difference in less people becoming exposed and/or ill to COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Minnesota Department of Health recommend a number of strategies to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Opportunities to connect include email, text message, social media, phone and Facetime or online meeting platforms.
Availability to pick-up any personal belongings from school buildings is scheduled to end at the close of Friday, March 20. After this, public access to schools will be more restricted for safety. Please check-in at the building’s front office, and for everyone’s safety, limit time in building to personal belonging pick-up only. As a friendly reminder, although staff are in the building they will be unavailable as they prepare our equitable distance learning plan.
Mankato Area Public Schools’ communication will continue as the situation changes and evolves. Thank you for your support and understanding.
What’s new?
Parent/guardian help needed
Parents and guardians, please do everything you can to limit your child[ren]’s in-person social interactions with friends and acquaintances over the coming days. Although this may not be easy to do; it’s for the health and safety of everyone to have students physically apart and avoid meeting in groups. Please encourage phone calls, video chats, social messaging or other non-physical contact.
We all need to do our part in preventing the spread of COVID-19, and parents and guardians are important in helping children do this. Thank you in advance, and if students have questions, please feel free to have them contact me by email or phone.
Photo by: Gerd Altman, Pixabay
Expanded options for nutrition services
Breakfast and lunch will be available in two additional locations beginning March 23:
  • Eagle Elementary School, 500 Le Sueur Ave, Eagle Lake, (door 2r in front of school)
  • All Saints Church, 605 Fourth St, Madison Lake (north parking lot across street from church, just off of Highway 60).
Any families that have students 18-years-old and under are welcome to participate in this service through Friday, March 27. All drive through pick-up services are from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday. Registration is not required.
  • Franklin Elementary School, 1000 North Broad Street, Mankato (door 6 near off of Broad Street)
  • Monroe Elementary School, 441 Monroe Avenue, North Mankato (door 1 on Monroe Avenue)
  • Hoover Elementary School, 1524 Hoover Drive, North Mankato (door 12 in the bus loop)
  • Kennedy Elementary School, 2600 East Main Street, Mankato (door 14 in the bus loop)
  • East High School, 2600 Hoffman Road, Mankato (door 20 in the bus lane behind the school)
  • West High School, 1351 South Riverfront Drive, Mankato (door 17 in the south/staff parking lot)
Breakfast and lunch is provided to children attending emergency care (Franklin and Monroe elementary schools) or ACES programming. Planning for mobile distribution, including Eagle Lake and Madison Lake is underway and expected to begin the week of March 23.
Emergency childcare changes
Emergency childcare is now being made available to food distributors in addition to health care workers, first responders and other emergency service providers in need of child care. View complete list. Those eligible are encouraged to complete the online registration form. This no cost programming is offered from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday:
  • Franklin Elementary School, 1000 North Broad Street, Mankato
  • Monroe Elementary School, 441 Monroe Avenue, North Mankato
Bus companies will contact registered families who have requested bus transportation.
In an effort to assure that adequate and sufficient care is provided each day for families using this service, registration for next day participants will close at 12 p.m. each day. This will allow enough time to allocate staffing, provide food service, and meet transportation needs for families being served. Registrations received after 12 p.m. will be processed with a start date for child care two days later.
Note: Families needing care only need to register once for the duration of their need.
Space available–call to participate in Community Education and Recreation ACES Program
Spaces are available for families interested in participating in the school district’s ACES program through March 30. Please contact staff at 507-387-5501.
Mankato Area Public Schools’ registration
Parents/families who need to register for Mankato Area Public Schools may still do so. Please contact Central Registration staff at call 507-387-2125.
Who to call
Anyone with questions about Mankato Area Public Schools’ and prevention efforts for COVID-19 may email: [email protected], or call 507-345-5311 (between 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday).
The Minnesota Department of Health statewide coronavirus hotline is staffed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.–all 1-651-201-3920.
Anyone with medical questions are asked to contact their healthcare providers. In case of emergency, call 911.
Helpful links