Students who are not able to attend classes in-person for extended periods are able to participate in an online learning program through
Online learning has been available to students since the COVID-19 pandemic. This program is designed to keep students on track while they are learning online.
The majority of students who utilize the program are in grades 9-12, though it is used by students in lower grades as well, according to the district's Director of Teaching and Learning Carrie Thomas.
"We average about 40 to 50 kids. Mostly at the high school, a few at the middle school and then maybe one or two elementary a year. That is how it has been until this year. Families started to express fear for sending kids. We reached out when we noticed a pattern of absences. If they indicated they weren't feeling like they could send their child to school, then we told them about this option," Thomas said.
Willmar Public School contracts for its online learning with a program called STARRS. STARRS allows students to continue learning even if they are unable to take part in in-person options.
The program is not designed for short-term online learning. Students normally enroll in the program for a semester.
Due to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the Willmar community, causing students to feel unsafe, the district allowed students who were not attending due to feeling unsafe to participate in the online program for a month or two, based on their needs.
"During this time frame, we are allowing a little bit more flexibility for people to roll in and out (of online learning). But, typically, we say it is semester by semester or quarter by quarter, and then you can come back at the end of a term or the end of the quarter," Willmar Superintendent Bill Adams said.
While the Willmar School District currently contracts for its online program, it is looking to develop its own online courses to support students.
"We are developing that and our hope is to be able to kick that off around the start of next year. That would only be offered to students in grades six through twelve. We would still contract for kindergarten through fifth grade," Adams said.
According to Adams, around 150 students shifted to the school's online program around the time of a January absence spike, putting the district at around 185 students enrolled online currently. With many students joining the online program in January, Adams expects many students to return at the end of each month.
The ability to provide online instruction has grown in recent years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many classes moved online through video conferencing and other programs. This style of instruction has expanded to include more online programs, which are still used when school buildings are closed due to weather or emergencies.
These "e-learning days" are conducted by the school directly and are not the same as the online program typically offered for longer-term absences from in-person schooling.
For e-learning, younger students who are not guaranteed to have online access are instead given a packet with multiple sections. Each e-learning day, students fill out a section of the packet and return it to school with them.
The contract for the online learning program was also introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic as an option for students who needed a different environment in which to learn.
The online program currently offered is a self-paced and monitored course. Students are able to watch video lectures and complete school work as their time is monitored and their questions are answered by licensed teachers through the Southwest West Central Service Cooperative.
The program also offers students the ability to go back to material and search through a repository of content for them to learn or review.
Students complete work by watching the videos and completing assignments entirely within the program. The work completed in this way is recorded and given to teachers in traditional classrooms to keep them informed of what the student has learned, providing a more seamless transition when the student returns to in-person classes.
If a student is absent for an extended period of time, it is up to the student's classroom teachers to assess and help the student catch back up to classmates. Digital programs, like Schoology, an education management platform, allow students and parents to complete assignments, watch old lessons and do other coursework.
According to Thomas, many teachers utilize sites like Schoology to upload resources for students to access when longer absences are expected.
Absences from school were a concern for the school district in the week leading up to and after winter break. On Tuesday, Jan. 13, 1,214 students were recorded as absent.
At that time the district saw an increase in the number of student absences. According to Adams, this was from a mixture of sickness, the holidays and students feeling unsafe with ICE's presence in the community.
Adams said he took part in several discussions with community members about how to ease students' fears about going to and from school.
The school has taken several measures to ensure students are able to keep learning no matter what their situation is. This includes working flexibly with families to help students through hybrid learning and school work and badges designed for students to wear as they travel to and from school identifying them as a student at the school.
"Our goal is to have everybody back in the classroom in front of teachers. That is the best place for them to be," Adams said.
Attendance has more recently returned to normal at around 200 absences a day. The normal absence rate is based on a snapshot taken early in the year. This year, the district marked attendance as of Oct. 6, 2025, when 232 students were absent.
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