St. Joseph-Ogden High school will begin five-day a week in-person school on March 29.
The decision comes after the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of Education updated guidance for schools earlier this week.
At the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, guidance suggested that the safest distance for students was a minimum of 6-feet. The new guidance reads, “For in-person learning, this is defined as 3 to 6 feet for students and fully vaccinated staff with 6 feet being safest, but schools can operate at no less than 3 feet in order to provide in-person learning.”
Superintendent Brian Brooks said that St. Joseph-Ogden was able to operate with “6 feet or more in all classrooms and our lunchroom this entire school year while on the every other day hybrid model.
“When all students come back, a few smaller classes will still be 6 feet apart, but most will be around 4 feet,” he said. “The lunchroom will be similar, and we will also utilize outside areas during lunch when it is nice outside.”
The decision comes at a time when only 7 active COVID-19 cases are recorded for the St. Joseph and Ogden area on the Champaign-Urbana Public Health website.
Brooks added that just over 80-percent of the staff will be fully vaccinated by March 29.
The district is hoping that the added time in the classroom will help students who have struggled recently.
“We have had some students flourish under the hybrid model, but many have struggled, Our “D” and “F” lists have grown significantly this year,” he said. “We started offering a Remote Lab 2nd semester for students to come to on the days that they did not have in-person instruction. They could work on missing assignments, stay up with their classes, and/or get extra in-person assistance from their teachers. Mr. Page and Mrs. Rein are working on credit recovery options for our students who fail courses as well.
“This will provide twice the amount of in-person academic instruction for our students, and also provide them with a more regular routine in their daily schedule.
“We want to offer more academic opportunities for our students. On top of all this, we are now playing sports and having some other extracurricular activities, which I think is outstanding for our students. But if we’re playing sports, we should be offering academic in-person instruction every day.”
The high school will continue to operate on an abbreviated schedule, releasing students at 2:07 p.m., until the end of the school year.
About 40 of the 446 St. Joseph-Ogden students opted for a remote learning option, as mandated by the State of Illinois. Brooks said that it is still unclear how many of those students would return to school on the 29th.
“Parents/guardians will be contacting Mr. Page between now and March 29 to request this,” he said.
Brooks said that it is still unclear how school will operate in the 2021-22 school year. Should the state mandate a remote option, it will continue to be provided. At this time, St. Joseph-Ogden plans to operate on their typical 8:10 a.m. to 3 p.m. schedule next school year.
Until then, the district has its sights set on completing what needs to be done for students this spring. The SAT test will be given to juniors in the upcoming months. But Page said that students “are most likely not going to be having semester exams due to the inconsistencies of this year for students.”
