The Prairieview-Ogden School District has announced its plan to return to school in the 2020-21 school year.
“Our top priority is the safety and well-being of the students, staff, and all of our families,” Superintendent Jeff Isenhower wrote. “We have conducted surveys, followed guidelines set forth by ISBE and IDPH, and communicated regularly with CU Public Health along with other school districts in the area to try to formulate the best option for the PVO School District.”
The PVO COVID committee decided that a hybrid schedule, one where students would engage in a combination of in-person education with reduced class sizes along with remote learning was the best option while the Central region of Restore Illinois is in Phase 4.
“We feel this will optimize our students’ education while minimizing health risks by offering smaller class sizes, smaller numbers of riders on buses, and adapting models of instruction,” Isenhower wrote. “Daily student attendance requirements will be met by the combination of instruction and school work.”
The blended learning model will have two groups of students, “Group A” and “Group B”, to attend two days a week. Wednesday will be a remote learning day.
The district will keep siblings on the same schedule.
“As you may or may not have heard, these plans are very fluid and will be modified as new information/guidelines are handed down to us,” Isenhower explained. “We will adhere to the current ISBE requirements that everyone, including staff, students, and visitors to the buildings, wear a face mask while in school or on a school bus. We will continue to discuss ways to meet the Phase 4 requirements for less than 50 people in one space while maintaining the 6-foot social distance whenever possible for lunch, hallways, classrooms, and more. We will follow CDC safety precautions for sanitizing and disinfecting our schools, classrooms, buses, equipment, and supplies.”
The schools will not be opened for students until 7:50 to start the school year. Students are not permitted to conjugate in small spaces (social distancing) and this will severely affect how schools supervise students for recess, lunch, hallway transitions, and bathroom breaks among other activities.
Isenhower asked parents to work with their children on wearing face coverings.
IDPH guidelines require use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), including face coverings; prohibit more than 50 individuals from gathering in one space; require social distancing be observed, as much as possible; require that schools conduct symptom screenings and temperature checks or require that individuals self-certify that they are free of symptoms before entering school buildings; and require an increase in school-wide cleaning and disinfection.
“Please start training your students with their mask and try to make it fun for them,” he said. “If they hear you complain about them, (I don’t like them either) then they are going to struggle when the school year begins and they are required to wear them in the building.”
