By FRED KRONER
The Heritage school district hit a milestone on Friday (Oct. 16).
The first nine weeks of the 2020-21 school year have now been completed.
For the Heritage district, which consists of 373 students and has schools in Broadlands and Homer, that translates into one-fourth of the school year going by without any positive tests for COVID-19 among students or staff.
That record held true even after a recent long weekend. Students were not in school on Friday (Oct. 9), due to a teacher’s institute, nor on Monday (Oct. 12) due to Columbus Day.
There has only been one potentially close call.
“One employee on quarantine currently due to twice removed exposure,” superintendent Tom Davis said. “Twice removed means they were in contact with someone who was in contact with someone who was positive at time of contact outside of school.”
The district hasn’t introduced any extraordinary measures since classes resumed in August, but has diligently followed public health guidelines.
“I think a combination of a few things are at play,” Davis said. “One is having a schedule that focuses on instruction in person for the solid four hours present. We staggered passing periods and limited interclass movements.
“We have had great success with the self-certification sheets each day from parents and guardians, and also in checking temps and limiting school entrance time. Mask enforcement has been across the board, though as some of our public pointed out, we will remind everyone again as we don’t want to get complacent a quarter of way into the year.”
Other policies and procedures were designed to limit interaction among students.
“We also chose to not have lunch periods and to send food home with the USDA food option,” Davis said. “That’s about 160 per day, and many include breakfast for the next day, as lunch periods for size and room capacity was an issue.
“We have not had access to the library or locker rooms, although some lockers will come into play as winter and heavier coats come into play. Students up to now carry their book bags to eliminate that locker traffic in hallways. We will have a rotational plan for locker use to limit closeness.”
Thus far, students have been at school four hours a day, leaving at noon. Students still have a commitment thereafter, Davis said, adding, “and then there is afternoon remote learning time for 1 1/2 hours.”
Davis recognizes that parts of the plan are far from ideal.
“We also have a drop-off (time) in the morning at both schools, so entry is streamlined and then they get right to instruction,” Davis said, “whereas we used to have more socializing and assembly, which socially is difficult for students, I know.
“We are glad that learning is taking place in person, but the toll emotionally on everyone of an ‘all work, no play’ situation is hard on everyone at all schools. An example is not having homecoming and the parade and football game with VGH, and those fun activities that make a school day rounded.
“The seniors last year missed so much, and this new group of seniors for 2021 are missing a lot, too.”
Davis said there are plenty of areas to share credit for how smoothly the first portion of the school year has gone. It truly takes a village for the operation to work well.
“Our school nurse (DiAnne Boyd), especially at Homer, has done a wonderful job on diagnosis when someone is sent to her and communicates with parents when a student shows any signs,” Davis said. “We have been successful partnering with our parents that students should be picked up if showing any signs at school and staying home if anything is detected at home.
“We switch a student to remote learning with our teachers if they have to quarantine due to exposure. A couple of staff had the same quarantine situation for the prescribed time, but they still worked electronically interacting with the sub and students in their classes.”
Attention to detail has been paid beyond the walls of the school rooms.
“Our bus drivers have done a great job spreading students out on the bus, and we distance in classrooms, hallways, and larger areas for study hall,” Davis said. “We have been having the fall sports and the contact days for other sports, and those have gone well with masks required and following IHSA guidelines.”
Overall, about 20 percent of the district’s students opted for a remote-only learning option. They can make changes, if desired, in January.
“They will be able to return to in-person learning at semester break, if so choosing,” Davis said.
No matter how many precautions are in place or how closely all guidelines are followed, other factors still come into play.
“You just have to say that all the best planning also relies on luck,” Davis said. “We do have students, teachers, staff, parents and the school board committed to a plan, but also fate intervenes at all times.
“A plan can be great, but so many things can happen to change it. We hope what we are doing contributes to students getting what they need on a daily basis at Heritage, but also that we have good fortune, and this situation has an end sometime.”
There is another issue which may be arriving sooner than later.
“The onset of flu and strep throat season is going to make this very interesting,” Davis said.
The superintendent anxiously awaits the time when the current ‘new normal’ is a thing of the past.
“Never have so many prayed for just simple normality,” Davis said. “Hopefully, we will all appreciate it more when that time comes.”
