U-46 hybrid students moving to full in-person classes after spring break
Elgin Area School District U-46 students now attending under the hybrid plan will return to in-person classes five days a week after spring break, officials said.
The move comes on the heels of revised guidance from state health and education authorities relaxing social distancing rules from 6 feet to 3 feet for students and fully vaccinated school employees. Unvaccinated teachers are urged to remain 6 feet from students.
Superintendent Tony Sanders said an expanded in-person model is possible because 53% of U-46 students are learning remotely and will remain in that mode for the rest of the school year. The 47% of students who opted for hybrid instruction to start second semester will move to full in-person classes April 7.
Face coverings are required. Other factors being considered before schools can return to full in-person instruction include employee vaccinations, how many students can safely be accommodated with social distancing protocols, transporting no more than 50 students on a school bus, providing food service in cafeterias and possibly outdoors, and equitable instructional strategies.
Schools must continue contact-tracing and isolating suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases, but they don't have to screen for certain symptoms, such as congestion, runny nose and abdominal pain because there are too many false positives, according to health guidance, Sanders said.
"We've increased already and will continue to increase our schoolwide cleaning and disinfection," Sanders told the school board Monday. "We've increased the number of hand-washing stations across all schools and departments. The self-certification app that we've developed is still required by staff and students."
Sanders said students attending in person can switch to remote learning at any time, but the reverse would not be possible for remote learners.
Elementary students will switch to in-person classes for four hours Mondays and six hours daily Tuesday through Friday. Middle and high school students will attend in person Monday through Friday following traditional schedules, and similarly for students in the Dream Academy, Central School Programs and other special programs. Teachers simultaneously will instruct students learning in classrooms and remotely.
Employees are expected to return to schools April 6, which will be a remote learning day due to many schools being used as election polling sites. Of the district's roughly 6,800 employees, about 3,900 will be fully vaccinated by then.
For teachers and students, April 7 will be almost like the first day of school as they reestablish school culture and learning expectations, said Suzanne Johnson, deputy superintendent of instruction.
Social-emotional learning will be a key component of the daily schedule. Students might participate in whole or small group instruction, receive individualized coaching, participate in breakout rooms, work asynchronously, learn from prerecorded lessons or have access to instructional resources outside class time.
They will be allowed lunch and movement breaks. Remote and hybrid learners might not be required to be on screen for an entire class period.
"The dependency on technology-based learning will be diminished (for in-person students)," Johnson said. "The goal is to provide a better opportunity for engagement and connection between teachers and students. We will need to continue to provide even more resources and professional development and training with that. We have work to do as we make this shift. None of this has been easy."
Several school board members said parents and teachers are concerned about equity between in-person and remote instruction.
"(Teachers are) already overwhelmed trying to be sure that they're giving each of their students everything that they need. ... They are hanging by a thread," school board member Kate Thommes said. "I just want to be sure that we do everything we can to support them."