District 158 board to discuss plan for middle, high schools Thursday
The Huntley Community School District 158 board on Thursday will discuss a hybrid plan to allow a portion of the district's 5,167 sixth- through 12th-graders back into schools starting Nov. 2.
Under an earlier plan, middle and high school families would have the option to remain in remote learning mode or to have students attend school in person for two full days each week. Students who choose the in-person option would have been split into two groups, each attending two full days per week, with Wednesdays being a remote learning day for all students.
The largest class sizes at the secondary level are 30 to 32 students.
After a robust discussion last week, the school board asked administrators to pause the rollout of the hybrid plan to allow additional study.
"Please understand that this is not a halt to our efforts, but rather is an extra measure to ensure that our finalized plans are safe, academically strong, and reflective of the needs of students, staff, families, and the community," Superintendent Scott Rowe wrote in a letter to parents Friday. "We must get this critical next step right, and we will be prepared to present some slightly different options regarding the plan for discussion with the board on (Thursday)."
Meanwhile, students in prekindergarten through fifth grade will return to classrooms Monday under a hybrid model.
The district has a total of 193 early childhood learners and 3,482 students enrolled in kindergarten through fifth grade.
Students who chose the in-person option will attend two half-days per week and learn remotely the rest of the time. Roughly a quarter of elementary students have opted to stick with remote learning.
Students with special needs might be in school more regularly, sometimes four days a week. District 158 has been bringing in some special-education students and those in need of high-level interventions for services since mid-September, spokesman Dan Armstrong said.
Early Childhood Center students will be divided into two groups for each hybrid session. Each group will attend school two days a week for two hours each day and spend 30 minutes learning asynchronously at home. Wednesdays will be a remote learning day. Fully remote students will participate in live remote learning daily, scheduled small group instruction two days a week, and asynchronous activities the remainder of the 2.5 hours.
District officials have been working with the McHenry County Health Department on contract tracing for when positive coronavirus cases occur within the school population.
Health officials will help the district determine which individuals or classrooms need to quarantine or whether an entire school might need to be shut down, similar to the process for other contagious diseases such as whooping cough, norovirus, rotavirus and influenza.
"It's going to be case by case essentially," Armstrong said. "We have individuals quarantined now, but that is not necessarily a threshold to take some kind of action like canceling plans or closing a school."
Officials are still working on logistical concerns, such as transportation, cleaning buildings and serving lunch, before schools can welcome students.
"There's an urgency on the part of the public. We need just a little bit of grace and patience to actually make it work," Armstrong said.