District 15 working to bring back junior high students full time

A majority of junior high school students in Palatine Township Elementary District 15's hybrid learning plan would return to classrooms full time and without social distancing, according to a survey of families last week.

The March 8 survey found that nearly 74% involved in the hybrid program would be interested in in-person learning four to five day a week.

Two days after the survey was sent, state health officials relaxed social distancing guidelines for schools from six feet to three feet.

"(The survey was sent because) we wanted to test the waters, and then the guidance shifted," Superintendent Laurie Heinz said during the March 10 school board meeting.

The district is considering a plan to remove capacity limits for in-person learning in its four junior highs. The district's elementary school students already have a full in-person option.

Although there is no longer a maximum number of students allowed in school spaces, there is a lot to figure out before returning to full in-person learning, Heinz said.

"Each space, each multipurpose room, each gymnasium can hold a different number of people," she said.

"The new guidance will somewhat shift our plan," she added. "Just like everything with COVID, you think you've got it nailed down and then it shifts on you."

The guidelines also recommend the number of people in an area during school activities, such as lunch and physical education, can be determined by distancing requirements instead of a set capacity limit. The capacity on school buses, however, will remain set at 50.

"So we're allowed to have more people in person, but not any more people on the bus," Chief Communication Officer Rebecca Latham said. "Which is definitely something, logistically, that we will have to work through."

Depending on when and how many students return, bus routes could shift or buses could run two identical routes, Heinz said.

The relaxed guidelines state that in-person learning should be a priority over extracurricular activities, such as sports, and they no longer recommend symptom screenings on school grounds.

The number of students required to quarantine will increase, Health Services Coordinator Karen Flor said.

"Knowing that we're going to bring more kids in at a closer space, we have to be aware that that will mean there will be more kids that go out with close contact," she said.