School districts in Belleville and O’Fallon reveal plans for reopening this fall
Families in two metro-east high school districts received tentative plans for what education will look like during a pandemic this fall.
Both Belleville Township High School District 201 and O’Fallon Township High School District 203 are expecting to operate its campuses at half student capacity to start the fall semester. Both districts stressed that public health guidance related to the COVID-19 pandemic has changed rapidly — even day to day, at times — and the plans presented to parents via emails Friday were subject to change.
Schools shut down nationwide in the spring to combat the spread of COVID-19. Guidance from the Illinois State Board of Education released in June emphasized that districts were encouraged to return to in-person learning as much as possible, while following health guidelines.
Illinois is currently in Phase 4 of its restoration plan, which allows gatherings of up to 50 in one space and requires face coverings and social distancing.
Belleville Township High School District 201
The campuses in Belleville 201 are planning to operate at half capacity in the fall. Students will be assigned to an A or B schedule, and alternate in-person learning with remote learning at home, according to a five-page document emailed to parents Friday afternoon.
In most circumstances, students will follow a traditional schedule from 8:30 a.m. until 3:25 p.m.
In cafeterias, seating will be limited by table and area to provide social distancing, but plans are still being finalized, according to the document. Lunches will be packaged for pickup and students will be assigned an area to report and receive their lunch. They will be required to stay there for the entire lunch period.
“This plan complies with the current recommended guidance and best practices for COVID related safety while, simultaneously, affording our students the learning opportunities that they deserve,” the document reads. “Please realize that guidance has been rapidly changing and the plan will be expanded to include specific protocols as they are established.”
O’Fallon Township High School District 203
The current plan in O’Fallon 203 is for students to have instruction either in person or remotely and synchronously in the morning.
Superintendent Darcy Benway said the reopening plan was built to help the district adjust to rapidly changing guidance. While the district is expecting to start under the Phase 4 guidelines from the state, state guidance may move forward or backward before then or after the school year starts.
The two major “vulnerable areas” for overcrowding are hallways and cafeterias, Benway said. By shortening the school day, students will be able to pick up lunch to take home to eat. Students will also have the option to pick up additional meals for breakfast and lunch for the following day, when they’ll be learning remotely.
Administrators are also looking at hallway traffic and may make some halls one-way or come up with plans to address intersections. Students will carry their backpacks with them between classes rather than go to their lockers.
Students will be split into four groups. If the state is in Phase 4 at the start of the year, two groups will attend school in person Monday and Wednesday while the other two attend Tuesday and Thursday. Friday would be a remote day for all students.
“We’ll be seeing our students at a minimum of twice per week,” Benway said in a committee meeting Friday. “That’s really the Phase 4 focus, and where we think we’ll be starting off this fall.”
If the state goes back to Phase 3, which limits gatherings to no more than 10 people, those guidelines would allow each of the four groups to come in one day a week. The plan also notes returning to completely remote learning if the state regresses back to Phase 1 or 2.
If coronavirus conditions improve and the state goes to Phase 5, the district would return to 100% in-person learning.
On their remote learning days, students would be required to check in at the start of each period, the plan says.
Individual students could have other options too, whether because of health concerns or particular struggles with remote learning. Families will have the option to choose to undertake complete and total remote learning, but would have to commit to sticking with that for the entire semester.
“We know that some families just don’t feel safe,” Benway said. “We know we have some students with compromised immune systems.”
Students who are at-risk or struggle with remote learning could be identified by their teachers and, with administrative approval, be invited to attend in-person learning four days a week.
The full plan is expected to be approved by the Board of Education on July 23.
This story was originally published July 10, 2020 at 6:48 PM.
