Belleville high schools have plan to begin transitioning students back to classrooms
Belleville Township High School District 201 will bring its students back to the classroom beginning next week, the district announced Wednesday.
The plan to transition the students from their home computers to an in-person setting is set to unfurl over the course of five weeks.
On an A/B schedule, freshmen will attend classes for one day the first week for orientation, then the rest of the students will join them for one day the second week. More school days will be added with half student capacity through the transition period.
Like nearly every district in St. Clair County, Belleville 201 started the school year with internet-only lessons, which was recommended by the St. Clair County Health Department, to prevent additional spread of the novel coronavirus, which causes the respiratory disease COVID-19.
“I take it very seriously. This is a high level of responsibility,” Superintendent Brian Mentzer said. “We are being cautious in our approach.”
District 201 students still have the option to attend classes remotely for the semester. While some elected for remote learning before the school year started, semester-long placement changes will be considered during the fifth week of the plan, which is the week of Oct. 12.
The state uses a positivity rate threshold of an 8% seven-day average for three consecutive days to determine if a region needs more COVID-19 restrictions. The positivity rate is the percentage of tests that come back positive.
The metro-east region, which includes St. Clair County, has had a seven-day average of more than 8% every day since Aug. 11, which triggered more restrictive mitigation measures that includes a ban on indoor dining and capacity limits on businesses.
While learning at school, students will be required to wear masks, seating assignments will be spread at least six feet apart, and the district has designated doors and stairwells as one-way use only, to help promote social distancing.
Mentzer said part of preparing for the transition plan was having a “walk through” with the health department to check procedures and plans.
Staff and students must also conduct daily health and well-being checklists and have their temperature checked when entering the building.
“We know that interacting with our kids and having the ability to do that in-person is very valuable,” Mentzer said. “That’s the thing I think our teachers are looking forward to.”
Schools in Dupo, Freeburg and St. Libory opened the school year with a hybrid learning plan, blending online and in-person lessons. They were the only districts in St. Clair County to bring students into classrooms.
Collinsville District 10, which started the year remotely, was the first to transition students back to the schools on Tuesday.
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 7:00 AM.