Naperville District 203 kindergarten students will start attending in-person classes on Oct. 20, the first group to do so under the latest back-to-school plan presented this week to the district school board.
In-person school days for preschool and elementary grade levels will follow on staggered days so that all of the district’s preK-5 students will have returned to their schools in some capacity by Oct. 28, Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education Chuck Freundt said.
“Staggering those starting days by grade level was done to ensure we provide each grade level the time and support necessary to acclimate to a school environment where social distancing, face masks and frequent hand-washing is now going to be the norm,” Freundt said.
Preschool students will alternate attendance days through Nov. 6, after which they will attend every day, he said.
Preschoolers, kindergartners and first-through-fifth students will do half days Tuesday through Friday, with the rest of the day done remotely, Freundt said. Mondays will continue to be remote for all students, he said.
As has always been the case, parents can opt to continue having their children do remote learning if they don’t feel comfortable returning them to in-person classes because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the half-day schedule, some students will attend in the morning and others in the afternoon. The other half of the day will be done remotely, with students doing work assigned by their teachers.
The hour-plus gap between morning and afternoon classes will be used to disinfect classrooms and high-touch surfaces, officials said.
Most junior high school and high school students will continue a full-time e-learning schedule for now, officials said. The goal, according to Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Stephanie Posey, is to have about 25% of students on a hybrid plan by Nov. 6.
The first group of teens to be brought back to school are those who need more support or intervention, Posey said. Ideally, students in more hands-on or interactive courses like science, food and design would be the next to return to in-person instruction, she said.
Beginning Oct. 19, all junior high and high school schedules will shift to a block format Tuesdays through Fridays. Block scheduling reduces the number of classes students take in a day, splits classes over two days versus one and extends the length of each class.
Jayne Willard, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said the new arrangement offers both instructional and health/safety benefits. The latter is because there will be fewer and longer classes each day and thus less student movement, she said.
Livestream equipment has been installed so classes can be viewed live for those doing e-learning, Willard added.
Friday is the deadline for parents of early childhood, elementary, specialized services and Connections students to decide if their children will be on a hybrid schedule or will continue to do remote learning.
Junior high and high school students will receive more information on return-to-school plans the week of the Oct. 26, officials said.
raguerrero@tribpub.com
