Starting Tuesday February 16th, hybrid students have been able to participate in District 87’s new Hybrid Option C, which will be an opportunity for students already in Hybrid learning to attend school four days a week, instead of two.
The expectations will be that students will arrive every day on time, stay engaged and abide by the safety guidelines.
The safety guidelines will be that students must fill out the Glenbard Daily Health Check, participate in temperature screenings and submit salvia samples every week. Students with last names starting with A-M submit on Mondays, and students with last names starting with N-Z submit on Tuesdays.
When asked what metrics had to be passed to initiate Hybrid C, Sandra Coughlin, the Principal of Glenbard South, stated, “When schools went back to Hybrid in January, the COVID positivity rate of our county was dropping and so were the number of confirmed cases.” She also said, “With the new mandatory saliva testing, there was a whole new level of safety.”
Because of the low numbers and added protection of the saliva testing, Coughlin said, “Administration felt good in its decision to start up Hybrid learning again.”
Coughlin then said, “After about two weeks of hybrid learning, faculty noticed the small number of students within the building. Administrators had drawn out plans with architects to figure out exactly how many students were able to safely be in the building, and because of that, they knew they had the space to open up the option for students to attend four days a week.”
After only two days of the Hybrid C option, Coughlin noted, “The building felt fuller and students and teachers were more energized with the addition of students. Coughlin also believed “The opening up of activities and athletics was another boost to school morale and sense of community.”
It will be important to understand that if a class size exceeds the room capacity, students will need to work in a “satellite classroom” which will have adult supervision.
After a year of uncertainty and changes, Hybrid Option C will be a giant step towards getting back to a normal school experience.