District 87 said Tuesday that it's extending remote learning in some cases and changing class schedules in others to get past a predicted peak period for transmission of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
“The health experts that I've talked to feel that we're nearing the peak of this pandemic, that should get us to that peak. And then hopefully, we'll be on the downside after that. That should give us some relief,” District 87 Superintendent Barry Reilly told WGLT after notifying families.
Sarah Raymond School of Early Education will continue with a remote learning schedule through Jan. 21. Bloomington Junior High School students will be on a revised schedule from 8 a.m. until 12:58 p.m. from Jan. 12 through Jan. 21 The 8-period day will continue, but all classes will be 40 minutes long and there will be no lunch period.
Bloomington High School classes will run from from 7:30 a.m. until 12:13 p.m., also without a lunch period. All high school classes will be 37 minutes long and there will be no advisory period.
“Students will continue to eat breakfast in classrooms upon arrival. All students will be able to receive a grab & go meal for lunch as they are dismissed from school,” said the email.
Reilly said eliminating lunch periods will reduce virus-spreading opportunities. This extends remote learning for some early childhood students an extra week.
“You add it all together, we think this gives us the very best opportunity to avoid having to go full remote, which is something we do not want to do,” Reilly said. “This is not only to minimize the risk for our students, but also for our staff, where we're stretched very thin, as is every other district out there. “
There are no changes to the elementary school schedules through Jan. 21.
Reilly said the large number of staff members who are out is causing a lot of stress. Teachers are having to cover other classes because of a lack of subs. Even some of the subs are quarantined, or have to take care of family members, he said.
“That makes for a very stressful environment,” said Reilly.
“Even though it's not easy, we have an easier time to mitigate the risk in those environments because we have fewer kids. We have multiple locations to have lunch. In some cases, we're able to spread some kids out farther, with the new CDC guidance and kids coming back in a shorter timeframe that will allow us to do it at the elementary levels. We don't feel really good about being able to do that at the secondary level,” said Reilly.
Reilly said contact tracing has shown there are few transmissions happening at schools.
“But now we're dealing with a variant that according to any health expert you talk to is much more contagious ... so we're doing everything we can again to mitigate those risks.”
