Homewood-Flossmoor High School will institute its hybrid learning model on Tuesday, Feb. 16, but there is a caveat to the decision.
In a letter to parents dated Jan. 15, Superintendent Von Mansfield and Principal Jerry Anderson said the plan would be put in place if reports of COVID-19 infections in the H-F area continue to decline.
“The current test positivity percentage and the new cases per 100,000 people in our area is moving in a downward trend, and we are hopeful that by our proposed return date we will be at the minimal risk level, as defined by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH),” the letter reads.
“While these are our plans for now, we will continue to monitor the COVID-19 metrics in our communities. If needed, we may delay our return to hybrid learning,” the letter states.
H-F has surveyed parents of the nearly 3,000 students about the educational model that best suits their student.
About 60% of parents said their student would continue on the remote model. The other 40% asked that their student be part of the hybrid model that will have students attend H-F for morning sessions.
Students will be assigned one of four groups and will follow a schedule for their group. All students will attend remote classes on Mondays. Then each hybrid group will attend H-F for two consecutive days during a two-week period. Afternoon sessions will be asynchronous.
School will end at noon so that H-F does not have to deal with a lunch period. Brown bag lunches will be available for students as they leave the building.
School committees have been working on a variety of plans for reopening, including how to move students through the building and how to be in classrooms and still meet social distancing guidelines.