Message from District 7: Second Semester Information
District 7 Families,
Please read this entire communication and complete your second semester instructional environment selection by clicking on the link at the end of this communication.
We appreciate the input from all stakeholders as we have worked to transition back to school during the first quarter of the 2020-2021 school year. So far adapting to school in the pandemic environment has been a steep learning curve for our students, parents, and staff.
Our goal is to provide as much continuity as possible for both students and staff during this unprecedented time; therefore, All District 7 schools will remain in the current schedule for the remainder of the second quarter. At the middle and high school levels, this means that students will continue with the current A/B hybrid schedule. Elementary schools will continue to provide five days per week of in-person instruction.
District 7 is committed to safely increasing in-person learning for all students. For the second semester, families will continue to have the option to select 100% remote learning. In order to increase in-person learning for students under the proposed Second Semester Transition Plan, health metrics must be reached and maintained. The schedules below are subject to change based upon the prevalence of COVID-19 within our communities. The District will continue to consult with the Madison County Health Department in the coming months to review current data and statistics. If at any point, the Madison County Health Department determines it is unsafe to continue in-person instruction, more restrictive scheduling options would be put in place.
District 7 has outlined a second semester transition plan listed below based upon the information currently available. Please click here to view the entire Second Semester Transition Plan.
In order to increase in-person instruction time, beginning next semester, students in grades 6-12 will increase their days of attendance. All grade levels will continue to operate in the second semester on the same daily time schedule (EHS: 7:20-11:50, Middle Schools: 8:00-12:40, Elementary: 9:15-2:30).
Elementary (Pre-K through 5th grade)
There is no change for Pre-K through 5th grade students as they will continue to receive in-person instruction five days a week during the second semester.
Middle School (6th-8th grade)
Beginning on Monday, January 4th, the first two weeks of the second semester at the middle school level will be on a hybrid, rotating (A/B) schedule. Please note as of January 4, 2021, Fridays in the hybrid schedule will be in-person learning days with an alternating schedule instead of remote days. This means in-person instruction is as follows:
| Monday, January 4th | “A” Day | Monday, January 11th | “B” Day |
| Tuesday, January 5th | “B” Day | Tuesday, January 12th | “A” Day |
| Wednesday, January 6th | “A” Day | Wednesday, January 13th | “B” Day |
| Thursday, January 7th | “B” Day | Thursday, January 14th | “A” Day |
| Friday, January 8th | “A” Day | Friday, January 15th | “B” Day |
Any return to hybrid during the second semester would follow this alternating A/B schedule for in-person learning.
Beginning on Tuesday, January 19th, middle school students will begin attending in-person daily. The start date of January 19 would be pushed back based on adverse health metrics, specifically, if District 7 middle schools were to have multiple outbreaks of COVID cases between now and the end of the first semester or within the first two weeks of the second semester.
District 7 will continue to notify parents anytime there is a COVID positive student or staff member. At the middle school level, the majority of students stay in the same classroom with the teachers traveling from room to room. When students return to daily in-person instruction, students will continue to be socially distanced to the greatest extent possible. Efforts will be made to keep class sizes as low as enrollment allows, however, there may be classes that contain up to 32 students making it not feasible to keep students spaced 6 feet apart. All other mitigation protocols will remain in place.
High School (9th-12th grade)
Beginning on Monday, January 4th, the first two weeks of the second semester at the high school level will continue on a hybrid, rotating (A/B) schedule. Please note as of January 4, 2021, Fridays in the hybrid schedule will be in-person learning days with an alternating schedule instead of remote days. This means in-person instruction is as follows:
| Monday, January 4th | “A” Day | Monday, January 11th | “B” Day |
| Tuesday, January 5th | “B” Day | Tuesday, January 12th | “A” Day |
| Wednesday, January 6th | “A” Day | Wednesday, January 13th | “B” Day |
| Thursday, January 7th | “B” Day | Thursday, January 14th | “A” Day |
| Friday, January 8th | “A” Day | Friday, January 15th | “B” Day |
Any return to hybrid schedule during the second semester would follow this alternating A/B schedule for in-person learning.
Beginning on Tuesday, January 19th, all Edwardsville High School students will begin attending in-person daily. However, the District will consult with the Madison County Health Department at the beginning of January to review current data and statistics. If the Madison County Health Department determines it is unsafe to return to five days/week of in-person instruction at EHS, the District will notify all families. In addition, the start date of January 19 would also be pushed back based on the following:
- If EHS was to have multiple outbreaks of COVID cases between now and the end of the first semester or within the first two weeks of the second semester.
- If Madison County was under any State Resurgence Mitigation Policies that limits gatherings to less than 25 people.
If EHS is unable to return to five days/week of in-person instruction due to any of the conditions above, the students would remain on alternating A/B schedule for in-person learning. The District would continue to monitor the metrics with the Madison County Health Department and notify all high school families when 5 days/week of in-person instruction would begin at EHS.
The need for stricter metrics for all students to attend in-person daily at Edwardsville High School are due to the size and environment of the school. At EHS, students will continue to move from room-to-room for the 6 periods. When students return to daily in-person instruction, students will continue to be socially distanced to the greatest extent possible. Efforts will be made to keep class sizes as low as enrollment allows; however, there may be classes that contain up to 34 students making it not feasible to keep students spaced 6 feet apart. All other mitigation protocols will remain in place.
Once all students are attending school daily, any change to a hybrid or a fully remote schedule will follow the guidelines outlined in the District’s Second Semester Transition Plan. Any schedule revision from fully in-person to hybrid or remote settings will be communicated to all affected families from the District and building level through email, text, and recorded phone message.
Second Semester Instructional Environment Selection
All District 7 families must complete a second semester instructional environment selection below to determine either 100% remote or in-person learning for their students by Wednesday, November 4, 2020. Please carefully review the information outlined within the second semester transition plan document (found at the attached link below) as you make your final decision. In order to provide the necessary staffing levels for remote and in-person classes, implement student schedule changes, and provide additional professional development for staff based upon the results of the instructional environment selection for the second semester, the District will not be able to accommodate changes to parent decisions after Wednesday, November 4, 2020. When completing the instructional environment selection process, you are committing to your decision for the entire second semester of the 2020-2021 school year.
As the District plans for the second semester of the 2020-2021 school year, please be aware that students transitioning from 100% remote to in-person learning could be required to attend a different building for the second semester depending upon in-person learning class sizes. We hope to avoid this wherever possible, but the District is bound by class size limitations. Another potential outcome of class size limitations is the possibility that some students could have a different teacher for the second semester.
It is our objective to keep the amount of transition and change for all students to a minimum for the second semester. However, we want to make sure that families understand that some change is possible based on parents’ second semester instructional environment selection.
We appreciate your continued support as we work to provide a quality education for all District 7 students.
Respectfully,
Dr. Jason Henderson
Superintendent
Edwardsville CUSD7
