Hybrid School: What to Expect in Hybrid Learning

On Tuesday, Oct. 6, East’s principals had a meeting with school staff to inform them of the official plan for hybrid and to answer any questions the staff may have about the return to in-person school. 

SMSD announced last week that the hybrid option will be offered for all high school and middle school students starting Oct. 26. The school will be split into two groups for hybrid — A-Lamb and Lamc-Z based on last name. 

On Mondays and Tuesdays, the first group will go to school in-person while the second group works virtually. On Wednesday and Thursday, the second half will go in-person while the first half switches to virtual. Fridays will be the same as the current schedule, with all students doing all seven periods remotely.

According to an email sent out by East nurse Stephanie Ptacek on Oct. 8, the school will not be doing daily temperature checks for students attending in-person upon entry of the building. However, she asks that families make sure their students have no symptoms of COVID-19 before coming to school. SMSD will also provide thermometers to any family in the district that requests one. Requests can be made through a form the district supplied.

When students are in-person they’ll be required to wear masks and social distance throughout the day.

According to Associate Principal Dr. Susan Leonard, the ability to social distance the recommended six feet will vary for each classroom. But, since classes are half their original size, teachers have spaced desks as far apart as possible, keeping up with the minimum-required three feet. Hand sanitizer will be provided in each classroom as students are required to sanitize upon entering and leaving rooms. There’s also disinfectant spray bottles in every classroom, though it is up to the teacher whether they’ll have students clean their tables before leaving or do it themselves between classes.

Although the school will be at half capacity, hallways will still be crowded during passing periods. According to Leonard, the school hasn’t fully figured out how to regulate the travel flow, but are considering one-way hallways and designated directions on staircases. Teachers will monitor the halls to make sure students go straight to class and don’t congregate in the hallways, as well as keep their masks on.

“We’re just [going to] really have to rely on both our students, who are awesome, to follow guidelines and to keep their distance because a lot of that comes down to your own personal responsibility,” Leonard said. “Then we’ll also have to rely on the teachers being out in the hallways.”

The staff will be strict on students wearing their masks throughout the day. If a student forgets to bring their mask or theirs breaks, every teacher is supplied with extras, and those instances are understandable. However, if a student defiantly chooses to not wear their masks, they’ll not be allowed to be in the building.

“I think it’s pretty easy — that student can’t be in our school if they won’t follow procedures because it’s truly dangerous,” Leonard said. “We can’t have a student who is posing a threat to other students in our building, so if they can’t comply, then they can’t come in-person to learn.”

The only time that masks will be taken off during the day is while sitting in the cafeteria, eating lunch. However, masks must remain on as students enter and exit the cafeteria and while in the kitchen area to get food.

To minimize the number of students in the cafeteria at one time, the number of lunch periods has been raised from three to four. The layout of the cafeteria has also been adjusted, with desks replacing the usual long tables. Desks are placed in quads with four desks facing each other but are positioned six feet apart so that lunch is still semi-social. As long as students aren’t getting up and moving around, they’ll be allowed to talk to their friends in their group of four.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays when students have seminar, students will still be able to travel to their teachers’ classes. According to Leonard, the school hasn’t figured out all of the details with how moving from class to class will work, but they think it’s important for students to be able to use that work time the way it’s intended to be.

During students’ two online block days, teachers will determine how to organize online class in a way that fits their curriculum. With teachers having both in-person and online students in their classes Monday through Thursday, their top priority will be teaching their live classroom, Leonard said. Most classes will likely give assignments for virtual students to do through Canvas.

Leonard hopes the two online block days students have each week will not have a strict schedule, allowing students to have more flexibility. Attending the Webex sessions that teachers may host will not be required, but is encouraged.

“[Having that flexibility] could be kind of cool to own your time that way,” Leonard said. “But, I think it’ll be a little bit students’ preferences and a little bit depending on the mix of classes you take and how that teacher approaches it.”

As this hybrid learning method starts, it’s expected for there to be a rise in COVID-19 cases among students. Leonard stresses the importance of managing both the live and virtual classes since it’s likely students will have to quarantine and miss their in-person classes.

The specifics on how they’d handle the situation of students getting COVID-19 while in school are not fully clear yet. Leonard predicts that if it’s only a few students that get it, they’ll quarantine and will be able to return to school when they’re healthy. However, if a large group of students are infected, Leonard can see the school returning to entirely remote.

Additionally, if there are cases within the school, Ptacek is in charge of contact tracing. If students are infected or exposed to COVID-19, parents have been instructed to reach out to her so she can do contact tracing protocols and notify the parents of students who could have been exposed. There will be a strong emphasis on attendance while learning at the school because it’s crucial for the school to know when and where everyone is so they can do proper contact tracing.

“I’m still looking forward to [having] students and life back in our building,” Leonard said. “I think the adjustment to [hybrid] will be hard and I hope that we can smoothly get over that and get into a flow again, because I’ve been really impressed with the way teachers have made remote work. And so I hope that we can modify, adjust and pivot really quickly and make it work.”