McHenry High School District 156 officials look ahead to next year's split-grade campus transition, hope for return to normalcy

McHenry High School District 156 officials on Monday looked forward to taking advantage of a new $44 million academic building next fall, hoping students will be back in classrooms full time by then, as the school board was updated on how the space now under construction will be used.

But the structure may come in handy before then.

It could help facilitate hybrid learning classes starting in January, when some of the large new building – known as the Center for Science, Technology and Industry – could be opened, Superintendent Ryan McTague said. It will add 100,000 new square feet to the high school system, he said.

The additional space will allow a major change for the McHenry High School system for the next academic year. It will involve making what is now the East Campus a freshmen-only area, while sophomores, juniors and seniors will all attend what is now the West Campus, where the new building will be located.

Blended learning, similar to the hybrid models that include some in-person and some online coursework being pursued because of the pandemic, also will be an aspect offered to certain students in classes connected to the new center, Assistant Superintendent Carl Vallianatos said.

"Moving forward, when school opens next year, we will also now have 52 blended learning courses at McHenry High School," Vallianatos said. "The pandemic in a really strange way has helped push us in that direction, and now we can enjoy it by moving backwards and offering a higher degree of face-to-face learning."

Each McHenry High School campus currently hosts all four high school grades, but some courses were only offered at one campus or the other, forcing students to make difficult decisions. Work on the new center broke ground in September and had been slated to open in January, according to the Northwest Herald.

Senior mentors will be involved in helping the freshman students adjust to high school, officials said.

"We grabbed a hold of the power of the freshman year," McHenry High School East Principal Jeff Prickett said of the campus transition to a split along grade levels.

But so far this school year, learning inside classrooms has not been able to occur, although McTague is optimistic a move into hybrid learning is possible before the turn of the new year.

Fully remote learning models have continued for the school system so far this year as COVID-19 caseloads across the nation, and among District 156 students and staff, have been on the rise over recent weeks.

Officials at the end of October called off the district's original plan to transition to hybrid learning from remote starting Nov. 4, McTague said. The plan that was paused had been approved in early October by the school board.

Remote learning will continue at least through the district's Thanksgiving break, with a chance to return students to classrooms at reduced campus densities for hybrid learning before the December holiday break, McTague said.

A district dashboard shows 15 new cases of COVID-19 among students and staff were reported last week and five were reported the week before. During the last week of October, nine were reported.

Public health officials have not told the district they are concerned about an outbreak among students or staff, McTague said.

Data for this week had not yet been reported by the online dashboard Monday night.

"I'm an eternal optimist, I know we're going to come back at some point," McTague said. "If we're not able to come back first semester, we will target a second-semester return. We're going to be back soon. I know we are in my heart."