Union City School students will return to a more traditional learning setting when classes resume Monday following the Thanksgiving holiday break.
Director of Schools Wes Kennedy said the 1,600-plus students on three UC campuses will operate under the Level 2.51 plan until classes dismiss for Christmas, Dec. 18.
Students in Grades 7-12 will again attend classes four days a week, beginning Monday, with Fridays reserved for Distance Learning and appointment-scheduled tutoring.
In the 2.51 plan – which has been in place earlier before a seven-day stretch of total Distance Learning that expired today – students in PreK-6th Grade will attend traditional classes five days a week, starting Nov. 30.
Kennedy cited improved health statistics of UC School faculty and students during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as his reasoning for returning to a more normal schedule.
“Be it the number of positive cases or the number of both students and faculty that have been quarantined due to distance tracing, we’re in a better place than we have been,” Kennedy said. “I attribute that to people following the guidelines and protocols that have been put in place, and they have made it a priority to be safe and respectful of others.
“We’re still going to take every precaution that we can moving forward. Getting students and teachers back on campus where I believe in-person is the best for everyone is a positive, but we aren’t going to ignore the regulations that helped us make that decision possible.”
Part of the Level 2.51 plan is mandatory masks and social distancing in classrooms.
Kennedy spoke glowingly of students, teachers and administration who made the Distance Learning process a rousing success the last seven days. In that plan, students at both Union City High School and UC Middle School received “live” instruction via TEAMS and from each of their teachers – logging on and completing assignments for all seven class periods.
Students in grades PreK-4th Grade at Union City Elementary School learned via a blended plan that included the TEAMS program and via the usage of packets sent home by their respective teachers.
Kennedy said: “It’s really comforting to know that if we have to go full Distance Learning again due to the coronavirus or any other reason that everyone is on board and it can be a tremendous tool for Union City Schools and its stakeholders.”
Kennedy will make the decision on the status of second-semester classes – scheduled to begin Jan. 5, 2021 – closer to that date.