It’s a new year in what seems like a new world. New Prague High School students are back to school, but the teaching model is new. August 17 the district announced students would return to school in a hybrid model. They would be arranged in A and B cohorts with A students attending Mondays and Tuesdays, B students attending Thursdays and Fridays, and both cohorts alternating Wednesdays.  Students were also offered the option to attend school 100% distance learning: 133 students chose that option.

With this in mind, the district added three preparation days for staff, moving the school start date back to September 3.  Cohort A arrived Thursday morning to a new set of procedures and expectations. The building is not open to students until 7:15 a.m. Masks are required in the building, students cannot access lockers, if they arrive before 7:25 they are asked to socially distance in the cafeteria, and they can report to their classrooms at 7:25.  School starts at 7:40 a.m.

Classrooms look different as well, with desks distanced when possible, to allow 6 feet of space between students.  Each class is broken into the A and B cohorts, meaning teachers have “half” of their students on A days and the other half on B days. However, with the schedule at the high school, there was no way to make cohorts even in every section.  This means teachers see 8-20 students daily while the students who are hybrid at home those days will do school work independently at home.

Things definitely look and feel different, but it’s clear that most staff and students are just glad to be back with other humans.

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You KNOW they are smiling behind those masks!