Students who chose in-person learning returned to school full time on Sept. 21. Many of the safety policies remained the same, but some are under review since twice as many students are on campus everyday. 

One of the biggest changes being made is attendance. During the first six weeks of school, in-person students were counted present even if they did not show up to class by logging onto Schoology that day. Beginning on Sept. 21, logging onto Schoology will no longer count in-person students present. Despite the change, attendance will still not impact whether or not students will be able to exempt their final exams.

“Attendance is just looking at credits now,” principal Lisa Drabing said. “The state says you have to be in attendance 90% of the time in order to gain your credits.”

To exempt finals, Drabing said students will only have to have an 80 or above and no more than one Saturday class.

All testing continues to mostly be done at home over a 48-hour period.

“We have virtual learners and we still have face-to-face learners, and in order to make it equal to all students that 48 hour testing window will remain the same,” Drabing said. 

Block days and late arrival days have not been worked into the calendar yet. The flex lunch schedule is currently being evaluated and Drabing is not sure whether or not it will continue. It all depends on how students handle it going forward.

“In that setting where students are eating and drinking, you know masks are off and we need to be just a little more cautious during that particular time,” Drabing said. “We’re trying to see what we can do to just make the lunch time as safe as possible.”

The arrival, dismissal, directional hallway and mask policies will continue for the foreseeable future. 

“School just looks a little different,” Drabing said. “We’re having to juggle a lot and making sure that we can provide the best learning opportunities for each one of our students. That’s been very challenging and it’s been very challenging for our teachers to do that as well.”