Students Return To Elmhurst's IC Catholic Prep

ELMHURST, IL — IC Catholic Prep saw something Wednesday that most local schools won't see for some time — actual students. More than 100 lined up outside the high school for their first day of school. It was an orientation for freshmen and transfer students.

At the front door stood the school's principal, Stephen Davidson, checking everyone's temperature as they entered. Students presented documents at tables outside and picked up free T-shirts that read, "Through this together," a reference to the continuing coronavirus pandemic.

Davidson and other employees repeatedly reminded students to stay 6 feet apart. Everyone wore masks. Inside the school, students sat in classrooms where desks were socially distanced, with some removed to make that possible. Arrows on hallway floors indicated where students should walk. Stairways were designated for going up and down.

Elmhurst School District 205 had planned to begin school next week with a blend of in-person and remote days. But the teachers union rose up in opposition, pushing for entirely remote lessons. Many teachers sought remote assignments. So the district decided to go with e-learning the first three weeks and then start in-person days in mid-September.

Area Catholic schools decided to open with a blended approach, often called a hybrid model. At IC Catholic Prep, students in the first and second halves of the alphabet are set to alternate days going to school in person. When away, students will connect to classes through video conferencing.

Each day, according to IC, students will self-certify their health through a phone app by answering five questions.

"Some of the instruction time will be eaten up with these protocols, but they are absolutely necessary," said David Terry, IC's director of marketing and communications.

Principal Davidson said it has been an "intense summer of planning." Part of the plan, he said, was ensuring a seamless transition to entirely remote learning should conditions require it.

"Everyone was involved in how we're going to reopen. We determined to start with a hybrid," he said in an interview.

The school, he said, found that 91 percent of families preferred the hybrid model, with the rest choosing an entirely remote plan. All but a couple of teachers decided to take part in the blended approach, he said.

"I would say the vast majority of our teachers are supportive of the plan," he said.

Many private schools that have chosen a hybrid model are reporting increases in enrollment where public schools are completely remote. IC is no exception. Its enrollment this year is 371, up from 337 last year, Davidson said.

The school had been growing even before the pandemic began, Davidson said.

"There is a lot of interest from families who like the plan we put in place," he said.