Loyola Academy Students Return To Classrooms After 2 Weeks Remote

WILMETTE, IL — Students at Loyola Academy returned to on-campus classrooms at Tuesday with a new hybrid schedule following two weeks of fully remote learning. Last month, administrators called off further in-person classes until after Labor Day in response to the number of coronavirus cases at the school.

The school year began Aug. 20 with a hybrid model that allowed about 500 students, or one grade level, on campus every day. But on Aug. 21, after orientation and two days of in-person instruction, administrators learned six students had tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a statement from the school.

"Our contact tracing analysis, conducted by our nursing team in collaboration with the Cook County Department of Public Health, indicates that none of the positive cases originated at Loyola, but from off-campus exposure," school officials said in a statement. "We believe that exposure to the virus at Loyola was minimal thanks to the safety protocols that were put in place."

Another 63 students were in quarantine because of potential COVID-19 exposure. A school representative declined to say how many, if any, staff were infected or quarantined.

Under Loyola's new hybrid schedule, each grade level will be divided in half by the first letter of students' last names and paired with another class, freshmen with juniors and seniors with sophomores, to create four different attendance groupings.

On Tuesday, freshmen and juniors with last names starting with "A" through "K" attended class, and Wednesday, those with names starting with "L" through "Z" were on campus, according to a school spokesperson. Sophomores and seniors are due to split the last two days of the week.

Under the hybrid schedule planned through September, each grouping is set to attend classes on campus at least one day a week, and some twice a week.

Principal Charlie Heintz said the new schedule will decrease class sizes, better allow for 6 feet of physical distance between students and decrease the number of students outside classrooms during each lunch period.

The principal has previously emphasized that a safe return to in-person instruction depends on personal responsibility and community accountability.

“What you do outside of the school building matters greatly to the health and well-being of the entire Loyola community," Heintz said in a message to families. "We all know that in-person learning is a much richer and beneficial experience for students. And we all want to be on campus, but this will not work if all of us are not vigilant at all times about these simple but incredibly important efforts."

RELATED: Coronavirus Cases Cause Loyola Academy To Move To Remote Learning

Loyola Academy President Fr. Pat McGrath said he was confident in the medical team and the new on-campus policies and procedures implemented in response to the pandemic.

"We've invested together an awful lot of time and money to make sure this building is as safe and as welcoming to our school community as it can be," McGrath said in a video message to parents ahead of students' second return to campus.

Administrators purchased more than 35,000 disposable face masks, 6,000 gloves, 400 gallons of hand sanitizer and 400 canisters of disinfectant wipes, school officials announced in a message ahead of the first day of classes.

Staff also implemented new air flow and filtration measures, including adding particulate filters to classrooms without windows, it said.

But there are currently no plans for comprehensive coronavirus testing at Loyola Academy, according to a school spokesperson.

Such a testing strategy — often the only way to detect the significant portion of people infected with COVID-19 who remain asymptomatic — has been in place for months by businesses that decide to pay for it, long-term care facilities and professional sports teams. It has also been implemented at military or detention facilities.

Recently, some colleges and universities have also implemented such programs, with the University of Illinois conducting more than 182,000 rapid saliva tests on its students and staff since July. Students at Northwestern University are required to test negative for the COVID-19 virus before being allowed on campus.

Loyola Academy is a private Catholic high school with annual tuition of $17,750 per student. About a quarter of its 2,000 students receive financial aid, which covers about half of the cost of tuition, on average, according to its website.

In his video message, McGrath called on parents to ensure that their children do not show up to school with symptoms of COVID-19. He did not mention any coronavirus testing plan.

"I want to encourage you to continue to help us in our shared work to care for the Ramblers, for your sons and daughters. What they do here at Loyola we have an awful lot of control over, and we've put so much thought in the flow of the day and the safety of the spaces, but we need you to partner with us in this care as you do so well as parents of the Ramblers," McGrath said.

"Make good choices. Encourage your children to make good choices about their social time. Discourage large social gatherings of students outside of school."