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Thank you to all who provided feedback. From some of the comments we received, it is clear that more information would be helpful about two general areas of the reopening plan:
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- The duration of the plan and what that means for instruction/schedule
- The rationale for the decision based on the constraints within which Fenwick operates
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We hope this communication clarifies the reopening plan and answers more of your questions.
However, as operating any large facility with hundreds of people indoors during a pandemic remains an evolving and fluid situation, things may change and questions will still undoubtedly arise.
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Duration/Instruction/Schedule
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The two days of in-school instruction, two days of remote instruction (A/B schedule), with the fifth “flexible” day (Fridays) is how Fenwick will start the school year. That may or may not be the case for all of the first quarter, the first semester, or the school year. We will continue to monitor the evolving situation based on public health and educational guidelines and requirements. We will reassess and evaluate as the school year gets underway to determine whether a change to the schedule is warranted and can be safely implemented. Our goal, as is yours, is to have a full five days of in-school instruction and a return to a “normal” school year as quickly and safely as possible.
Fenwick does not pretend to have all the answers. What we do know is that the school building will have been largely empty of students for five months by the time school starts. When that occurs on August 24 for all students, Fenwick will be responsible for the health and well-being of approximately 550 students at least four days per week in the building and 150 faculty and staff who will be working five days a week to serve the students’ and the Fenwick community’s needs. If only by virtue of age, the faculty and staff are at greater risk of contracting Covid-19 than our students (not to mention any underlying health issues that may place them at even greater risk), and by law, we are obligated to provide them with some accommodations if needed.
There will be many new health/safety, instructional, operational and transportation protocols in place that require greater oversight, time and supervision than during a “normal” school year. All of this will require some getting used to for both the students and faculty/staff. We ask that you please work with us to make sure we get our “operational legs” underneath us so that the opening of school goes smoothly and safely. That will only help in the return to a “normal” schedule when possible. Ensuring the health and safety of our faculty, particularly, is critical to returning to five days of in-school instruction at some point.
To be clear, however, the A/B schedule is designed to provide five full days of instruction, some in-person, some remote. Faculty will have the flexibility to engage their students remotely in the most effective manner they determine for the subject matter, their teaching style, and the students’ needs. Every classroom is being equipped with cameras. Students will follow their academic schedule each day, whether in-school or remote. Attendance will be taken regularly throughout the day. Regular grading and testing schedules will be maintained for the duration of the A/B schedule. Lunch will also be provided at least Monday through Thursday by Quest. More details about that and Friday lunch availability are forthcoming. Fenwick will do everything possible to not alter the academic schedule on the A/B days Monday through Thursday.
During a “normal” school year, there are often interruptions to the regular class schedule: all-school Masses or assemblies, college or grade level counseling sessions, honors and awards ceremonies, late starts for faculty/staff meetings, and so on. The A/B schedule with “flexible” Fridays allows for these “other” necessary and enriching happenings to continue. On any given Friday, based on class year, some students will attend school for in-person instruction, others may be remote learning, while still others may (in groups of 50 or fewer) rotate through a number of the enhancement opportunities; for example, a school Mass, cultural inclusion and sensitivity training, grade level counseling, an alumnus speaker, the freshmen Shield Program, and so on. These details have not yet been fully determined, but Fridays provide a great opportunity for creativity and to build community spirit and camaraderie.
Fenwick is committed to providing the education that our students expect and deserve, to the extent possible under the current circumstances. At the end of September, we will make a critical review of the first six weeks of the school year to determine whether a change to the A/B schedule is warranted and possible.
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As mentioned, our decision to implement a “hybrid” schedule of in-school and remote instruction is in keeping with the guidelines and recommendations of the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Fenwick also operates with permission of the Archdiocese of Chicago (AoC) and under the auspices of the Village of Oak Park (VOP), not to mention the Central U.S. Province of the Dominicans.
In the Executive Summary of the jointly-issued reopening plan of the ISBE and IDPH dated June 23, it lists the following requirements:
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- Require the use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), including face coverings;
- Prohibit more than 50 individuals from gathering in one space;
- Require social distancing [later defined as six feet] observed, as much as possible;
- Require that schools conduct symptom screenings and temperature checks or require that individuals self-certify that they are free of symptoms before entering school buildings; and
- Require an increase in schoolwide cleaning and disinfection.
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The Office of Catholic Schools of the AoC has been holding weekly calls among the Principals and Heads of Schools of all schools in the AoC for several months. It has also mandated that these requirements be followed. Fenwick must also submit its reopening plan to the VOP, which requires these safeguards.
Yes, one can argue that “as much as possible” in reference to social distancing is vague and offers some wiggle room, but we have chosen to follow the six feet guideline because it is possible in instructional space at Fenwick and to help ensure the health and safety of everyone in the building to the extent possible during a pandemic.
We fully acknowledge and recognize that one can cite studies that have determined no social distancing matters as long as one wears a mask, or three feet should be the standard (or six feet, or twelve feet, and so on), but we have chosen to adhere to the generally accepted societal norm of six feet and the aforementioned guidelines.
In doing so, that creates limitations within our buildings. Fenwick simply does not have enough potential instructional space to maintain social distance for more than the 550 or so students that will be in the building at least four days a week.
As it is, the A/B schedule programs instructional space in the following “common” areas of Fenwick: the auditorium, the Lawless gym, the wrestling room and the cafeteria. The only two potential instructional “common” areas that have not been programmed for classroom space are the chapel and the fieldhouse.
Especially during this time of global tumult, the Pearl and Angelo Mazzone Chapel will remain a sacred space. Now, more than ever, our students and faculty/staff need a place for quiet reflection and prayer. The fieldhouse is potentially instructional space. It has not yet been programmed for that purpose because we need to have some margin for the unexpected. If we have learned anything in the past four months, it is that the unexpected arises. We simply must have some space to accommodate the unexpected.
Some of the feedback we have received references to other high schools or Catholic elementary schools that are opening for four or five days of in-school instruction. At the high school level, we readily acknowledge that fact and wish we had the space to do that. We do not. Those schools must have the space if they are adhering to the same guidelines. In Catholic elementary schools, at least in the AoC, the schools are adopting a “cohort” model in which groups of 20-25 students (with the same mandates for masks and six feet social distancing) stay in one classroom all day and the teachers rotate through. With the varied schedules of Fenwick students, regardless of grade level, that is impossible.
There has also been reference in some of the feedback we have received that by adopting the A/B schedule Fenwick is not being the leader in education that we have always been. We understand the sentiment. As a Catholic school that champions the sanctity of human life, we have chosen to be a leader, if you will, in doing everything we can to protect the health and safety of all our stakeholders during this public health crisis while maintaining our educational mission.
During times of crisis – recall that Fenwick opened a few weeks before the stock market crash of 1929 and nearly did not survive the Great Depression – the undaunting spirit of the Fenwick community has always rallied and pushed and pulled the school to even greater success. We have no doubt that this will be the case now. Please help us to educate our students and keep them and our faculty and staff, parents, alumni and friends safe and healthy, so that Fenwick emerges from this current crisis as strong as ever.
We look forward to the opening of school and the Town Hall meeting with parents on Wednesday, July 22, at 4:00 p.m. Please use the details below to access and participate in the Town Hall meeting.
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You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: July 22, 2020, at 4:00 p.m.
Topic: Return to School Town Hall Meeting
Please click here to join the webinar.
Password: 9QmEYq
Webinar ID: 846 4889 9943
Or iPhone one-tap :
US: +13126266799,,84648899943#,,,,0#,,572861# or +19292056099,,84648899943#,,,,0#,,572861#
Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 312 626 6799 or +1 929 205 6099 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 6833
Webinar ID: 846 4889 9943
Password: 572861
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Fenwick High School is owned and sponsored by the Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Albert the Great headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
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