Streator High School will bring back staff to school on Wednesdays

Beginning March 3, Streator High School staff will return to school on Wednesdays.

During the 2020-2021 school year, Wednesday has been a remote learning day in between in-person learning Monday through Tuesday and Thursday through Friday.

The student body is split in its attendance between those days in order to follow COVID-19 guidelines.

The staff’s return to the school on Wednesdays could be the first step toward making Wednesday an in-person learning day, Superintendent Matt Seaton said, although he noted that some questions remain. He said the right schedule would have to be put into place, but it’s a possibility that the school’s COVID-19 transition team will strive to meet.

Seaton said at last week’s school board meeting that the quarantine numbers are as low as they have been throughout the school year. As of Monday, the high school had six students in quarantine and no staff members in quarantine. There are no positive cases at this time between students or staff.

The high school also reduced the time students or staff must quarantine from 14 days to 10. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had lowered the guidelines, but the high school waited a few months to see how it played out before making the move.

Additionally, the district approved travel quarantines be limited to those who travel to states identified by the CDC as in the “highest average daily case rates” category on the agency’s map. Determinations on whether to enforce the quarantines also will be on a case-by-case basis, Seaton said.

The high school’s transition committee will talk about possibly hosting an outdoor honors night, prom or graduation. Seaton said he will be asking the state for guidance on whether it would be allowed, but board members were hopeful that events, such as graduation or prom, could be conducted outdoors.