The nearly 12,000 students of Arlington Heights-based Township High School District 214 started the new academic year this month, attending class full-time, in school buildings, wearing masks – amid the ongoing pandemic – and with new teachers and leadership.
“We are working to ensure that every student is engaged to reach their potential, but also to make sure they are ready to make a positive difference in a community. We can do this by building a foundation of social emotional intelligence in every student so that they can maximize whatever academic, social and/or physical skills they have,” John Hersey High School Principal Keir Rogers said in a statement emailed to Pioneer Press.
Rogers took the school’s reins mere days before the 2021-2022 school year started Aug. 11, following an “unexpected” leadership change where SD214 officials announced that Principal Gordon Sisson will be out the entire school year on medical leave – paid his full salary while out.
Rogers had been principal of the district’s four Specialized Schools.
“I’m elated to be named principal of John Hersey High School. It’s very important to note that our remarkable learning environment was built over the past decade through the leadership of former principal Gordon Sisson and his administrative team. … The JHHS community also benefits from our participating ZIP Codes in many cases,” Keir said in the statement. “The staff members at the other five D214 high schools along with the Specialized Schools work just as hard for their students; every school has strengths and challenges.”
Also new this school year, SD214 hired 51 new teachers who started in classrooms across the six school in the district. The number includes nine at Buffalo Grove High School, located in Buffalo Grove, and five at Hersey in Arlington Heights, district spokeswoman Stephanie Kim told Pioneer Press.
The district is following the state mandate as the coronavirus pandemic continues and is requiring students and staff to wear masks, whether or not they are vaccinated. Each of the school buildings opened to full school day schedules with students physically in classrooms – after last academic year saw students receive instruction fully remote then part of a hybrid plan.
SD214 is also continuing a plan for classroom instruction time that was created last school year. Block schedules were put in place “to better accommodate student and staff needs during hybrid learning,” according to the district website. The site states that block schedules will continue as part of a two-year pilot program.
“District 214 reached this decision after receiving positive feedback about this year’s schedule from students, parents and teachers and additional positive feedback by way of parent surveys. After the pilot concludes, we will review data and once again survey students, parents and staff regarding future years’ schedules,” school officials state on the website.
Kim, who is also new to SD214, told Pioneer Press that block schedule consists of eight alternating class periods over two days. Each block consists of 80 minutes of instructional time, with one block each day extended to 130 minutes to accommodate a 45-minute lunch period.
The school day runs from 8:35 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“A block schedule will potentially minimize the number of students who would need to quarantine in the event of a COVID-19 infected student,” the district website states.
The district also states that the block schedule helps fulfill a federal requirement for bringing students back to in-person instruction.
“The American Recovery Act requires school districts to develop a return to school ‘learning loss’ plan that supports students’ academic and social emotional needs. Maintaining the current block schedule ensures every student can not only have a lunch for the social interaction essential to their engagement with school, but also access to support services during the school day,” according to the website.
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The district lists other benefits of the special scheduling, too.
Kim also pointed out that SD214 will continue a partnership with Lewis University and Chicago Executive Airport and again offer Aviation Academy – with a fourth cohort of students this year.
“For the first time ever, students will be enrolled in ground school coursework which will pave the way for students interested in commercial aviation, aerospace engineering, and/or obtaining their private pilot’s license,” she said in an email to Pioneer Press.
Township High School District 214 includes BGHS, Hersey, Elk Grove, Prospect, Rolling Meadows and Wheeling high schools. The district serves several northwest suburbs, including Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Wheeling, Mount Prospect and Elk Grove Village.