Ave Maria Catholic School Returns to In-Person Learning for 2020-2021
August 17, 2020
On August 13, 2020, Ave Maria Catholic School welcomed students back to campus for full-time, in-person learning for the 2020-2021 school year. “It’s a great feeling”, says Principal Beatrice Skoog, “we knew there would be significant changes given the guidelines we were hearing from the CDC and the Tri-County Health Department. We wanted to get ahead of the curve and have a solid plan in place for several different scenarios.” When the school year ended in May, she quickly assembled a contingency planning team and started work on a reopening plan.
Three long months of countless meetings, numerous plan changes, policy and procedure updates were undertaken with the sole priority of a safe return to campus for in-person learning for students, teachers and staff. Entry health temperature check screenings and required face coverings were implemented at all entrance doors. Ave Maria Catholic School also implemented and completed several other changes to ensure a safe environment. A full-time nurse on staff during school hours, frequent hand washing breaks, increased cleaning of the school facilities during the day, air purification system was installed and filters changed and cleaned, all high touch surfaces were treated with a unique disinfecting process that eliminates the survival of germs for up to 90 days, all internal classrooms were equipped with fans near the entry door to increase airflow through the room and air purification system. Classrooms were adjusted to maximize social distancing seating, schedules revised to limit passing periods in hallways and multi-use rooms were also re-assessed for single purpose use.
All these measures were completed and implemented for the first day of school. For families who did not want to return to in-person learning, Ave Maria also offers a virtual distance learning and a hybrid option. Many different situations are in play within the AMCS community and it’s important to ensure students receive the best possible learning experience, whether virtually or in-person.
“One of the many advantages of our school is our small class sizes,” says Admissions Director, Emily Gatschet. “It allows us the opportunity to accommodate social distancing guidelines for each student without having to plan for a 50-50 model during the week. It's a benefit we’ve always enjoyed, but we now see yet another reason as to why it’s so beneficial.”
Overwhelmingly, the Ave Maria school community wanted to return to in-person learning in the fall. Parents were surveyed regarding their needs/wants and concerns around a return to in-person school. After careful consideration and discussion of the results as well as the social and emotional wellbeing of students, it was clear the best possible option for the AMCS community, was a return to campus. Responding to the survey results, Beatrice Skoog remarked, “We are excited to say, we can fulfill the needs and wants of our school community. We look forward to seeing our students on campus this fall.”
On August 13, 2020, Ave Maria Catholic School welcomed students back to campus for full-time, in-person learning for the 2020-2021 school year. “It’s a great feeling”, says Principal Beatrice Skoog, “we knew there would be significant changes given the guidelines we were hearing from the CDC and the Tri-County Health Department. We wanted to get ahead of the curve and have a solid plan in place for several different scenarios.” When the school year ended in May, she quickly assembled a contingency planning team and started work on a reopening plan.
Three long months of countless meetings, numerous plan changes, policy and procedure updates were undertaken with the sole priority of a safe return to campus for in-person learning for students, teachers and staff. Entry health temperature check screenings and required face coverings were implemented at all entrance doors. Ave Maria Catholic School also implemented and completed several other changes to ensure a safe environment. A full-time nurse on staff during school hours, frequent hand washing breaks, increased cleaning of the school facilities during the day, air purification system was installed and filters changed and cleaned, all high touch surfaces were treated with a unique disinfecting process that eliminates the survival of germs for up to 90 days, all internal classrooms were equipped with fans near the entry door to increase airflow through the room and air purification system. Classrooms were adjusted to maximize social distancing seating, schedules revised to limit passing periods in hallways and multi-use rooms were also re-assessed for single purpose use.
All these measures were completed and implemented for the first day of school. For families who did not want to return to in-person learning, Ave Maria also offers a virtual distance learning and a hybrid option. Many different situations are in play within the AMCS community and it’s important to ensure students receive the best possible learning experience, whether virtually or in-person.
“One of the many advantages of our school is our small class sizes,” says Admissions Director, Emily Gatschet. “It allows us the opportunity to accommodate social distancing guidelines for each student without having to plan for a 50-50 model during the week. It's a benefit we’ve always enjoyed, but we now see yet another reason as to why it’s so beneficial.”
Overwhelmingly, the Ave Maria school community wanted to return to in-person learning in the fall. Parents were surveyed regarding their needs/wants and concerns around a return to in-person school. After careful consideration and discussion of the results as well as the social and emotional wellbeing of students, it was clear the best possible option for the AMCS community, was a return to campus. Responding to the survey results, Beatrice Skoog remarked, “We are excited to say, we can fulfill the needs and wants of our school community. We look forward to seeing our students on campus this fall.”