Students react to Collierville High reopening
After repeated pleas from students, teachers and parents, Collierville High School will remain on its current schedule through the first month of the new year, which, with less students in the building at one time, allows for six feet of social distancing.
The change, announced Wednesday, was informed by “the significant increase” in COVID-19 cases across the county.
And, for students who have made repeated calls to keep the initial schedule, the announcement provided some relief.
The district planned to bring the high school students who wanted to learn inperson back to class for four days each week, beginning with the start of the second semester in January. Presently, high schoolers who are learning in person are split into two groups, and only go to class two days each week. District Superintendent Gary Lilly said the increased number of in-person days were necessary to improve grades, and that too many students were failing courses.
Swapping to four days in person for all students, the district said, would come with changes to scheduling and COVID-19 protocols. The district said the plan would allow for three feet of social distancing in places where six isn’t possible.
A group of 35 students questioned the safety of the plan in a letter sent to district officials and board members in late October, right after the change of plans was announced. They called on the administration to keep the hybrid schedule in place. They said without students consistently wearing masks now, they were concerned that would only grow and could contribute to more spread with more people in the building at once, potentially spreading to teachers.
In late November, teachers also sent letters. At the time, they called on the district to remain virtual through midJanuary, and then maintain the hybrid schedule for the first half of the second semester.
Both groups citied rising case numbers at the time, which have continued to grow in Shelby County as hospital ca
pacity tightens to the most dire levels of the pandemic. And it’s likely to get worse in January, Shelby County Health Department Director Alisa Haushalter has said.
The district intends to still move to its original second-semester plan of four days of in-person learning for all interested students.
“It is our intent to provide in-person instruction 4 days a week at Collierville High School when our county-wide COVID-19 numbers begin to trend downward consistently, and our local health officials provide encouraging feedback with regards to the pandemic,” the district wrote in its announcement.
The school will release information about the rest of the second semester around Jan. 22, said district spokesperson Mario Hogue.
Taryn Miskowiec, the high school senior that initially wrote the student letter to the district, said the announcement provided some relief.
“I think it’s a step in the right direc
tion. ... I was honestly a little shocked to see that they changed their decision, but I want to think that this means they’re actually taking more voices into account when they’re making decisions now,” Miskowiec said in a text message.
Her mom, Lisa Miskowiec, was part of a parent email campaign to the board. Miskowiec said she is glad to see district officials and board members “listening to science and medical experts.” “Taryn and many other students feel like they may have finally been heard,” she said.
Taryn Miskowiec ultimately decided to stay in-person for the new year, but several students who signed the letter had decided to go virtual. Students won’t be able to amend any decisions for the second semester, and the choices made in November, when the plan was for the school to be open to all students four days a week, will still be in effect, Hogue said. Allowing for changes was “cause a scheduling nightmare,” he said.
The new survey window, though, didn’t affect the net number of students
who would be in-person or virtual too severely: 158 in-person students opted to go virtual, while 94 virtual students opted to shift to in-person, Collierville Schools Superintendent Gary Lilly said.
Of the school’s nearly 3,000 students, around 30% chose to start virtual-only in the fall, leaving fewer than 1,000 students in the building on any given day among the two-hybrid groups.
Natalie Christensen, also a senior, was one of the students who signed the letter who decided to swap to virtual learning for the second semester. She said she’s still somewhat undecided now, but thinks she’s most likely to stay with the only online option.
“Going online would be consistent. ... I would rather know exactly how I am learning and for it to stay that way than every month,” she said in a text message.
Laura Testino can be reached at laura.testino@commercialappeal.com or 901-512-3763.