Du Quoin schools to start new year with A/B schedule

The Du Quoin public schools will ease back into classes after the first of the year, as they try to prevent the spread of the coronavirus after a three-week holiday break.

Students will return to class on Tuesday, Jan. 5, and with it comes a temporary return to the A/B schedule districtwide for two weeks.

Superintendent Matt Hickam told parents in an email that taking into account the cases they've seen since Thanksgiving, and the success District 300 has had in preventing the spread of the virus at school, he and the school leadership have devised a plan, "which strikes a balance between extra precaution coming out of the break and still providing for some in-person instruction."

Monday, Jan. 4: Faculty/staff only for a remote planning day

Tuesday, Jan. 5: B group in-person

Wednesday, Jan. 6: A group in-person

Thursday, Jan. 7: B group in-person

Friday, Jan. 8: A group in-person

The following week, the A group will have in-person instruction on Monday and Wednesday; and the B group will appear Tuesday and Thursday.

Friday, Jan. 15 will be a remote learning day for everyone.

After the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Jan. 18, District 300 plans now to resume the blended schedule at the high school, while K-8 classes will resume being in-school four days a week.

"It's been a challenging semester, but we will continue to get through this together," Hickam said in the email.