Du Quoin summer school starts Monday; both in-school and remotely

As summer school opens next Monday in the Du Quoin schools, it could be something of a preview to what the full school year will look like next fall, Superintendent Matt Hickam said Monday.

Hickam said the elementary and middle school summer school will be a combination of in-person classes and remote learning, which is how he says the fall is likely to play out.

"(Summer school) will be in-person some days and remote learning certain days," he said, adding the classrooms will be thoroughly disinfected after each use.

Students and teachers will have their temperatures taken when they come into school and be quizzed about any symptoms they have had. Students will wear masks - which will be provided if kids don't have their own. Teachers will be wearing full PPE gear, Hickam added.

The summer classes in District 300 will be pared down from the summer usual offerings. Elementary and middle school summer school classes will be geared exclusively to students who need additional skill-building to be ready for their next grade level, Hickam said. He said his building principals have recruited the children they believe are in need of the extra class time, and for the most part, all those students are enrolled.

At Du Quoin High School, all the classes will be done remotely. Besides "credit recovery" classes for kids who need to make up work, the high school will have enrichment or advancement opportunities. Incoming freshmen who are interested in science will be able to take a basic science course over the summer that will put them into Biology as freshmen, which normally is a sophomore level class. By the end of their four years, they can have taken a fifth science class.

Incoming seniors, meanwhile, can get the required consumer education class done this summer.

Summer school will be in session June 29 through July 24.

While Hickam has said before he expected remote learning will continue into the fall, he also said that unless the COVID-19 virus rears back up, students can expect to spend at least some of their time inside their respective school buildings this fall.

"I'm still not sure if we can accommodate all our students at one time," Hickam said. "But we'll be in school as long as circumstances don't change," meaning the current recovery, he added.