With the COVID-crazy of the year, another schedule change has not come as much of a shock for Starr’s Mill students. On Wednesday, Principal Allen Leonard sent out an email explaining that as of Thursday, students would be back going to school in their yellow groups, but with a new change. 

“This will be an adjustment for everyone, but right now our number one priority is the health of our students,” Leonard said.

Students that are online will be expected to join each of their classes via Zoom. In addition, rather than going only two days a week and then being virtual the rest, students will attend five days a week either in person or online. Students return to the A and B groups used earlier this semester.

Group A students will be at home Dec. 7 and 8 while group B will be in the building. It flips on Dec. 9 and 10 when group A returns to Starr’s Mill and group B logs in from home.

This also provides the teachers that have been quarantined (tested positive, or potentially exposed) with the opportunity to still do their job from home. 

“Before we had our teachers sending homework virtually, but now we have eliminated that, and instead asked our teachers to teach both online and in person,” Leonard said.

The teachers will now have to figure out how to balance teaching in-person and online at the same time. They will be expected to give out work, check attendance, and teach via Zoom, while still trying to handle teaching the students in the classroom. 

This new change is something different for both teachers and students, but this new model is intended to maximize the remaining instructional days before final exams.

At this time, no changes have been announced regarding final exams or the exam schedule.