Alton Marquette Catholic Releases School Reopening Plan

ALTON - Marquette Catholic High School will start school on August 20, 2020, and will be implementing a Hybrid Model of in-person and online learning.

“We believe it is important for our students’ mental well-being and academic development that we return to a normal school environment as soon as possible, while doing so in a safe way” said Gerard Fischer, President of the Marquette Board of Directors.

All Marquette students will rotate between in-person attendance and online learning, with only half of the student body physically present for school until such time as public health data indicates the School can transition to daily in-person attendance. On an alphabetical basis one half of the students will be in school Monday, Wednesday and Friday of the first week and Tuesday and Thursday of the following week. The other half of the student body will be on the opposite schedule. On the days students are not physically at school they will attend classes remotely.

“We know Marquette students and their families have high expectations. Our recent graduating class sent students to some of the finest institutions of higher learning in the country, including the Naval Academy, the University of Chicago, Wellesley and many others. We expect nothing less from our current students and are prepared to ensure their success” said Fischer. “The school day will not be cut short and instructional time will not be reduced. Concurrent classrooms will be implemented, meaning faculty will be teaching students in-person and remotely at the same time. All students, whether in School or at-home, will receive the same instruction every day”.

All Marquette Catholic students receive Chromebooks and the School has invested heavily in technology infrastructure in recent years. “We are also installing cameras in each classroom and each teacher will have a lapel microphone, which we believe will provide a good experience for those participating remotely,” said Principal Michael Slaughter. “We will continue to evaluate and improve the students’ experience as needed”.

“We are also prepared with cleaning and sanitization protocols which will follow the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE)” Slaughter said. “We will also implement physical distancing measures including all faculty, staff and students wearing facemasks, assigned entry points, and protocols for students with symptoms”.

Marquette Catholic’s coed enrollment of 422 has been steady the past several years, with projections for this year to remain steady or increase. “We continue to receive applications on a daily basis,” said Dave Bartosiak, Marquette CFO. “If anything, we have more interest now because of the COVID situation, not less. We received good feedback on how we handled online learning when the stay at home orders started in the spring” Bartosiak said. “As a college prep school, parents and students are concerned about staying on track academically and trust they will be at Marquette” Bartosiak said.

Marquette will provide families with at-risk students or family members a remote only learning option, through which the student will participate in their classes from home for as long as the Hybrid Model is in place.

Marquette will release more specific information for students and parents on August 4, 2020. More information can be found at www.marquettecatholic.org.

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