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Lockport — As Lockport Township High School Central Campus teachers were preparing their new, temporary classrooms on Tuesday for students to begin in-person instruction at the shuttered Lincoln-Way North campus, District 205 released additional details about the transportation and schedule plans.
More than 900 freshmen will begin classes at the North campus building in Frankfort on Wednesday, as Central Campus in Lockport remains closed for classroom instruction following the collapse of a third-floor classroom ceiling on Nov. 2.
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To avoid complicating the district bus schedule and further disrupting student routines, Lockport District 205 freshmen will continue to board the same buses as they did to attend Central, located in the heart of Lockport’s downtown residential district, according to a District 205 statement released Tuesday afternoon.
Buses will follow their normal routes before departing LTHS campuses for Lincoln-Way North at 7:35 a.m. Students who usually walk to Central Campus will be allowed to continue doing so. They are advised to enter the building at Door 3 and can wait in the Veterans Foyer for buses to Lincoln-Way, according to District 205.
Parents can also drop freshmen off at East Campus, located at East 7th Street and Farrell Road in Lockport, starting at 7:15 a.m. by the auditorium doors, according to the release posted on District 205′s website.
The school day will begin at Lincoln-Way North at 8:15 a.m. and conclude at 1:50 p.m. before students will board buses back to Lockport’s East Campus, where they will either be dismissed or disembark for extracurricular activities. East serves the sophomore, junior and senior students.
Parents may also drop off and pick up students directly at Lincoln-Way North if desired. Students can be dropped off in front of the school as early as 8 a.m. and picked up at 2 p.m., according to the news release.
All class periods have been shortened to 37 minutes, with a 15 minute Compass period, to accommodate the shortened schedule while still meeting Illinois standards for the length of a school day, and late-start Wednesdays have been cancelled for freshmen while they attend the Lincoln-Way building.
Parents are advised that Wednesday morning traffic at East Campus could be worsened by this change.
On Nov. 15 students and staff are encouraged to wear green and students will be able to retrieve any items they left in their Central lockers from staff when they arrive at Lincoln-Way North, according to District 205.
Although District 205 will continue to provide cold sandwiches and wraps for students on the free and reduced lunch program, and some will be available for purchase, students are strongly encouraged to bring their own bagged lunches to Lincoln-Way.
The 114-year-old Central Campus has remained closed since the ceiling collapsed in a third-floor classroom overnight Nov. 1-2. The room was empty at the time and no injuries were reported. The building is undergoing inspections and evaluation for necessary repairs throughout.
The two high school districts reached an agreement earlier this month to rent the closed Lincoln-Way North facility to District 205 for at least three months, so freshmen could continue in-person instruction.
North school was closed by Lincoln-Way District 210 in 2016 after only eight years of use as a cost saving measure when enrollment projections for the district were not reached.