One month in, Lockport freshmen adapting well to new normal at Lincoln-Way campus

Lockport — Lockport Township High School’s Class of 2027 has had a first year of high school unlike any other.

After a math classroom on Lockport’s Central campus’ third floor collapsed Nov. 2, the freshman class was plunged into uncertainty, first needing to switch back to online schooling for two weeks before moving schools entirely thanks to an unprecedented deal with Lincoln-Way School District 210.

Friday marked one month since the Lockport students moved into their new, temporary home in the unused Lincoln-Way North campus in Frankfort Square.

Although the transition hasn’t been seamless, the administration is happy with how it has worked out, especially considering the continued uncertain timeline for the students’ return to Central.

“After a month, things have gone as well as they can in a challenging situation,” Superintendent Robert McBride said. “Obviously, no one would ever choose to pick up and move a whole school population to another community.

“Our students, staff and parents have had their routines turned upside down, and a lot of people have done things they never expected to have to do to help us, so we’re very grateful for that.”

McBride reiterated District 205′s gratitude to Lincoln-Way School District 210 in helping to get the Lincoln-Way North campus in Frankfort cleaned and ready to resume operations in just a week last month.

“We received a tremendous amount of help setting everything up, especially with technology and security,” McBride said. “We were also very lucky that the city of Lockport was able to work with the Will County Board and Will County Sheriff’s Office to deputize our school resource officers, who are Lockport police, to give them jurisdiction in the school.”

Some adjustments remain

Even one month into the transition, the schools still are working out some of the glitches.

McBride said it was just this week that staff could start preparing hot food at Lincoln-Way North for lunches. Before this improvement, the students were either eating cold lunches prepared at East Campus, carrying a brown bag lunch or, twice a week, eating meals ordered in from Chick-fil-A.

Despite the difficulties, which McBride said also include students not having access to the building’s lockers and a shortened school day, other aspects of the transition have gone smoother than expected, including the shuttle bus situation to and from East Campus on Farrell Road in Lockport.

“The transportation plan worked smoother than we first anticipated,” McBride said. “The staff at East have helped a lot, getting students where they need to be on the buses, and all the shuttles are arriving on time or early every day.”

The efficiency of the bus plan may lead to new modifications to the plan in the second semester, Central Campus Principal Kerri Green said.

“We’re looking at options to tweak the schedule for the second semester, to add a little more time at the start and end of the day,” Green said. “The students have adapted well to the building. So now that we know the travel time better and everyone knows the campus better, we can navigate and adjust accordingly.”

Students are preparing for their first round of high school finals Wednesday and Thursday before putting the tumultuous semester behind them with a holiday break.

“Having the exams before break is a great way to close out the semester and let the students recharge and start fresh in January,” Green said. “To say it’s been a stressful six weeks is an understatement. I think everyone is looking forward to a bit of a break, but we’re so grateful for how our community has pulled together to make this a success.”

Evaluations of Central ongoing

Central Campus students definitely will be starting the second semester at Lincoln-Way North, which District 205 has agreed to rent through February, although it is likely that the contract is extended.

McBride said the District 205 board has elected to remediate any ceilings in Central Campus deemed medium or high risk for failure by the forensic architecture team that analyzed the building after the Nov. 2 collapse.

Although more than 70% of the building was deemed safe, several hallways and classrooms were flagged as potentially hazardous. Remediation began immediately on the three rooms with the highest risk as an emergency measure, and the rest now need to be bid out and approved for construction.

“Now we’re dealing with construction planning and schedules, so what will determine when the students can come back is how long it will take to repair those ceiling systems, and that is still an unknown at this point,” McBride said. “We are working through things with our architects, and it’s a process, but we plan to vote to go out to bid at our meeting on Dec. 18.”

McBride said the plans also will need to work around a larger renovation of the school, but those plans are on hold pending the outcome of a building bond proposal that will need voter approval on the March primary ballot.

“There is a lot of planning which needs to be done,” he said. “It could be spring break before the students come back, or they could be at Lincoln-Way to the end of the year.”

With Central’s timeline remaining so uncertain, District 205 officials and students are appreciative of District 210′s hospitality allowing them to continue the school year as normally as possible.

“At the end of the day, we were very fortunate that Lincoln-Way North was available, and that they were willing to work with us to get the kids back in front of teachers for in-person learning,” McBride said.

“The students and staff have all really adapted well to a tough situation, but this was the best-case scenario,” Green said. “We’re hoping to end the semester here on a high note next week.”