New Trier to resume some in-person classes after month-long pause

New Trier High School is returning to partial in-person learning next week and implementing saliva testing after a month-long pause caused by a COVID-19 spike in the northern suburbs.

The 3,000-student school with an upperclassman campus in Winnetka and a freshman campus in Northfield told families this week that small groups of students would be welcomed back to classrooms next Tuesday.

Those with last names beginning with F through K will be in-person Tuesday and Wednesday and those with last names R through Z will be in classrooms Thursday and Friday. They are the two student groups who have not yet been in school buildings this year.

New Trier started the school year fully remote before moving to a hybrid learning plan Oct. 6. A rapid rise in coronavirus infections soon forced the district to reverse course, canceling in-person classes and all extracurriculars.

More than 91% of students who will be in hybrid learning have signed up for COVID-19 saliva screening, the school told families this week, in an effort to identify the spread of the virus in the school community. Students are picking up self-serve kits this week and returning them next week.