JOHNSON COUNTY, Ind. — A Center Grove High School student, exposed to COVID-19 on her first day back to school on Aug. 12, had chosen in-person learning in order to take her advanced placement (AP) classes.
It was the family’s “worst fear” since one of them is high-risk.
Her mom is frustrated that her daughter had to make a choice between the health of her family or an advanced education.
“She didn’t really have a meaningful choice, and I couldn’t just tell her 'don’t take your AP classes,'” her mom said.
For privacy reasons, the student and family decided to remain anonymous.
“I feel like I have no control over my education right now,” said the student.
According principal Dr. Jeff Henderson, CGHS offered 15 AP and honors courses to students who chose the virtual option, either through its Global Campus platform or the Indiana Online Academy.
Those who signed up for virtual learning “received a list of comparable options or alternatives to replace those courses that were not available. They were then able to decide if they wanted to pursue the virtual option or return to the traditional model.”
But this student and mom said many of the classes her daughter wanted to enroll in were not offered virtually.
“It was a very tough choice to make, and I did try to reach out to the school and say 'maybe you guys can reconsider, by the time we registered her, maybe we can offer the AP kids something online'. No one ever got back to me,” the mom said.
The student said on her first day back, many of the students were not following social distancing guidelines.
“People were shoulder to shoulder. I was constantly being pushed around,” she said.
The student is now in quarantine and trying to stay on top of her advanced classes with little instruction. She is hoping the school reconsiders their decision and gives more options to AP students who are hoping to earn college credit and receive future scholarships.
“So I don’t have to choose between my future, my education and my health and well-being,” she said.
As of Thursday evening, Center Grove High School had five individuals test positive for COVID-19 and another positive case at Middle School North.
Starting Monday, the high school and both middle schools will switch to e-learning followed by two weeks of hybrid learning.