BATON ROUGE - As many students across the East Baton Rouge area return to school Wednesday, Aug. 5, they and their teachers are adapting to new guidelines meant to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

Alongside other EBR-area schools, the University High School begins welcoming students back from summer vacation Wednesday and with new guidelines implemented. The first day of class is likely to be a learning experience for both teachers and students alike. 

"There was a lot of positive energy from the students as well as the faculty and staff," Interim Superintendent Amy Westbrook said.

As Louisiana's officials have decided that the state should remain in Phase 2 of the reopening process, the Lab School is following guidelines associated with this second phase.

So, most of its students will attend classes via a hybrid model of instruction that includes both in-person attendance and eLearning classrooms that can be completed at home.

To accomplish this, each of these students are put into either A Group or B Group. And different groups will attend in-person classes on different days of the week. Students will physically attend classes on campus two days out of the week and spend the remaining three days of the week at home to utilize eLearning platforms. For example, Group A will attend class in-person Monday and Wednesday and Group B will attend class in-person Tuesday and Thursday.

While on campus, students will notice that their classes have a reduced number of partcipants, with 50-percent occupancy, and that social distancing guidelines will be followed at all times.

"I'm excited for it, but I won't be able to see everybody," student Joshua Antoine said.

Other students who opted out of the hybrid model of instruction, will utilize virtual eLearning platforms exclusively.

On Tuesday, the Lab School took to its Facebook page to remind students and parents what to expect on this first day, saying, "Welcome back Cubs! Tomorrow begins the Phase 2 hybrid teaching and learning platform for our return to school. Students assigned to A day should report no later than 7:40 a.m. Temperature checks will begin at 7:20 a.m. at carpool for elementary students and at specified entry points for older students. The same procedure will be followed for the first day of school for B day students on August 6."

Click here for more information on the LSU Lab School's new guidelines for the 2020-2021 school year.