To Our District 67 Families:
I am writing in follow up to communication last week regarding permissive transfer requests at the end of Trimester 1.
Some of you have asked for more time to make this decision. With that in mind, the deadline for submitting a permissive transfer request has been extended to Tuesday, October 13.
We also recognize that there is frustration that we are no longer offering the option of a third program change for Trimester 3. I understand and respect your concerns. Let me provide some context for this change from the perspectives of compliance, continuity, and complexity.
Compliance
We must remain compliant with all State and health department guidelines and expectations. Our classrooms have been measured and have a restricted desk capacity in order to maintain a 6 feet or greater distance between students and staff. This creates inherent limitations.
Continuity
We want students to have the same teacher for the entire school year. By limiting the number of times we open the possibility of program changes, we ensure that the greatest number of students retain their same teacher throughout the year. The ripple effect of these changes is real. For example, if we had a larger number of requests than we have capacity for in a given class, we would then need to hire an additional teacher and switch teachers for students across an entire school grade level. This would be highly undesirable.
Complexity
From the start, our goal for all District 67 families has been choice. For Trimester 1, your District 67 Admin team worked tirelessly to provide universal choice across the District, accommodating nearly every request they received. As with everything during this pandemic, doing that was spectacularly complex and labor-intensive. It was also very costly to offer the degree of choice that was made available.
In sum, while it is our intent to give District 67 families the opportunity to select their students’ learning environment as we move forward, the prospect of solving the Rubik's cube of student placement, physically-distant classroom capacity, AM/PM scheduling, staffing, and transportation – two more times during the school year – creates a cascading set of circumstances that is untenable. The resulting lack of continuity, ongoing disruption, and escalating costs are simply not in the best interest of our students, staff, or the District.
Permissive Transfer Requests
With this in mind, if you would like your child to move to a different instructional program (Hybrid to AVA or AVA to Hybrid) from November 16 through the end of the school year, please complete a permissive transfer request by 5:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday, October 13. This timing will help us plan for a transition of students, as necessary.
At the middle school, it is important for families to understand that a request from either hybrid in-person learning to AVA, or vice versa, will likely result in a schedule and core teacher change. For elementary and middle school transfers into hybrid, we will need to ensure the number of students in-person does not exceed the identified classroom capacity for safe physical distancing. We will make every effort to accommodate the requests we receive based on our current classroom and staffing capacities.
Changes requested later in the school year will be considered through the existing permissive transfer process based upon space and staff availability.
Working Together
I am incredibly proud of the models for AVA and hybrid that our District 67 administration and staff have created. We are learning and evolving as we go. This requires flexibility, patience, and understanding from all involved.
If you have further questions before making your decision, please contact your building principal.
Thank you for your partnership in this process.
Sincerely,
