Dear Parents and Guardians,
On Tuesday, June 22, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) released guidance to schools on how to proceed in the Fall of 2020. The guidance is very general and provides for local decision making that follows IDPH guidelines. ISBE and IDPH have said they will provide continued guidance throughout the summer to support districts in planning for school in the Fall.
Two pieces of guidance that we are required to follow include wearing masks (or possibly face shields) while in or on school property, as well as on buses and to maintain six (6) feet between students when/where possible. The current guidance highly recommends districts follow social distancing guidelines established in the governor's phase 4 plans.
District 102 continues to work on the following three options: 1) 100% remote learning; 2) a hybrid or blended model of in-person and remote learning, and 3) 100% in-person learning.
At this point, there simply seems to be no way that school will be "back to normal" in the Fall of 2020 with 100% in-person instruction for the full school day. Nor do I foresee at this point the need to be "100% remote." So that leaves option 2, some form of in-person and remote learning.
We understand and share in the desire to have 100% in-person learning, every day, five days a week. Knowing that is highly unlikely, however, I ask you to answer the questions based on what information we know today and what you can make work, REALIZING that none of these options will appear to be ideal for anyone.
Please know that NO DECISIONS have been made on what next year will look like. The information we collect from this survey will help us in focusing our energies and resources in the areas we need to in order to start the next school year and ensure the most success we can for our students. This will be the first in a series of surveys that we will use to seek feedback from our parents. Similar feedback will also be received from our teachers.
Please understand that we realize there are still so many unknowns and more questions than answers at this point. Feedback from this survey is ONLY providing necessary information to continue planning for the Fall of 2020.
I appreciate your feedback and your thoughtful consideration during these ever-changing times.
Kyle A. Schumacher, Ed.D.
Superintendent
