Dear District 102 Families and Guardians,
On Monday, April 6, we begin our fourth week away from in-person instruction. While we previously anticipated the initial school closures might extend beyond April 7, Governor JB Pritzker has now proclaimed the extension until AT LEAST April 30. In addition, updated recommendations from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) now provide some clarity to districts on what to expect and how to proceed.
In the ISBE recommendations, five (5) days are allocated for district teachers and staff to use in planning for Remote Learning Days. How these planning days are scheduled is left to the discretion of the local districts. District 102 will initially use every Monday in April for this purpose (April 13 had previously been scheduled as an Institute Day).
This will allow us to make ongoing changes to our instruction as each week progresses. Students will still participate in learning on Mondays.
While students will not have the typical direct "remote learning day" on these planning Mondays, other learning experiences may be provided from teachers and other support personnel such as the Science Center staff, the Social-Emotional teams, and/or Interventionists. These Monday activities, although less structured, will provide wonderful opportunities for students to continue learning.
The Illinois State Board of Education has also updated its time guidelines for instruction. Click
here
for the updated guidelines for remote learning.
As the situation continues to change, some of our previously stated practices needed to evolve as well. In order to reduce interactions, we have changed our lunch pick-ups and computer exchanges to Mondays and Wednesdays between 9:00-10:30 AM. We realize this is a limited window. If you truly cannot make those times work, please contact your building principal who will make alternate arrangements. Please understand we are working to limit all direct contact in order to comply with the directives from the Governor's office. We want to protect our families as well as our employees from unnecessary contact.
In addition, we have limited paper packet availability to families who currently do not have access to the Internet through many of the free services provided or do not have computers, iPads, or similar devices for their PK-3 grade children or the ability to print REQUIRED documents. The pick-up days and times for these packets, if needed, are Mondays and Wednesdays between 9:00-10:30 AM. THIS WEEK ONLY some schools have added pick-ups on Tuesday. Please refer to the message your principal sent. As our teachers continue to learn new ways to deliver instruction, more activities will be accessible and able to be completed online. If you have NOT already filled out the form indicating your need for either assistance with Internet access or the need for technology for children in grades PK-3, please do so by
clicking here
.
We recognize the impact of the current reality and hardships on everyone in our school community: more people are losing jobs; some are limited in their ability to connect with healthy and sick family members; many are trying to juggle their work-from-home job while assisting their children with remote learning. There are huge changes in our day-to-day routines. Know that we are listening and working to continue student learning as best as we can, recognizing that we cannot replace the efficacy and rich instruction that occurs in the classroom. I thank those of you who have reached out to the teachers to provide encouragement and support for them during this time, as well. Teachers have been calling their students’ families, hearing about the trials and tribulations along with joys and positive things that are occurring in your households. Our teachers are truly working night and day to try to provide the best caring and learning environment they can for your children. They are heartbroken that they can't be there to directly help your children in the same way they could if your child was in the classroom.
We have and will continue to make adjustments to instructional delivery as we work to be the best we can be during this time. If you are having particular challenges or needs we may be able to help with, please reach out to your building principal. They will know who in our district may be able to assist you. We will continue to do our best.
Stay healthy!
Kyle
Kyle A. Schumacher, Ed.D.
Superintendent
La Grange School District 102
