D230 teachers’ union demands schools start remotely, calls for Board to approve new plan
Teachers’ Association sets up online petition following last week’s Board approval of reopening plan that lets families choose between hybrid and remote learning
The union representing Consolidated High School District 230 teachers demands the district’s Board of Education approve a remote learning plan to start the 2020-21 academic year.
In an online Action Network petition, sponsored by the Illinois Education Association, the D230 Teachers’ Association calls the district’s approved reopening plan “an unnecessary risk.” The plan, approved at last Thursday’s special board meeting, gives families and students the option of selecting either hybrid or remote learning for the fall semester.
“In-person learning during the Covid-19 global pandemic is stressful and difficult for our students. Their learning conditions directly impacts their success. We must begin the semester remote learning,” the petition states.
Consolidated High School District 230 administrative building. | Photo by Orland Blueprint
In a public comment during the special board meeting on July 23, Teachers’ Association President Michelle Etchason said D230 teachers “truly love their work; it’s a calling,” but in-person learning would compromise health and safety and would likely lead to the loss of “essential curricular minutes” as teachers work to enforce social distancing, hand sanitizing and other precautions.
Etchason did not respond to requests for comment.
“The association is certain that at this time, remote learning is the only safe option for our students, staff and community,” Etchason said in her public comment. “In closing, I will leave you with this thought: As an English teacher, I usually find irony enjoyable, but in this case it is disturbing and dangerous. How prudent does it seem to open schools to thousands of children and adults when we have to conduct a board meeting virtually?”
The board and superintendent met in person for the special meeting, but for members of the public the meeting was only accessible virtually.
The union’s petition comes amid national uncertainty over school reopening plans as the coronavirus pandemic continues to rise in many states, including Illinois. While some school districts across Illinois are still in limbo with their reopening plans, many have opted to start the academic year remotely, according to Chalkbeat Chicago’s reopening tracker. One district, Algonquin-based Community Unit School District 300, has already made the switch from an original plan calling for hybrid learning to a remote-only decision, Chalkbeat reports.
District 230 Superintendent Dr. James Gay said in an emailed statement: “We understand that navigating the COVID-19 world is challenging for us all. At the forefront of our planning is providing the best possible academic experience for students safely while adhering to the academic, health, and safety requirements set by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).”
District 230’s approved plan gives students and families the ability to choose between hybrid learning and 100% remote learning. Teachers, however, must teach in-person four days a week, with Wednesdays reserved for remote learning. Students and families must submit their decision by Aug. 7. The decision cannot be reversed during the course of the fall semester.
About 60% of D230 teachers prefer remote learning as the mode of instruction to start the 2020-21 school year, according to a survey conducted by the Teachers’ Association in the days leading up to last Thursday’s vote.
That figure contrasts an early-July survey result presented by Gay at the special board meeting before board members voted. The district presented a statistic that said 61.8% of staff “feel somewhat to completely safe returning onsite.” That statistic was from district surveys sent to students, families and staff that closed on July 8, just as covid-19 cases returned to an upward trajectory in Illinois.
“The District utilized the data collected through the official district survey to inform its planning and decision-making. That survey was vetted through the Oversight Committee as the official data collection for our work,” Gay said in his statement.
In several public comments at last Thursday’s meeting, teachers expressed frustration with the reopening plan over health and safety concerns.
In a public comment, Andrew High School teacher Claire Dovantzis said the solution is remote learning.
“It isn’t a matter of if someone gets covid, it’s when,” Dovantzis said during the public comment. “How can the district and board guarantee that no-one will get it when we return in August? Are we willing to sacrifice a student or staff member?
One teacher, who asked not to be named, told the Blueprint that teachers have felt “isolated, alone, unsupported and are being left to 'figure it all out' on their own. It's shameful.”
“There is always a modicum of 'disconnect' between the teachers, Board, and Admin in every and all school community, but the unanimous decision by the 230 Board last week — and the disparaging tone and the tone and tenor in which they responded to our (and community) concerns — has only widened that chasm and created a lasting impression of distrust and blatant lack of support, as well as a true understanding for the job, that many teachers will not soon forget,” the teacher said.
In his statement, Superintendent Gay said the reopening plan was created with the input of many stakeholders.
“The reopening plan was developed collaboratively with members of each of our unions representing teachers, support professionals, and food service staff along with administrators serving on subcommittees,” Gay said. “Planning for the fall reopening began when the 2019-2020 school year ended to ensure that we can provide the best possible education with a focus on the health and safety of students and staff.”
The superintendent said the district’s human resources department will assist staff members who have concerns about returning to in-person work related to covid-19. The department will help staff members navigate the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act, Expanded FMLA Act, FMLA Leave, Work Accommodation Plans and Workplace Adjustments, Gay said.
In addition to the petition, the Teachers’ Association, part of the Illinois Education Association, is considering a car protest parade, according to a teacher. On Wednesday, the IEA and Illinois Federation of Teachers announced they will support strikes over reopening plans, according to Chalkbeat Chicago.
The teacher, who has been in the district for a few decades, said sentiments from D230 staff following the reopening approval have been “shocked, disappointment, anxiety and grave concern.”
“After the Board explicitly stated that they care less about teachers and their families' health to 'getting back to normal', the sentiment of utter disregard and disrespect for teachers was 100% apparent,” the teacher said.
“They are totally unaware of all the nuances of delivering instruction to 150 students each day in a safe and quality environment,” the teacher said. “What are staff and kids walking into in a few weeks?”
In his statement, Superintendent Gay said the district’s oversight committee, which coordinated 13 subcommittees for the reopening plan, “believes the resulting plan is respectful of our students, families, and staff members.”
The plan can move from a hybrid model to a fully remote model depending on the severity of the pandemic, Gay noted. “The plan is responsive to the State of Illinois’ Restore Illinois Phases and takes into consideration local factors.”
Under the D230 plan, if Illinois regresses into Phase 3 or below of the Restore Illinois plan, learning will go fully remote. When Illinois progresses into Phase 5 — when a vaccine or cure is readily available — then schools can reopen to 100% capacity.
Earlier today, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Illinois is “at a danger point,” the Chicago Tribune reports. Illinois could move toward a “reversal” in reopening as the state recorded another 1,772 new known covid-19 cases today, Pritzker said.
Karen Fitzgerald, a 2014 retiree of District 230, wrote to the Blueprint that she has friends and former colleagues who work for and live in the district. She said the district teachers did an “exemplary job” in the spring with e-learning and is upset with the board’s decision to partially reopen the schools.
“I was not only angered at the arrogance and ignorance of the Board members but I have lost all confidence in a school district that I taught in for 21 years,” Fitzgerald said. “I know that many hours were spent working on this plan but just because it was tedious work does not mean it is the best plan for now.”
If the district is to revise its reopening plan, it has less than a full month before school resumes.
School starts Aug. 20 for freshmen and transfer students and Aug. 24 for all other students.
As the positivity rate increases in Illinois, it is more than reasonable to choose remote classrooms for students and teachers. We have no more protection against the virus now than we did in March when schools decided to close. Until a vaccine is developed, the interaction of thousands of people in one space is reckless - even with masks.
Listen to medical experts - not politicians.
My wife and I were planning to attend this evening’s board meeting (9/24) in person however we were unexpectedly surprised with the announcement that not only was the board meeting not going to allow physical attendance but our interaction and opportunity to exercise our first amendment rights were to be limited to an emailed comment.
It is absolutely daunting what little regard our local governments have for its constituent's liberties and rights as American citizens.
Had we been able to attend in person our comments would have been as such:
No doubt the last six months have taken a toll on us all. Families kept from one another, limits on where and when we can go into the public space, fear of COVID 19, and in some cases sickness and even death.
One thing that has been tested more than ANYTHING has been trust. Do we trust our government and business leaders, do we trust our friends and neighbors, do we trust ourselves----trust to do what is right? The answer is we have NO CHOICE but to trust - - -but trust is a two-way street.
How can we trust local leadership when it appears based on their actions that leadership does not trust US??? And by us, I mean, parents, teachers, students, and entire communities.
Why has it taken five weeks to start at 25% capacity?!?! Why did we not start this procedure on August 21st?
Other districts and Catholic schools were starting their school years, with in-person attendance, on time, in some fashion. Some schools started with full attendance on day one.
North Palos SD 117
Palos CCSD 118
Providence Catholic Highschool
Palos Heights SD 128
Evergreen Park ESD 124
Lincolnway CHSD 210
Cardinal Bernadine School
These are just a few examples of other local school districts and/or institutes which are affording their students a higher rate of in-person attendance than is currently or will be provided by D230.
Is it that their institutes and districts were more prepared?
Is it because they had more competent leadership?
Or did they simply TRUST their communities more?
The most obvious answer is that it a combination of the three. If there was more trust by Districts 230's leadership, our schools would have started the year on time, with our students learning in person, in some fashion as long as we could TRUST that the process and its participants would ensure a safe, and healthy environment.
I can draw no other conclusion than that our D230 leadership has failed us.
Mr. Serratore, I compel you to lead your board to serve our district. To serve your community. To serve the parents, teachers, and students who are all suffering from your decisions.
The District sincerely needs to follow its own Mission Statement. Although the S4 Vision embodies this goal, it certainly does not appear that D230 trusts itself to fulfill it.
Students
Teachers
Parents
Community
I trust you. Together we can create an environment where our students and teachers can return to school, with 100% in person attendance TODAY.
The only question remaining is if Mr. Serratore and his board can trust in us.