District 230 starting year remotely

District 230 School Board, administrators, Teachers Association and Educational Support Professionals Association announce in joint letter

Students in Consolidated High School District 230 will start the 2020-21 academic year remotely, the district announced today.

The decision to switch from the 25% in-person hybrid model comes a week after the Teachers Association created an online petition demanding a fully remote start to the school year and days after a teacher car demonstration.

Today’s announcement was signed off by School Board President Tony Serratore, Superintendent James Gay, Teachers Association President Michelle Etchason and ESP Association President Deb Sandoval.

On Monday, Sept. 21, the district plans to enter the 25% in-person stage of the reopening plan, according to today’s letter. Sept. 21 is 14 days after the Labor Day weekend, which gives the district time to “monitor the health numbers prior to students returning onsite,” the district said.

Earlier today, Illinois announced its highest single-day coronavirus case tally since May 24, coming in at over 2,000 new confirmed cases, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The district acknowledged there has been divisiveness about the reopening plan, which was approved by the Board of Education on July 23.

“Students, families, and staff have expressed concerns that we must take into account, understanding full well that there are many varied opinions and concerns that we are attempting to address. The COVID-19 situation has been divisive among stakeholders here and in communities across the state and country. We are attempting to implement our plan in a manner that can bring us all together,” the announcement reads, in part.

Teachers will remain onsite during the remote learning phase so they can teach from their classrooms and have complete access to technology and materials, the announcement states. School counselors, social workers, psychologists, specialists and ESPs will also be onsite to support students and staff.