March 19th, 2021

We are working hard to prepare for the return to full-time, in-person learning on April 12. At last night’s School Board meeting, we updated Board members on new state guidance, enrollment data and sectioning, and the upcoming timeline. 

On March 9, the Illinois Department of Public Health and Illinois State Board of Education released new guidance that affects our planning. The guidance indicates that we must provide social distancing of three to six feet for students and fully vaccinated staff, with six feet of distance during lunch and for unvaccinated staff. This means that we will need increased adult supervision for the lunch periods. We have decided to hire lunch/recess supervisors for one-and-a-half-hour shifts at all four schools, with pay of $15/hour. If you’re interested in this opportunity or know someone who might be, please find more information and the online application at this link. 

The new guidance also states that there can be more than 50 individuals in a space where social distancing can be maintained (this will be the maximum capacity for buses) and that temperature screenings upon arrival are no longer recommended. As such, we will discontinue temperature screenings during student arrival times as of March 29.

We now have enrollment data for the spring, and our principals are diligently working to section students. Approximately 75% of families at all four schools selected in-person learning, but we do still have around 25% of families who prefer the remote option. In the elementary schools, we can continue to offer a full remote option with a dedicated remote teacher, in addition to full-time, in-person learning. We anticipate needing to implement a livestream learning model in limited circumstances at the elementary level, particularly for students receiving interventions or specialized services. 

At Lincoln, which is much more complex in terms of scheduling, we are still determining what the remote learning options will be. At this time, it is still a possibility that a livestream learning model will be implemented in situations where not enough staffing resources are available to provide a dedicated remote teacher for a small number of remote learners. The Board asked administration to explore hiring additional teachers, which would enable Lincoln to provide more dedicated remote classes for these last weeks of the school year, even if there are limited numbers of students in those classes. Administration will pursue this potential solution and continue refining the schedule to explore all avenues to minimize the amount of livestream learning that will occur this spring. 

As we head into spring break, I want to reiterate that the District hopes that everyone will stay safe and healthy during the time off and support keeping the community’s COVID-19 numbers low. 

Please carefully review and follow the recently updated Cook County Department of Public Health Travel Guidance at this link if you do travel.

It’s hard to believe it’s now been more than a year of dealing with the pandemic. Thank you for your patience and cooperation, especially as we head into the home stretch of this school year. I hope you have a wonderful spring break!

Warm regards,

Dr. Elaine Aumiller