October 16th, 2020

 

Last night’s School Board meeting included the District’s presentation of a plan for offering middle school families a choice between staying with remote learning or transitioning to a phased-in hybrid learning model. Dr. Mary Gorr, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, and Paul Suminski, Lincoln principal, presented our proposal for moving to this next phase starting on Nov. 30. The Board asked many questions and will meet again on Monday, Oct. 19, to further discuss and vote on the plan. See below for details regarding that meeting.

Also last night, Sara Tyburski, director of student services, updated the Board on the metrics we are utilizing to ensure the safety and sustainability of bringing children back to the school buildings. Sara noted that according to the metrics (Illinois and Cook County Departments of Public Health, Harvard Global Health Institute and Northern Illinois Public Health Consortium), we are currently on target for starting the transition to hybrid for elementary students on Nov. 9.

Please note that the District 57 website now includes links to the proposed Lincoln plan, the metrics presentation and a video of last night’s Board meeting.

Some parents spoke during the community comments portions of the meeting, and many of you emailed Board members and administrators. The feedback we receive represents many varied perspectives. We value this input, and we are doing our best to safely meet the needs of those who want to return to in-person learning and those who are most comfortable with remote learning at this time. We will once again have time for community comments during Monday’s Board meeting.

The Monday meeting will be at 7 p.m. at Fairview and will again be live-streamed to the public via YouTube at this link. In addition, some community members can attend the meeting in person and make comments, with a limit of 50 people allowed in the room at one time (including the administrators/Board members participating in the meeting). Everyone must wear a mask in the building. Anyone who wants to share feedback but is not able to do so in person can email comments to the Board using the feedback form at this link. The emails will be seen by each of the Board members and District administration.