West Cook News

The chair of the Cook County GOP said Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker moved too soon to close schools for the rest of the academic year.

“Frankly, today being only April 17, 2020 and many school districts scheduled to go into the first and second weeks of June, I think that it is premature to have made such a decision,” Sean Morrison told Chicago City Wire. “This will continue to place a logistical burden on many families.”

Pritzker issued the executive order ending in-school instruction on that date. School systems were told previously to switch to remote learning.

“I’ve said time and time again, our decisions are hard ones, but they follow the science — and the science says our students can’t go back to their normal routine,” Pritzker posted on his Facebook page.

Even without classroom instruction, students will continue their education.

“The majority of students will be able to complete their studies using home e-learning. But sadly, some students may not have the IT infrastructure to do so,” Morrison said.

He said it may lead to a change in how Illinois looks at methods school districts use to teach and delivery that education.

“Will we really need mass educational facilities, school classrooms?” Morrison asked. “Do we need 100 teachers in a building, or can curriculum be developed and administered online and delivered to the student remotely in different platforms?”

There’s nothing new about remote learning, he said. It’s been ongoing for nearly two decades. Over time it likely will be the main educational platform.

“I do feel horrible for those students in their final year of grade [school], high school and college,” Morrison said. “They will miss out on all the pomp and circumstance that deservedly goes along with achieving their milestone of learning. I also feel horrible for the student athletes and competitors.”