West Cook News

Families in Western Spring District 101 received the following email from Superintendent Brian Barnhart on June 26:

Good Afternoon, D101 Parents

First, we hope you and your families are doing well and that June has been good to you in all ways, with family time and enjoyment of a beautiful weather month at the top of your lists!

As you may already be aware, two significant events happened this week: the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) released their initial fall planning guidance document Tuesday afternoon and Illinois moved into Phase 4 today.  As such, although our original plan to communicate with District 101 families was targeted for mid-July, we thought it an opportune time to provide you with a brief update regarding plans for the start of the new school year.

As a preface, all of what is shared below continues to be preliminary, but we think will be solid assuming one important detail - that Illinois remains in Phase 4 (and does not return to Phase 3) between now and the start of the school year. With that being said, here is a quick summary of what you can expect as you begin to think about returning to school in August:

1. We will be back to in-person learning at the start of the school year, with students in grades 1-8 having the option of being in school all day long even if we use a half-day/every-other day density-reduction model. All of ISBE's guidance has pointed to a strong recommendation towards a density-reduction approach, although all-in school is permitted.

2. Our beginning of the year calendar remains unchanged - Monday, August 24 will be our first Teacher Institute Day & Wednesday, August 26 the first day of school for students.

3. Face masks OR face shields will be required for all students and staff throughout the school day. Exceptions will be made for a small number of individuals dependent upon their unique medical needs.

4. Students will move from class-to-class during the school day at McClure; staff will be the primary movers TO students during the school day at the elementary schools.

5. No matter the form of in-person learning schedule we return under, kindergarten will continue to be delivered in a half-day, every day format. Instruction time will not be reduced.

Many other details could be shared, but the above represent what we believe to be some of the most salient for parents who wish to begin envisioning what school will look like in the fall, as well as plan accordingly. ISBE has informed us that they plan to share a more-detailed guidance document some time in mid-July. We anticipate sharing our detailed plans for the 2020-21 school year (with specific overviews of all three types of schooling models) following that release. Our likely communication timeline continues to be at some point during the last two weeks of July.

We hope this brief overview provides you enough direction and detail to assist in your own family preparation and planning for August. Know that you will receive more detailed information within the next month, with opportunities to get specific questions answered as part of our communication plan. Until then, continue to enjoy summer, stay well, and have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Brian Barnhart

Superintendent

PS For those of you who have not yet seen the ISBE guidance document for returning in the fall, it is attached to this message.  ISBE Guidance Doc - June 2020.pdf