Dear D39 Families,
We hope this email finds you well and enjoying summer. While we recognize that the more typical relaxing moments of summer have been punctuated this year by the unusual circumstances surrounding us all, we hope you are finding ways to relish in special time and joyful moments with family.
The purpose of our communication is to provide you with an update on our planning efforts for the fall reopening of schools in Wilmette District 39, and to seek your input as we work to finalize our plans for the start of school.
Planning Update:
We are excited to share that our Wilmette Public Schools District 39 Fall Reopening Planning Committees, Advisory Task Force and administrative teams continue to make tremendous progress in planning for our fall reopening of schools. Our teams have developed scenarios that will allow us to maximize in-person student learning and connections as often as possible while abiding by state health and safety guidelines. We have developed scenarios for modified full in-person instruction and for hybrid/blended instruction. Within these models, we are committed to maximizing meaningful, in-person instruction to the greatest extent possible while exercising great caution and care in planning for physical distancing and other health recommendations of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). Our plans also ensure the ongoing opportunity to pivot between models based upon health guidance and needs without interruption to high quality teaching and learning throughout. In addition, any elements of remote learning programming offered within the upcoming school year will incorporate several improvements from the work accomplished last school year and recommendations from our planning teams this summer to ensure all instructional services are targeted, connected and robust.
Given the changing nature of state and federal health guidance for schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic, our continuum of instructional models, which include in-person, hybrid and remote learning, are specifically designed in connected ways to ensure they are available to our schools throughout the school year as needed. This carefully connected continuum will allow us to ensure meaningful, ongoing and uninterrupted instructional services to our students regardless of the necessary model given health data and guidance at any given time.
Health and Safety Precautions:
The health and safety of our students and staff members remains a top priority. We are making decisions about reopening schools that will support the health and safety of students and staff while providing continuity of learning and meaningful in-person instruction as often as possible. The universal precautions from the ISBE and IDPH will be consistently employed within all D39 schools. These include:
· Requiring face masks are worn by students and staff inside school buildings at all times;
· Observing physical distancing guidelines within classrooms and throughout the school;
· Restricting larger group gatherings and mixing of students between classes;
· Symptom and temperature checks will occur each day;
· Frequent hand-washing/sanitizing will become a regular component to our school days;
· Frequent cleaning and sanitation of high touch areas will occur during the school day;
· Increased cleaning and sanitation of the school environment will occur each evening; and
· Other health and safety protocols and precautions will be implemented.
Parent Survey:
Our planning teams have benefited tremendously from the feedback families provided in June regarding reopening preferences. At this point in our planning, we need your feedback to gain a clearer understanding of your current interest in and ability for your child to return to school for in-person instruction in the fall. Your feedback on this survey will help finalize reopening plans and structures for the fall.
Please complete one survey for each child enrolled within one of our Wilmette Public Schools for the 2020-21 school year. While your answers to this survey are not a final commitment for fall enrollment, your responses will help our teams to understand your current interest and preliminary plans and needs. We thank you for your time and attention to provide the most accurate information possible to represent your family at this time. Please respond to this survey by noon on Monday.
Parent Survey
Next Steps:
This coming Monday, July 20th, our administrative team will present our scenarios for in-person and hybrid learning to our Board of Education at their Committee of the Whole meeting. The Board’s feedback and additional direction regarding these instructional models will be incorporated into our reopening plans, along with additional information provided by you via the parent survey linked above. Using this additional information to guide our work, reopening plans will be finalized and final plans for school reopening will be announced by July 31.
D39 families can expect a district decision regarding the instructional model and options for District 39's fall school reopening by July 31, 2020.
In the meantime, we wish you a wonderful next two weeks of summer and we thank you for taking the time in responding to our parent survey at your earliest convenience. Be well and continue to spread joy and kindness wherever you go.
Your partner in education,
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Kari Cremascoli, Ph.D,
Superintendent
Wilmette Public Schools District 39
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