D158 families to be given the choice between in-person or online learning for the next school year
HUNTLEY – D158’s Board of Education (BOE) held a meeting on May 6 in which Superintendent Scott Rowe presented the possibility of continuing to offer remote learning options for all grade levels in the 2021-2022 school year.
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has allowed for school districts to continue to offer online learning options to students who have medical conditions or concerns within their families. However, Rowe commented that the goal of his presentation was more geared on analyzing whether an online student life and course work could be sustainable to aid in student success, especially at the secondary level.
“We know that some students learn better in a remote format. We’ve known that for some time. One of the catalysts for change that COVID is likely bringing to the educational system is recognizing that and bringing that to the forefront. As you know, it was prior to remote learning, the vision and the idea of online courses at the high school was a part of our long-term plan. This is expediting some of that,” Rowe said.
Rowe added that he did not feel right taking away a family’s free will for what they believe is right for their children’s health when the COVID-19 vaccines are not approved for every age.
“The impact of the vaccine availability on school age children. This is a large driver in our ‘why’ as to why a remote option is on the table in District 158…The FDA will be releasing the Pfizer vaccine for all students 12 and older. Great sign for our secondary schools, but we still don’t have an idea as to when 3 and 4 and 5-year-olds up to 11-year-olds will be eligible for that vaccine,” Rowe said.
The district surveyed just over 8,077 families to find out what their preferences for learning would be, according to Rowe.
Survey results demonstrated that only approximately 10% of D158 families indicated they had an interest in remote learning options. 90% of families were not interested in remote learning.
With that being said, 75% of those interested in remote learning cited pandemic-related reasons as their driving point of interest for that option. Once the pandemic has subsided, 92% of those families stated they would seek for their children to return to in-person.
Rowe then later explained that remote “academies” for each grade level would look vastly different. The elementary level would be similar to what remote learning has been since January 2021.
Middle school students in the remote academy would have core classes scheduled into districtwide remote sections, meaning teachers from Heineman Middle School could be teaching students from both Heineman and Marlowe Middle Schools, for example. The prior block scheduling would also be removed.
The high school had the most comprehensive online academy, structured in three layers. The first layer involved having D158 courses built by D158 teachers in an asynchronous online format to offer students. The second layer would involve scheduling students in fully remote sections of their course selections, with offerings depending on number of students.
The third layer involved a new option D158 is implementing to their online system utilizing a third-party platform.
“If we can’t schedule you in District 158 created online courses or get you in remote sections, the third-party online option will most likely be reserved for electives [or other individually needed courses],” Rowe said. “What that means is the student’s schedule who goes remote will be extremely flexible in that it’ll be made up of online courses that are anytime, anywhere with some regular check-ins with teachers in a synchronous manner.”
Ultimately, the number of students at each grade level and the individual course schedules of those students, will impact programming decisions about remote learning offerings for the next school year.
In the coming weeks, D158 families will be receiving another survey asking them for their final commitment on what learning model they want for their children. Rowe said that families will be asked to commit to the decision they make for the entire school year.
Rowe told board members that he expects the numbers for online learning to be lower than the number of families that expressed an interest in the initial survey. He concluded his presentation by stating that families should not fear a return to in-person learning at D158.
“We have not had a single case of school transmission in the building…We have currently 34 students or 34 people at our school district in the last two weeks, that have tested positive and not a single one has transmitted that to someone in our building, resulting in hundreds of quarantines,” Rowe stated.
“So, the possibility of transmitting in school as long as we have [the masks] on and we’re washing our hands and doing everything now a part of our daily life, we feel really good about being back in school. The student experience returning to ‘normal’ of going through our school system with the mitigations that we have in place, are very confident in what we can provide in terms of level of safety.”
Based on the opt-in results for remote learning, staffing plans and final models will be crafted to be presented to the BOE on June 3.
