Will Schools in Illinois Close Again
Some Illinois school districts are closing classrooms later on wintertime interruption due to surging COVID cases and teachers testing positive. Will the state board of instruction provide more flexibility for remote learning?
Yana Kunichoff / Chalkbeat
Intent on keeping schools open up, the Illinois state school board on Friday said it volition prefer guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that reduces quarantine past half, from 10 to 5 days.
It'due south the latest effort by Illinois' state educational activity officials to continue schools open as more districts temporarily flip to remote learning amid a rising COVID-19 positivity rate and crippling staffing shortages.
Early on this week, Peoria School District 150 appear that it would be extending winter break until Jan. ten. Superintendent Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat and the board of education made the decision after noticing a surge in coronavirus cases locally. Elgin'due south U-46 closed five schools and ane early childhood heart after more than than 300 teachers called in sick.
The Chicago Teachers Union on Tuesday voted to piece of work remotely, prompting Chicago Public Schools and the metropolis's board of educational activity to lock teachers out of piece of work emails and other district accounts. Chicago schools take been closed since Wed as negotiations between the spousal relationship, district, and metropolis continue.
Meanwhile, the state board of pedagogy appeared to double down on its opinion from earlier in the school year for districts to remain in person with limited options for remote learning.
Country Superintendent Carmen Ayala said in a letter of the alphabet on Tuesday that masking, vaccines, and testing piece of work to preclude schoolhouse districts from needing to shift into remote learning.
"Nosotros started in the jump of 2020 with students having no access to in-person school," said Ayala. "Now, our school leaders are equipped with effective strategies to keep students and staff safe, so teaching and learning can thrive."
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said during a press conference before in the week that it's ameliorate for students to exist in classrooms.
"Nosotros've provided and offered testing and more vaccinations," Pritzker said. "Nosotros hope that school districts beyond the land will take united states of america up on that. Many have. Well-nigh are using shields or something else that we've referred them to."
Mark Klaisner, president of the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools, said that the land aligning with the CDC is the first stride to get schools on track to reopen classrooms. The state board needs to analyze how to ascertain school days and give school flexibility to reopen, Klaisner said.
Co-ordinate to Klaisner, schoolhouse district leaders are unsure if they should utilize remote learning days, e-learning days, or emergency days to go on students at dwelling. The mode the days are coded impacts whether the school districts will add more days to the school year.
Klaisner also said school districts need some additional local control and flexibility to make decisions based on the surge in their counties since districts are working closely with public health departments.
"We know that kids all over the state rely on us for food, warmth, safety, security," said Klaisner. "But that is most adequately accomplished by giving some flexibility to the local districts and not trying a ane-size-fit-all kind of scenario because every school is different."
With more flexibility, Klaisner suggested that schoolhouse districts could exercise some in-person learning and send students home for lunch. School districts and their boards of teaching could also work with teachers unions to have a flexible schedule so some teachers could piece of work a shift in the morning or afternoon, Klaisner said.
Every bit of last Friday, more vii,000 people in Illinois were hospitalized with COVID-nineteen, the state department of public health said on Friday. Of those, 1,123 patients were in the ICU, and 639 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
According to the state, 21.fifteen% of children between five and xi are fully vaccinated. Amidst those betwixt 12 and 17, 57.17% are fully vaccinated.
Source: https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2022/1/7/22872717/illinois-covid-teacher-shortage-reopening-winter-break
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