District Sends Survey To Parents With Options For Fall Reopening

OSWEGO, IL — The Oswego School District 308 is seeking opinions of parents regarding resuming in-person classes this fall. Administrators sent out an online survey with options on how their children could return to classroom.

The survey comes after the Illinois State Board of Education and Illinois Department of Public Health released guidelines for the 2020-2021 school year, adjusting learning for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Guidance includes recommendations for communicating with district families, staff and student attendance, grading, and considerations for students with Individualized Education Plans.

According to the guidelines, all public and non-public schools in Illinois must:

• Require the use of appropriate personal protective equipment including face coverings
• Prohibit more than 50 individuals from gathering in one space; require social distancing be observed as much as possible
• Require that schools conduct symptom screenings and temperature checks, or require that individuals self-certify that they are free of symptoms before entering school buildings
• Increase in school-wide cleaning and disinfection

"It is important to note that these requirements are subject to change pursuant to updated public health guidance and changing public health conditions," the ISBE document stated. "School leaders should remain alert for any updates."

ISBE also stated that schools should prepare for a "return to remote instruction in the event of a resurgence of the virus or a second wave of it in the fall."

The district created surveys for each level of education: Early Childhood, Elementary, Junior High and High School.

"We believe it is indeed critical to maximize the amount of face-to-face instruction, and yet also important to maximize safety for our students and staff," the message accompanying the survey said. "We are seeking community input to help us identify the in-person instruction option that finds the right balance between those priorities, as we return to school in the fall."

Early childhood parents have two options on their surveys. The first would see all students come to school for the normal times of day, while the second would have students attend every other day to make class sizes smaller and maximize the opportunities for social distancing space. On alternating days, students would stay at home and participate in remote learning activities.

Elementary school parents are given two options to choose from:

• Students come to school as usual for the full day with some restrictions at lunch and recess time to make sure no more than 50 students are in a room at one time.
• Students attend every other day to make class sizes smaller to maximize the opportunities for social distancing space. On alternating days, students would stay at home and participate in extended learning opportunities.

Junior high parents have two options. The first would see all students attend school each day, taking physical education through remote learning. Lunch would be part of an existing period, and occur in small groups. Each class period would meet for double the time on alternate days to eliminate passing periods where students would mix with each other. The second option for junior high would have students attend school on alternate days, and engage in remote learning while at home.

Several surveys explained that all self-contained special education classes including STARS, Skills, Life Skills, Instructional Skills, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and East View Academy will continue in person every day with additional safety precautions.

Due to the number of students that attend each high school, the plan for high school will be for half of the students to attend on alternating days, so that class size is reduced in half. In between days of attendance, students would stay home for the day and have remote learning opportunities. Students would have their regular class schedule every day they are in attendance.

"While this survey is about in-person instruction, it is important to note that the district will also be offering the choice of remote instruction led by district teachers for those families that choose not to send their students to school," the district said.

The goal is to present the in-person option with greater detail to the Oswego School District School Board on July 13.

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