District 25 Will Begin School Year With Remote Learning

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — With a goal of eventually transitioning to hybrid instruction, Arlington Heights School District 25 announced Monday night it will begin the 2020-2021 school with remote learning only. Superintendent Dr. Lori Bein made the announcement in a letter that went out to parents.

"I know this causes great difficulty for many of our families and staff. Together, we will provide a caring, impactful, and safe educational experience for our students," Bein said. "I'm confident in our staff's ability to be creative in the ways that they connect with your children."

Bean said a recent survey of parents indicated a 49 percent preference for a full in-person model. Twenty-seven percent voted for a hybrid model with the full remote option being the least popular at 25 percent. Despite the results, Bein said the district feels forced to start remotely as a precautionary measure.

The first day of school is scheduled for Sept. 1.

Remote instruction will include a five-hour instructional day for students in grades 1 through 8 with a goal of 2.5 hours of each day being live interaction between teachers and students, according to the letter.

Early Childhood and Kindergarten students will have schedules similar to their typical instructional days of 2.5 hours with approximately half of that being live interaction between teachers and students.

"Remote instruction will be robust and aligned to our grade level learning standards," Bein said. "Staff will be responsible for taking attendance and providing feedback on assignments as well as assigning grades for each subject area. Students will be responsible for participating in classwork and turning in assignments."

Students with special needs (Early Childhood, IEP, 504, EL programming) will receive
teletherapy and some students may be brought on-site for some direct instruction and support services, according to the letter.

Extracurricular programs will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, but there will be none during the month of September.

The Board of Education will have a special meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at Ivy Hill Elementary School. The purpose of this meeting, according to the letter, will be to hear additional details about the plan for the 2020-2021 school year. Board members will be meeting on-site, and welcome up to 35 community members to join us at Ivy Hill (to stay within the 50 maximum allowed capacity). The meeting will also be streamed online where up to 500 people can view the meeting.

For those who cannot attend live or virtually, the meeting will be recorded and posted on the district's website at www.sd25.org/BoardBuzz.

Arlington Heights School District 25 serves more than 5,550 students in nine schools.