Deerfield Parents Demand In-Person Learning

DEERFIELD, IL — Last Thursday, Deerfield Public School District 109 kicked off its "109 Online" virtual school year. Some parents are not happy about the decision to not offer any in-person schooling for the seven-school district. A coalition, known as Deerfield for In-Person Schooling, is hoping the school board listens to its concerns at its Monday meeting.

"When it comes to children's education and well-being, we don’t have the luxury of time or bureaucratic delays," James D'Angelo, founder of DIPS and a District 109 parent, told Patch. "Instead of taking action at Monday’s meeting, the School Board has decided to listen to a report prepared by an unelected and unaccountable task force. These are not the bold actions that the Deerfield community expects and that our students deserve."

D'Angelo said his group has grown to 150 residents in the last 72 hours. He said the group is upset that children as young as 3 in the district are relegated to hours of Zoom calls per day, while neighboring districts in Glenview, Glencoe, Northbrook and Highland Park are all providing at least some in-person schooling.

"Our goal at District 109 is to get students back in school as quickly and safely as possible," District 109 said in a statement reply to an inquiry for comment on this story from Patch. "To that end, we are following a transparent process laid out as a result of our July Board of Education Meeting to utilize a School Re-Entry Task Force that represents a variety of stakeholder groups, including elected Board of Education members."

A full membership directory, along with bios is available on the Task Force web page according to the district.

"The presentation that this Task Force has prepared for tonight is extremely detailed, available to the public and intended to update the Board on the group’s work," the district's statement continues. "All notes from the Task Force meetings are publicly available on the district’s website. There is a community email address, taskforce@dps109.org, where all public communication is passed on to the full Task Force to discuss in their weekly meetings. We appreciate the passion and interest in resuming in-person instruction and are working hard to make that happen."

DIPS members have agreed to three founding principles, according to D'Angelo:

• DPS 109 should immediately begin in-person instruction for any student whose family requests it.
• Any DPS 109 School Board Member who opposes this plan should be voted out of office ASAP.
• I will vote in the next School Board election.

When pushed for action to re-open schools by DIPS and other community members, the DPS 109 School Board deferred to an unelected and unaccountable "task force," whose members have been sworn to secrecy, according to D'Angelo. He also said the board will not vote on any resolution for a reopening plan.

D'Angelo points to a recent survey conducted by the school district where 80 percent of parents said they preferred at least some in-person instruction. To learn more about DIPS, visit www.DIPSNow.com

The Board of Education's regularly scheduled meeting starts at 7 p.m. Monday and will be conducted virtually. Interested members of the community can listen at: https://dps109.zoom.us/j/94340512339?pwd=eXA5WHJCSGY5M3R1SXRFQi9QY3FN QT09 Webinar ID: 943 4051 2339 Passcode: 561645.

Related:
Virtual Learning To Begin School Year For Deerfield District 109
Sudden Shift To Remote Learning Leaves Some Illinois Parents With Few Options, Big Bills
Most Schools Going Virtual In Chicago Area, With Some Exceptions