Some District 66 Parents Express Concern Over 2020-21 Plan

DOWNERS GROVE, IL —Some parents in Center Cass School District 66 are expressing concern after the district's board approved a phase one draft of a plan for five days of in-person instruction. The initial plan approved at the July 14 meeting is a phase one draft plan, according to the school district, and is subject to change.

In a letter to Patch, some District 66 parents wrote that the phase one plan "is completely out of step with local area school districts (and district parents)."

Parents who wrote the letter said students will be excused from in-person learning if they provide a doctor's note. District 66 Superintendent Dr. Andrew Wise told Patch that the district plans to decide that and other details in the phase two draft plan after surveying parents about their preferences.

Wise told Patch “What was approved at the July meeting were the recommendations for the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).”

Wise said a survey was sent to parents after those recommendations were approved by the board of education. He added that “As soon as the survey results come, in we’ll take the survey results and the most updated guidance from the CDC" to develop the phase two draft plan.

Wise added that the district has returned every email sent to them by parents. He said the district values and respects "everyone's opinion." Wise said the survey results will be posted on the District 66 website.

Wise added, "I think information will continue to evolve and as it does, our plans will too.”

Before signing on with District 66, in January, Superintendent Dr. Wise worked as a professor at Illinois State University and served as superintendent of Olympia CUSD #16.

The District 66 parents who wrote the letter wrote, "CCSD66 parents are currently concerned that Dr. Wise has had a much different experience with COVID from his previous county than DuPage County - and that his current plan is out of sync with the surrounding local districts, unprepared for a changing environment and out of alignment with the needs and wishes of many district parents."

They wrote, "This decision has created a very stressful, worrisome environment in an otherwise close-knit district."

Other parents expressed support for the phase one draft plan. On the CCSD 66 Facebook page, one parent wrote, "I feel blessed that our children go to a district that was able to get class sizes down small enough to allow face-to-face instruction five days a week. Other schools opting for a hybrid model need to because they have no other means to get class sizes down other than having kids in on alternating day"

Brian Liedtke, another District 66 parent, told Patch he supports the phase one draft plan and wanted to recognize Dr. Wise for his "diligent efforts for working with the DuPage County Health Department and other DuPage County Superintendents to help form return plans that follow recommended local and national safety protocols and have the best interests of the students and staff in mind."

Liedtke told Patch "I, like many parents, have seen first hand the challenges and regressions both my kids have experienced with remote learning to close the school year this past spring and I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to establish those important and critical relationships with their teachers and fellow students as they start a new school year."

Liedtke added, "The district plans follow every public health safety guideline, and we are lucky to live in a district where they can hire enough staff to split class sizes, so they are no more than 18-19 students and desks can be rearranged to be six feet apart to ensure social distancing. Having these established relationships to start the year will build these young ones' confidence if they have to [return] to a full remote learning this winter if COVID-19 spikes this winter."

On the District 66 website, Dr. Wise wrote, "Administration will work with faculty and staff over the next 4 weeks to put the Phase One measures into place and develop a Phase Two Plan, which will include more guidance."

Wise also encouraged district parents to contact him personally or their child's school's principal with questions.

The phase one draft reopening plan also states, "As guidance, recommendations, and information changes, so could the Phase One Plan. Any changes to the Phase One Plan will be included with the Draft Phase Two Plan, which will be reviewed by the Board of Education at the August Board of Education meeting."