D-205 Gives No Clarity On In-Person Learning

ELMHURST, IL — Elmhurst School District 205's remote learning began Monday. Officials have said before that they hope to begin in-person lessons on Sept. 14, three weeks into the school year. But while the first day of remote learning was on the district's online calendar, the first day of in-person learning is not.

At a school board meeting earlier this month, officials said they were unable to guarantee that they could stick to the Sept. 14 date. They said it would depend on whether the schools had enough staff on hand. The reason for the delay in in-person learning, officials said, was that too many teachers had sought remote assignments because of the pandemic. The teachers union is opposed to in-person learning for the time being.

During the board's two-hour meeting on Tuesday, members had no discussion on the probability of in-person lessons starting Sept. 14. But they received a presentation on the guidelines to make in-person learning possible.

In the last minutes of the meeting, Superintendent Dave Moyer spoke vaguely about the issue.

"We want the kids back in school. But to the extent to which that is going to be realistically possible and sustainable is going to depend largely on decisions people are making outside school," Moyer said. "I ride around town like everyone else, and I see what's going on. I am just encouraging people to be careful. We want you all back."

Moyer was likely referring to the need for people to follow social distancing guidelines. He did not indicate what he was seeing around town.

During the meeting earlier this month, a school board member said two-thirds of teachers were prepared to carry out in-person learning. But the district has not given hard numbers to the public.

Last week, Elmhurst Patch submitted a public records request for records indicating the number of teachers seeking remote assignments and a breakdown of the general reasons for the requests, whether they be for health or children at home.

The district had originally planned to begin the new year with a mix of in-person and remote learning.