Here's Who D-205 Wants To Get Daily In-Person Learning First

ELMHURST, IL — The return of kindergarten and first grade students to class every day is the priority in Elmhurst School District 205's plan for more in-person learning, the district's top official said Tuesday.

The administration is set to present that plan at the school board's Feb. 9 meeting, Superintendent Dave Moyer told the board.

"I want to make sure people know and understand that this is at the forefront of our thinking," Moyer said.

The district also plans to bring students back in class on Wednesdays, which has been a remote day for everyone, he said. This is set to apply to students in elementary schools and Churchville Middle School.

York High School is expected to be exempted from the change. This month, it started having students attend all of their classes remotely on Wednesdays. This adjustment, officials said, has received good reviews.

Sandburg and Bryan middle schools also would be exempted because of capacity issues related to social distancing. Students in those schools are getting less in-person time than other schools.

Board member Courtenae Trautmann, who had questioned the decision to give less in-person time at the two schools, said Tuesday she now understood the reasoning. She said she spent two hours at Sandburg, exploring every "nook and cranny."

"It's hard for us sitting at home to imagine we can't fit more kids in," Trautmann said. "I feel confident in telling you there is no space. I wanted to be able to see it. There is just not space. There are kids everywhere."

Some board members suggested the new Wednesday policy should start Feb. 3, rather than Feb. 10.

"If the board would like us to move that up," Moyer said, "that is something we can do."

As for the in-person plan, board member Chris Kocinski said, "I'd like to see a full return. I would settle for moving to Wednesdays in the interim."

He also noted the district's statistics that indicate just one coronavirus case has been transmitted on any of its properties since the beginning of the crisis.

"That's powerful data in my opinion. It's an important factor that weighs in on my thinking when you look at all the metrics," Kocinski said. "The layered mitigation strategies have been extremely effective."

Surveys have shown that a vast majority of the district's parents want a return to in-person learning. Many have criticized the district for being entirely remote for much of the school year, while area private schools have allowed far more -in-person learning.