Why Wait To Unveil D-205 Plan To Reopen?

ELMHURST, IL — Thursday is the day that the Elmhurst school system is planning to announce when middle and high school students can return to school. On Tuesday, a school board member questioned what could change in a couple of days about the district's plan. Originally, all students were supposed to be back by next Monday, three weeks after remote learning began.

"I'm frustrated about the fact that it's Tuesday, and on Monday, all these kids are expecting to be back in school," member Courtenae Trautmann said at a board meeting. "We didn't guarantee it, but we said it would be our target."

Kindergarteners returned Tuesday, and first through fifth graders are expected to do so Monday. Everyone is coming back with a blend of in-person and remote learning.

In response to Trautmann, Superintendent Dave Moyer said the district gets more family leave requests every day, which changes the landscape. He said Elmhurst School District 205 was in the "upper echelon" of districts seeking to get students back in the classroom as quickly as possible.

One of the problems for reopening is that the district has a far smaller pool of substitute teachers than it did before, down to 40 from as many as 200 last year, said Luke Pavone, assistant superintendent for human resources. And the district is seeing fewer applicants for positions that became vacant because of resignations and leaves, he said.

Officials also reported that 50 employees in the district are being quarantined or isolated because of COVID-19 positive exposures. That's another hindrance to opening up the middle and high schools, they said.

"I don't know how it's possible for me to be more adamant with our people about how important it is to get these kids back in school safely," Moyer said.

Moyer is expected to release information about the reopening of middle and high schools in a mass email to families Thursday.

Here are some of the latest stories about reopening D-205:

Elmhurst D-205 Union Says School Reopening Plan Will Fail

D-205 Touts This Key Change For Remote Learning

D-205 Sticks To Schedule, But With Key Change

Enough Staff For Elmhurst D-205?

District 205 Sees Wave of Resignations

See Which Elmhurst Areas Backed In-Person Lessons Most

D-205 Gives No Clarity On In-Person Learning

D-205 Rejects Most Employees' Remote Requests

When Do D-205 Middle And High School Students Return?

Coronavirus Exposure At York High School: Official