D124 Schools On Track To Reopen, But Teachers Are Concerned

EVERGREEN PARK, IL — Evergreen Park School Dist. 124 public grammar schools are on track to return to blended learning next week, but not without concerns from the teacher’s union. Faculty and staff asked the D124 school board to continue full-remote learning for the fall semester, because of recent new stringent guidelines issued by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The district adopted an in-person and remote learning model earlier in the summer based on a parents’ survey. About 75 percent of families opted for in-person, full-day instruction, with 25 percent of families requesting full remote learning.

Students whose last names begin with A-Li will return for a half-day on Aug 26, and the rest will attend for a half day on Aug. 27, which are likely to be spent reviewing safety and face mask protocols. The first full day of in-person attendance will be on Aug. 28.

Fall enrollment at Southwest, Southeast, Northwest and Northeast K-5 elementary schools, and Central Middle School stands at 1,537, compared to 1,200 students from this time last year. Dist. 124 enrollment ended the 2019-20 school year at 1,882.

The school reopening plan for 2020-21 involved 75 faculty, administrators and other stakeholders over the past six weeks, resulting in a 96-page document, the co-interim superintendents Drs. Lela Bridges-Webb and Margaret Longo told school board members.

Compared to the rest of Illinois, of the state’s 718 school districts, 24.65 percent are going fully remote; 29.53 percent in-person; and 45.82 school districts will have hybrid programs, where some students report for in-class instruction while the rest learn at home, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Longo also presented data on daily positive COVID-19 cases reported in Evergreen Park. Between Aug. 12 and Aug. 18, the superintendents said nine positive cases were reported to the Centers for Disease Control. Data from the Cook County Department of Public Health, reported 37 new cases in Evergreen Park over the past 14 days.

The Evergreen Park Federation of Teachers Union said following a committee of the whole meeting earlier this month, the union took an informal poll of membership, 73-percent of whom stated they did not feel safe returning to the classroom based on new guidance from the state health department.

On Aug. 13, the state public health department released new, more stringent guidelines about close contact, coronavirus symptoms, quarantine and N95 mask guidelines for staff.

The EPFT124 union co-presidents Katie Patras and Joanne Reilly read a letter asking school board members to reconsider in-person learning, expressing concerns about district schools’ ability to meet the new IDPH guidelines. The teachers also cited staff shortages and substitute teacher costs.

Desks in classrooms are currently spaced three feet apart, instead of the six feet called for in the guidelines, straining room capacity.

“We present this information to you not to cast blame, not cause opposition, and not to be ungrateful for all the work our administration has done. We’ve all given our all, we’re all worried, and we’re all wishing we could go back to our pre-covid days,” the union letter stated.