D159 Presents Reopening Plan: Offers In-Person Or Remote Learning

MOKENA, IL — Mokena School District 159 has presented its current reopening plan to the public and will be offering two options: 5 days per week in-person learning or virtual, fully remote learning.

The plan does note that students could have to transition to remote learning on a short-term basis if it's necessary to clean the schools, or may transition on a long-term basis if the state experiences a spike in cases.

Superintendent Mark Cohen told Patch the full plan will be released next week, as the district is still finalizing some logistics.

According to a parent survey sent out by the district which received over 750 responses, 83.6 percent of parents said they intended to send their child to school in the fall, while 16.4 percent indicated they would not.

The survey also asked parents what their first choice would be when returning to school in the fall and gave the options of full in-person learning, blended learning and remote learning. Over 400 parents indicated full in-person learning would be their first choice, while nearly 200 indicated blended learning would be their first choice.

According to the district website, D159 will be moving to a 1:1 environment, and all students will be assigned their own Chromebooks. Students in grades 2-8 will take their computers home daily.

Parents will be expected to pre-screen their child at home daily for symptoms and student temperatures will be checked when they arrive at school, according to the district website.