Catholic Schools Slated To Reopen In Fall: Cupich

PALOS, IL — Cardinal Blase Cupich announced that students will be returning to school in the fall. The Roman Catholic school system, covering Cook and Lake counties, closed in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Archdiocese of Chicago is also making plans to resume Mass following social distancing guidelines as the state moves into Phase 3 of Reopening Illinois.

Archdiocese elementary schools in the Palos area include:

St. Alexander

St. Patricia

"We have every intention of our students returning to the classroom when our school year begins in the fall," Cupich said in a video to parents. "Have no doubt that we will employ measures that keep the safety of your children the priority."
Cupich said the Archdiocese of Chicago is working with experts on COVID-19, as well as state and local public health officials. Safety measures will be put in place for when children and staff return to school, including:

• Enhanced regular cleaning and disinfecting of high contact areas
• Plexiglas separations in office and common areas
• adequate supplies of sanitizer and personal protection equipment.
• temperature checks for staff and students showing symptoms of coronavirus

The schools, consisting of more than 70,000 students, closed for in-person instruction on March 13 and transitioned to remote learning, which Cupich admits has presented some challenges.
"We take pride that our educators quickly responded when I made the decision to close school buildings due to the COVID-19 pandemic," Cupich said. "They established remote learning within days of the closure."

Cupich said no instructional days were missed and the school year has closed for most schools.
The cardinal also announced remote learning will continue in the fall for parents who prefer or need to keep their children home.

Patch editor Eric DeGrechie contributed to this report.

More on Patch:
Archdiocese of Chicago Presents Plan To Gradually Reopen Churches