In a letter to parents Wednesday, Champaign Unit 4 Schools superintendent Susan Zola outlined the three possible scenarios that students could face when the 2020-21 school year begins amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Based upon the best current guidance from the Illinois State Board of Education, the Governor’s Office and the Illinois Department of Public Health, the district was able to compose three options for what schools and student activities might look like when they reopen:
- Option 1: A full return to school and student activities. “This option will involve several practical considerations based on guidance we will eventually receive from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and the Governor’s Office. Although we would return fully to school and activities, they would not look the same as in years past,” Zola’s message said.
- Option 2: A combination of students returning to school and a remote learning portion. “This option also involves several practical considerations but would work to balance an opportunity for some in person instruction while we continue providing remote learning instruction outside the school building.”
- Option 3: All students working remotely. “This option would continue the learning that was done during the Spring of this year but with additional learning platforms and increased outreach for parents and teachers to ensure learning standards were achieved,” the statement said.
Zola said Unit 4 administrators, teachers and staff are meeting over the new few weeks and “we will be presenting a unified plan in mid-July. As with everything these days, the plans are subject to further guidance from IDPH, ISBE and the Governor’s Office.”
According to a story in the Springfield State Journal-Register, state education officials will have recommendations for the new school year “by the end of this month and possibly as soon as Thursday.”
“The state plans to urge schools to resume face-to-face learning as much as possible which will mean that both faculty and students will be required to use face masks,” the article noted.
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