Editorial note: September 25th we reported, “220’s Harris announces target start date for return to in-person Hybrid moved up to Oct. 19.”
Barrington Area Unit District 220 students will return to some in-person learning Oct. 19 — a week earlier than initially planned — school officials said Tuesday.
Students in Barrington Area Unit District 220 can go back to school Oct. 19 — a week earlier than anticipated — with a hybrid model of in-person and distance learning, if all proceeds well, district officials said.
About 68% of families in the district said they plan to send kids back to school with hybrid learning — a blend of in-person and remote learning — while 31% are opting to continue with only remote learning, which the district will provide for whoever wants it. About 1% remain undecided.
However, the breakdown varies a lot by school, Superintendent Brian Harris told the district’s board of education Tuesday night.
Barrington High School and the two middle schools largely mirror the district average. But at Hough Elementary School, as many as 89% of families are choosing hybrid learning, while at Sunny Hill Elementary, only 30% are doing so.
A total of 44 certified staff members asked for a leave of absence after the district announced its hybrid plan, Harris said. Fifteen of those positions were filled and nine are being filled, but 20 staff members that teach in “highly specialized areas” are hard to replace, Harris said.
The district will continue looking for replacements, but meanwhile the plan is to reassign or hire staff members to supervise students in classrooms while their teachers continue virtual instruction, he said.
Nine people, mostly parents, spoke at the board meeting Tuesday to advocate reopening immediately for full in-person learning. They cited hardship for families and the negative effects of virtual learning on students’ performance and mental health.
“Our district is spiraling downward. Our children are regressing and losing knowledge,” parent Heather Ewalt said. Ewalt, also a substitute teacher in the district, said teachers say in private they have the same concerns.
Read on here.
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