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Superintendent Advisory Panel Update and Dec. 1 Board Meeting

Dear District 97 Families,

I  hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving break! I am writing today to provide an update on the Superintendent Advisory Panel and the status of our hybrid learning plan. 

We have held four panel meetings and over the past few weeks, our team has carefully reviewed feedback from families, staff, the District 97 Board of Education, and our community’s medical professionals. In fact, we are now collecting additional input from staff, especially around safety aspects of a possible return-to-school plan. In all, it's clear we must be as thoughtful as possible regarding next steps.

As a result, I'm readjusting our board updates to allow for the development of a more thorough plan that provides time for us to communicate updates and solicit feedback from our stakeholders. 

  • December 1: During Tuesday’s board meeting, we will share and discuss key findings from our recent survey (including ThoughtExchange) to families and teachers. We will also review and discuss live streaming options and opportunities, which have been researched and discussed by the panel and administration as a potential solution for maintaining class/teacher assignments in a hybrid model.
  • December 15: We will share feedback from the Superintendent's Advisory Panel (specifically, our health and safety professionals)
  • January 12: We will share our DRAFT revisions to the plan for review and discussion with the Board before sending it to stakeholders for final feedback.
  • January 26: We will review parent feedback on our DRAFT plan.
  • February 9: Board will discuss the final plan for the start of the transition to the hybrid plan

We believe this timeline will lead us to a collaborative, detailed plan that's been thoroughly socialized by all of our stakeholders. Of course, we'll continue to keep you updated on our progress through all of our standard communication channels.

Details about Tuesday’s board meeting are included below. Thank you for your patience, collaboration and support throughout this process.

Sincerely,

Dr. Carol Kelley
Superintendent

Board of Education Meeting - Tuesday, Dec. 1 at **7:30 p.m.

The District 97 Board of Education will hold its regular meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 7:30 p.m. Click here for Zoom details. >

  • Superintendent Advisory Panel Update
    During the meeting, Dr. Kelley will provide an update on the Superintendent Advisory Panel and the district’s hybrid learning plan. Recaps and recordings of the panel’s meetings can be found at https://www.op97.org/updatecenter/2020-21-planning.
     
  • Discussion of Policies 7:50 (Student Admissions) and 6:280 (Grading and Promotion)
    The District 97 Board will hear the first reading of proposed revisions to Policy 7:50 (School Admissions and Student Transfers To and From Non-District Schools) and Policy 6:280 (Grading and Promotion). There will be no action, but the board is expected to review and discuss both policies at the Dec. 1 meeting.

    Background: The district announced in August that the board would be reviewing Policy 7:50 and considering whether it ought to be revised to provide clear parameters around the age at which children will be admitted to kindergarten and first grade (as currently written, the policy speaks to a minimum age for each grade, but does not speak to an upper age limit). Any changes affecting student admissions will not be effective until the 2022-23 school year.