2020-21 School Year Planning

Updated Hybrid Learning Schedules - Dec. 15, 2020

During the Dec. 15 meeting of the District 97 Board of Education, Superintendent Carol Kelley presented the administration's recommendations for a revised hybrid learning plan for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year.  Although we originally planned to share our draft plan in January, we heard from many stakeholders over the past two weeks who asked that we commit to a plan prior to winter break to provide families and staff more time to prepare. 

With this in mind, our recommendations were shared with the board Tuesday night, and the administration was given the go-ahead to move forward with the schedules presented, with Feb. 1 as our target return date for students. Details of those plans are outlined here. The recording of the Dec. 15 board meeting can be found here (presentation starts at 1:35:00).

These schedules were developed based on stakeholder feedback, recommendations from the Superintendent Advisory Panel, consultation with several medical experts, and extensive research on schedules/best practices being utilized in other school districts, including recently-adopted hybrid plans for Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 and River Forest School District 90. 

Trimester 2 Learning Selection Form Due Jan. 6, 2021

During the Dec. 15 meeting of the District 97 Board of Education, Superintendent Carol Kelley presented the administration's recommendations for a revised hybrid learning plan for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year.  Although we originally planned to share our draft plan in January, we heard from many stakeholders over the past two weeks who asked that we commit to a plan prior to winter break to provide families and staff more time to prepare.

We are asking all parents to complete the Trimester 2 Learning Selection Form for each student in their household by 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. Translated versions of the form are linked below.

• Trimester 2 Learning Selection Form (English)
• Forma de selección de aprendizaje para el aprendizaje híbrido para el trimestre 2 (Spanish)
•  منطقة مدرسة أوك بارك الابتدائية ٩٧ - إستمارة إختيار التعلم في تريمستر ٢ (Arabic)

Before you complete this form, here are some things you need to know:

• District 97 will continue to offer a full-time remote learning option for students.
   
• Your selection is for the duration of Trimester 2 (ending March 12, 2021). Students who select remote learning will not be able to switch to on-site learning before the end of the term. We will do a separate commitment form for Trimester 3 to allow families to change their selection.
   
• If we do not receive a student’s form by Jan. 6, they will automatically be placed in full-time remote learning. 
   
• We will not implement hybrid learning until it is safe to do so. We are currently planning a phased return, beginning with our special programs on Jan. 12 at the earliest. Our goal is to begin transitioning grade levels back on site over several days, beginning Feb. 1. This date, however, depends on local and county COVID-19 metrics. We encourage families to follow all current health and safety guidance—wear a mask, practice social distancing and practice good hand hygiene.
   
• We have developed a Hybrid Learning FAQ to help families learn more about our hybrid learning and safety plans. We know there will be many questions regarding the specifics of the daily schedule, specials, logistics, etc. Our goal was to provide you as much information as possible prior to break; we will be working to provide additional details in future updates. If you have questions that you would like us to incorporate into the FAQ, you may submit them using this form.