By Neil Doyle
BLOOMINGTON – District 87 and Unit 5 have reversed course for the fall semester making the decision to start the school year with all students learning from home.
Both districts were going to give families a choice of either in-person or remote learning for the entire fall semester, but both districts said plans have changed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“This change was always a possibility but now it is our reality,” District 87 Superintendent Dr. Barry Reilly said in a letter Thursday to district families.
Reilly said several determining factors led to this decision:
- As a large school district with over 5,200 students and hundreds of staff members, District 87 is responsible for helping reduce the spread of the virus in our community.
- Cases are on the rise across the nation and in our community. Other large school districts in the country who have returned are immediately shutting down classrooms, schools and entire districts due to positive cases.
- Maintaining six-feet of distance between students/staff in our schools could not be guaranteed.
- The intention is to be proactive instead of reactive. This decision allows staff and families to prepare for remote learning now, instead of hours before due to an outbreak.
“As we worked through our plans and reviewed data from student learning choices, several significant issues emerged including, the inability to maintain social distancing in our buildings and the ability to adequately staff in person and online instruction,” said Unit 5 Superintendent Dr. Kristen Weikle in a Facebook post.
Both districts said they will reevaluate the plan in October.
The new plan for District 87 can be found here and the Unit 5 plan can be found here.
Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]
