The Flossmoor School District 161 board is planning to meet Monday to consider a reopening plan for fall semester.
The district recently conducted staff and parent surveys to gauge support for several options in the complex project of reopening schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results were posted on the district website.
The Flossmoor School District 161 board is planning to meet Monday to consider a reopening plan for fall semester.
The district recently conducted staff and parent surveys to gauge support for several options in the complex project of reopening schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results were posted on the district website.
In an introduction to the results, Superintendent Dana Smith noted that none of the school reopening options will be a return to pre-pandemic routines. Each has a remote learning component and will require physical distancing and other safety measures for any in-person instruction.
The responses suggest both staff and parents prefer schools to open with a hybrid approach that combines in-person instruction with remote learning in roughly equal proportion.
Of 1,338 parent responses, the preference for the hybrid model was the top choice followed by remote learning only followed by full-time in-person classes. About 44 percent of parents favored the hybrid approach. Almost 30 percent favored remote learning only, and more than 26 percent preferred a return to full-time in-person instruction.
The majority of staff members favor reopening schools, too, with more than 58 percent of the 234 respondents favoring at least some in-person instruction, including 15.4 percent who want a return to full-time classes and 43.2 percent who prefer a hybrid approach.
Remote learning was favored by 41 percent of staff.
The district also released an updated remote learning guide and pandemic safety restrictions for any in-person sessions.
The meeting will be conducted virtually starting at 4 p.m. Instructions for joining the meeting will be posted by email Monday afternoon. Sign up to receive email messages here.