District 204 preparing to start hybrid learning next month

The transition to a hybrid schedule is slated to begin next month in Indian Prairie Unit District 204, giving students at all grade levels the option to return to some level of in-person learning by the week of Feb. 1, administrators said.

While e-learning has been center stage since the spring, district officials say they have been developing plans to safely bring children back in the classroom - a process that included launching pilot programs and sending some specialized groups back to school on a limited basis.

A surge in COVID-19 cases, a rise in community transmission levels, and an increased shortage of teaching, nursing and other staff members prompted a pause in the district's back-to-school plan before Thanksgiving break, Deputy Superintendent Doug Eccarius said. But with metrics now appearing to trend in "a better direction," he said, schools are preparing to start welcoming students back the week of Jan. 18, allowing for a natural quarantine period after winter break.

Details of the latest back-to-school plan were unveiled during Monday's school board meeting, as administrators and elected officials face continued pressure from parent groups who want their kids back in school.

A rally was held last weekend urging the district to reopen schools immediately. Dueling online petitions - one in support and another criticizing district actions to date - have each garnered hundreds of signatures. And school board members said they have received community feedback on both sides of the issue, allowing them to "challenge ourselves and our process to guarantee that we are exploring all avenues of thought," board President Michael Raczak said.

Preschoolers, kindergartners through second-graders, pilot program students and others in specialized groups will be the first to move into a hybrid schedule the week of Jan. 18, Eccarius said, adding officials will continue monitoring local health metrics closely.

Third- through fifth-graders are expected to join them the week of Jan. 25, as will sixth-grade students and high-schoolers. Seventh- and eighth-graders would make the transition starting Feb. 1. An online-only option also will be available for all students.

Elementary students who choose the hybrid model will return to school two mornings a week on a rotating schedule, said Lauren Rosenblum, assistant superintendent for elementary school. Virtual sessions will take place in the afternoons for all-remote students and those who did not go into the classroom that day, she said, ensuring all kids get two-and-a-half hours of daily live instruction.

At the middle and high school levels, students will be divided into two cohorts that will attend school Tuesdays and Wednesdays or Thursdays and Fridays, allowing them to move through their full schedules during that two-day period, said Brad Hillman, assistant superintendent for middle school. Mondays will be e-learning days, and independent learning time will be granted to students at the end of each day, he said.

The hybrid model requires educators to teach remotely and in person, causing them to shift between synchronous and independent learning models, Eccarius said.

"It's going to be an adjustment. It's going to be challenging work," he said. "I think we're going to need some grace as we try to instruct in that new format."