Huntley 158 families,
We continue to hear from our community in many different ways, from personal emails and calls to social media messages and a well-organized rally preceding our Board of Education meeting last night. It is heartening to see this high level of engagement from our families and the passion we share when it comes to educating young people, and we thank everyone for continuing to provide your input. Later in this message you’ll find a link to a survey to provide us feedback on your family’s experiences in remote learning.
Pre-K-5 Hybrid Option Scheduled to Begin October 19
We’re also excited to be taking the next step in our gradual approach to returning to in-person learning. At last night’s Board meeting, we introduced a hybrid learning option for students in Kindergarten through 5th grade. Students in those grades will have the option to attend school in person for a half-day, two days a week, beginning October 19. Families may also opt to remain in remote learning. Full information and an opt-in form were sent earlier today to families in those grades.
Our Early Childhood Center is also scheduled to introduce a hybrid option beginning October 19. Due to the nature of our preschool program, there are additional considerations for their plan, which will be shared with ECC families soon.
We have not forgotten about students in grades 6-12. While this new plan does not include any changes for 6-12, we are continuing to plan for expanded in-person opportunities at those levels. Due to the added complexities of class enrollment sizes, classroom sizes, rotation between classes, and other considerations, we have not yet crafted a way to bring students back for large-scale in-person experiences while meeting the public health guidelines that have solidified since the start of the year. Please know that it is a top priority to provide additional in-person experiences for these students when we are safely able to do so.
While it’s far from the full return to school most of us would prefer, this is a very positive development that has been made possible largely through our continued collaboration with our staff unions and county- and state-level health and education agencies. We have a high degree of confidence that this plan will provide meaningful in-person experiences to students while protecting the health of students and staff.
Monthly Self-Certification Form
All families should complete the monthly COVID-19 Symptom-free Self-Certification Form for the month of October. Students returning under the K-5 hybrid plan or any other in-person experience within the month of October MUST complete this form to be eligible to attend. We recommend all families complete the form monthly, regardless of whether they are currently identified for an in-person experience.
Click here to complete the certification form
Modified Remote Learning Feedback Form
We need to hear from you about your family’s experiences in our Modified Remote Learning format so far. We’ve been living in this world for a month now, and to meet our goal to make remote learning as successful as possible, we need to hear about your experiences, both what is going well and what needs to be improved. Please note that this survey can be completed anonymously. If you would like to receive followup on a specific piece of feedback, you optionally may enter contact information at the end of the survey.
Weekly Inspiration
We’d like to give a thank you and shout-out to HHS sophomore James Smith and his fellow Boy Scouts, who recently delivered two handcrafted benches to Marlowe Middle School completed for his Eagle Scout project. James donated the supplies and designed and built the benches, which are a beautiful and comfortable addition to the building. You can see pictures of the completed project on our Facebook page.
Stay well,
Scott Rowe, Ed.D.
Superintendent
