October 13 - Oak Park School District 97 Board of Education Meeting

001e just testing sound real quick okay Manny can you check and just make sure that you can hear that on uh the live stream e Michael do you have everything you need for tonight yeah I think we're all good I got the stuff from jeie um I've got the board agenda pulled up uh we have the live stream going do you have a a video from Amanda yep I've got the video from Amanda as well yep and Dr Kelly's presentation you have everything you need for ton sorry I had the live stream is is playing so we're on live right oh okay then I'll stop talking no you're good no we're all set okay okay thank you yep I don't know why this happens let's see Dr Kelly we are uh live right now people

002are starting to come in um and live streaming it okay [Music] for hi Cheryl Hi how are you I'm good who are you Christine hi Christine well my face isn't there so you can't see me well I'm looking at everybody else's face I'm trying to watch as the board members come in ah so I'm scrolling through the list of names on the side hi charl it's Kisa just to help thank you ma'am you're welcome so far I only see you and Rob hi Chris principal CIA oh there's Catherine w just a reminder Kea that we are live streaming as well so we've got the attendees that are in here as well as the YouTube live stream going which has about 50 people in it as well um if we were to reach the Thousand it

003should give the link in addition to what we've sent out that people can revert over to that if we do get above the number um yeah and it is about probably like a 10-second delay um okay but it'll still pick up so when we end it'll still continue to to play for them so thanks for the heads up Mike y Micha Katherine and Gavin are you out there yes sorry yeah okay I'm here also then we're good to go okay so I will call the meeting to order at uh it's October 13th at 7 pm um and we are I'm sorry Cheryl can you please call roll hey Meer Rob are you there I'm here sorry took me a while that's okay Kim here Roy here Spurlock here more Sheree think she's on the line

004yet she was there I saw so mer her absent for now and leel here and Carney here great um so we are going to start first with the recognition of the national school administrator month and we have a proc Proclamation if someone could read that for us I can read it uh National School administrator month whereas School administrators play an important role in the ucation and growth of children in elementary middle and secondary schools throughout the village of O Park and whereas School administrators are responsible for promoting education and working with parents and teachers to ensure that each child receives services that meets their needs that meet their needs to excel in the classroom and whereas it is the primary responsibility of the Oak Park Elementary School District 97 to preserve and improve resources for

005schools that all so that all students have the opportunity to receive a quality education and Foundation for a successful future and whereas the Board of Education which represents Oak Park Elementary School District 97 believes that learning is a lifelong process and that the education of our children is the highest priority and whereas for that reason the board of education is dedicated to developing supporting and advocating for Innovative School leaders and whereas educational leaders face many challenges in educating our young people and it is through their perseverance and passion that Oak Park Elementary School District 97 is able to continue to produce quality career ready students and whereas we must continue to encourage support and recognize those who have a positive impact on District 97 students and the educ educational system in the Village of Oak

006Park therefore the Board of Education of Oak Park Elementary School District proclaim the month proclaims the month of October as school administrator month to recognize School leaders for all they do to help our children learn and succeed I don't know who wrote that but that's wonderful and yes I concur thank you very much for all of our school administrators who doing such a tremendous job before and during the pandemic you're here yeah I see a lot of you are on the line so um your Hawaii vacation is being mailed to your [Laughter] home thank you um we don't go on that do we Cheryl I blow for you to vote on that oh okay I'm sorry so if I could get a motion for um approving the proclamation but Bry read it so we need

007somebody to Second sorry so if someone could second it second I Bry yes Carney yes leeville yes Bray Meyer yes Kim yes Spurlock yes more yes thank you okay up next we have public comments um we have gotten a large number of public comments so we've decided to read um public comments for the first 30 minutes of the meeting and then we will proceed into the agenda and then we will finish the rest of the public comments at the end so they will all be read um but not all at the same time just for the sake of I know people have um various schedules and so um I will start J real quick actually oh no yeah I was going to say I don't know if we wanted to have the OPA one read

008first something elat oh I'm sorry okay Michael go ahead good just gonna play this video sorry I didn't see the agendas I was jump you're good uh [Music] [Applause] [Music] awesome thanks so much for that Michael and thank you again to all of our administrators uh we definitely appreciate all the work you're doing in those times um okay so we are moving forward to the public comments um I was just reminded they so again if folks are jumping on late we'll read public comments for the first 30 minutes and then uh read the rest of them at the end of the meeting all the public comments are on public record and so if anyone wants to view them later later as well we will have them available um Michael for continu I don't know if

009it makes sense to have um the OPA folks read their comment first before launching into the rest of them or I don't know if we had a place for them in the agenda they emailed it to you so you could read it oh okay um sorry okay um this is the public comment for the op of the Oak Park Teachers Association says Dear District 97 Board of Education this is a statement made on behalf of the members of the Oak Park Teachers Association first and foremost we need for the members of the board and members of the community to recognize we collectively want to be with our students in a safe environment we are right now supporting our students in remote learning and providing a robust education that is different from the spring of 2020

010we are taking Co very seriously we want very much to work with the community the board and the administration keeping this in mind we also ask the board and the community understand that while the administration asserts that this document is the result this is a quote the result of months of planning research and collaboration by more than 100 District 97 staff members end quote many Educators have reported that their names are listed as part of the planning committees and task force without ever having been invited to the most recent meetings the vast majority of Educators learned about this hybrid plan when it was shared with District staff on Friday October 9th at 10:05 a.m. only hours before it was shared with the community prior to the plan being announced the community the possible Hybrid models

011were shared with members of our leadership and a variety of educator groups under the caveat of strict confidentiality these leaders in our membership were asked for feedback but the feedback given which was in direct contrast to this final hybrid plan was disregarded Opa leadership asked to begin bargaining to to begin bargaining the hybrid plan for in-person learning while the remote learning plan was being developed to avoid any confusion or angst this request was put off by the administration on more than one occasion the administration also states that quote all of our decisions will continue to be guided by our three priorities the health and safety of our staff and students providing consist consistent high quality learning experiences and our commitment to equity end quote however much of this hybrid plan is contradictory to the statement

012and the lack of details makes it difficult for both our families and members of the association to make educated decisions for example child care options async versus sync time if they're overlapping schedules and ab rotating days to name a few this plan is not the best is not in the best interest of the mental health and social emotional well-being of our staff and students for a myriad of reasons including the mental health and anxiety of our students students and staff will be uprooted and skyrocketed during the proposed plan asking students and teachers to switch class communities rooms teams and even schools is cruel this this far thus far into the school year Educators spent weeks planning remote learning and helping to Foster and build relationships with their classes students are finally getting into the routine

013of remote learning upending everyone and destroying this work is an insult to the families of this community the beginning of this school year relied heavily on testing and Benchmark assessment all of the work that Educators have put into this for example setting up common assessments would be dismantled and stressful for both staff and students who are now in other classes with different personalities and teaching styles November 30th is an arbitrary date that was already changed once this year to accommodate the new calendar and trimesters this date is also immediately following a holiday in which many families will travel and spend time with large groups of people is the beginning of cold and flu season many of us are expecting to see the number of covid-19 cases to spke in addition we'll only be 17 a

01417 days away from our almost 3-we winter break after spending two weeks rebuilding the community and routines we will leave school for an extended break and have to repeat all of this a third time in January when we return furthermore this plan does not support consistent highquality learning experiences a few examples are this proposed schedule is confusing for staff students and community members for example aabba aabbb using the alternating Fridays may keep students and family from understanding where to be and when we think for childcare purposes a more consistent weekly schedule would be better this plan gives students five days of no instruction not to mention the confusion of it not being the same week to week to dat teachers students in the middle schools have only seen one another for a total of 14

015days since the beginning of September and many are just starting to feel comfortable with remote learning and the routines associated with it making such a drastic change right now is unreasonable um I'm just going to try to read a little more quickly because I did hear the timer go off um Educators and students have been establishing trust and Rapport since day one and this hybrid plan will disrupt that consistency at its base as stated previously we will spend two weeks rebuilding the community and routines we will leave school for a break and have to repeat all the the third time in January this is a major loss instructional time for all currently staff is able to meet with students in breakout rooms individually or with small groups this work will become increasingly challenging with maintaining

016six feet of social distance when we are back in person finally this plan is not Equitable students with IEPs 5 of4 and significant needs could be switched to different teachers case managers classes or even schools resource teachers would also be affected related service providers who have established small groups for social emotional education will be uprooted how can we believe this is in the best interest of our most vulnerable students child care for families has to be completely reworked how do we support this effort particularly for our less fortunate and struggling families the hybrid model proposed provides options for families that are inherently different parents ability parents ability to navigate this information or their comfortability with hypothetical environments will impact student experiences differently under the presented hybrid schedule over the course of 10 days elementary students

017selecting the hybrid model will receive five hours of core subject instruction where their remote counterparts would get 10 as professionals we recognize there is no one siiz fits all scenario that will help the entire community and that no solution is without risk however we are disappointed to have little active involvement in the planning of this hybrid metal and the lack of our perspective that is evident throughout the document the OPA is eager to meet with the Board of Education and administration to create a hybrid Anderson Lear learning plan that addresses the matters that we have raised this evening we want to do our best to ensure that any plan meets the needs of everyone and is rooted in the district's three priorities the health and safety of our students and staff providing consistent high quality

018learning experiences and our committee to equity respectfully the Oak Park teachers associ iation the next public comment is from Colleen dejarnet um one can you please provide actual survey results that indicate what percentage of parents think this current hybrid plan will actually improve the current situation and what percentage of parents think the current plan will destabilize or negatively impact their current situation if you don't have these sta statistics when do you plan to acquire them as they seem essential to making an educated decision for the community and if the former percentage is smaller than latter how can you justify the upheaval that will result from this plan plan thank you Colleen dejarnet this is from Rich Delany good evening whether a parent educator Schoolboard representative or concerned Community member I'm sure all in attendance tonight

019would agree that the children of Oak Park District 97 stand to benefit greatly from the education from the addition of an age appropriate research-based anti-racism program to the current curriculum I'm sure we can also agree that adult politics have no more of a place in the public middle school classroom that does religious instruction and that Educators charged with the sacred task of teaching children how to think break this public trust when imposing what to think upon impressionable young minds who quite naturally look up to them as authority figures why is why as an Oak Park parent I was Disturbed to learn that District 97 would choose to include the 1619 project as part of a middle school anti-racism curriculum tonight I ask the school board to immediately reconsider this decision and remove the radical and

020divisive 1619 project for our curriculum I recommend all concerned stakeholders take the time to read the 1619 project in its entirety widely available online as a free PDF and decide for yourselves if this is material you consider appropriate for Middle School Minds however as the however as the project is a s as the project is a 100 page collection of Collegiate level essays I understand that many are simply too busy to do so a quick summary the stated intentions of the project is to quote reframe the country's history end quote by treating 1619 the year when tragically the first slaves were taken to Virginia instead of 1776 as the date of our country's founding the author's premise is that America was founded upon evil and that evil has been infused throughout every aspect of the

021body politic in essence that America is fundamentally evil that our America's founding ideals were quote false when they were written end quote that our children are therefore growing up in a fundamentally evil country the result a dark and dystopian vision of America Frau with historical inaccuracies that does just as much damage to the schema building of Young Learners as what a completely whitewashed vision of American history that ignores sustain of slavery altogether some quote highlights end quote the American Revolution question mark air slave slaveholders rebellion the 500,000 white no Northern soldiers who died in the union effort to win the civil war entirely unmentioned America in the 1930s question mark a quote template for Nazi Germany and quote to later follow this is of course only a brief snapshot overall the resounding if implicit conclusion

022one unavoidably draws from the 1619 project is that there has never been so much as a single good decent moral white American in our nation's history rather we are all of us every last one of us direct descendants of white supremacist as for African-Americans alive today the authors offer scant prospects for Hope for how can a nation that quote has racism in its very DNA end quote whose founding ideals were quote false when they were written and quote make good on our Founders promisory note guaranteeing quote the pursuit of life liberty and the pursuit of Pursuit of Happiness end quote held so dear by Dr Martin Luther King and what about the experiences of other ethnic groups such as Hispanic Americans asian-americans it would appear that the both that the both contributions and Collective experiences

023of those groups are completely irrelevant if this wasn't enough hang untight middle schoolers the authors also devote considerable space to a garden variety Marxist pmic no I'm not kidding which in typical of overstatement decries a totality of American capitalism as owing entirely to the shameful institution of slavery for its existence and so it is sorry I'll try to finish faster and so it is that one comes away from this collection of essays with the feeling of having been gaslighted by the authors that the N 1619 project is not so much an anti-racist pmic as in fact that authors free free and frequently make Broad and sweeping negative assumptions about large groups of people based upon entirely based entirely upon race as an intentionally anti-American uh one back to our Oak Park classrooms the relevant question

024how does this collection of essays represent an age appropriate research-based essal program for middle school students the answer clearly it doesn't which demands prompt action parents please join me in asking that our district Rec considerer its decision to radicalize our children let's leave this radical ideology where it belongs shouted from Angry megaphones at antifa rallies is not taught as curriculum to impressionable middle schoolers remove the 1619 project from District 97 curriculum today now at this very meeting respectfully submitted Rich to this is from Kathleen Odell my name is Kathleen Odell and I have an eighth grader at Julian and a fifth grader at Longfellow first I would like to thank the board Administration and teachers of d97 for their hard work and dedication to finding a solution that will work for Oak Park families I

025know this is an impossible task during this pandemic and I'm grateful for your efforts second I would like to express that while remote learning is certainly not ideal it is preferable to a hybrid option for our family we'll be electing to stay remote it is really disappointing to know that despite sticking with our current remote situation both both of our children are likely to have are likely to have to acclimate to new teachers schedules and cohorts at the start of the new trimester finally I wonder about the wisdom of returning to school right after the Thanksgiving holiday my husband and I both work both work in universities with face-to-face classes being held now at both of our institutions and many others that I'm aware of we'll be transitioning to fully online classes after Thanksgiving due

026to an anticipated seasonal spike in covid along with the reality that people's holiday plans are likely to lead to an increase in cases I am concerned that the disruption of switching to hybrid be immediately followed by the disruption of switching back to online as cases Spike I would very strongly prefer d97 to remain fully remote with current schedules and teachers until well after the winter holidays it seems most practical to consider a change in late January early February I well aware that many families are struggling with the current model but hope that we can keep the health and safety of our teachers and children at the Forefront of decision-making and consider delaying the return to school this is from Katie alos good evening over the summer during board meetings as well as town halls I

027was repeatedly promised that the district would support teachers with students in our district by prioritizing child care for them however nothing was done I personally reached out to the program directors at both pdop and hepsa no effort was made on our part on your part I'm sorry shall we expect the same should the hybrid plan go through sincerely Katie 8th grade language and literature at Brooks and department shair and Desi alos ta with multi- needs of Julian um and then this is from uh Katie's children um hello School Board I love my teacher Miss Knox at Lincoln I don't want another teacher this year she is kind and fun and that's from Ruby alos who's in kindergarten at Lincoln dear School Board my mom and dad explained the school schedule stuff I don't know what

028to pick I don't understand the part about me having a different teacher we had a substitute teach substitute teacher once in the afternoon it was okay but I liked Miss Cortez better I like her schedule and the would you rather activities every morning she is so fun and even though I'm not really with my friends in class they are always with me and I want to stay with them fix alos second grader at Lincoln um this is from the Julian PTO dear Dr Kelly Dr Starks Mr Christian and the d97 board this letter has been written on behalf of the Percy Julian middle school PTO executive committee the Julian PTO has been utterly has been utterly impressed by the administration and teaching staff's dedication to d97 students during these times like you we are passionately

029concerned about our children's educational outcomes as well as their emotional and mental well-being however we strongly feel that while d97 proposed framework for reopening school's hybrid learning model plan for the second trimester may be an effective educational model for elementary students it is not an acceptable model for middle school students we feel it will be detrimental to our middle school students education and emotional well mental well-being and ask that you revise the plan to take the needs of our community's middle school children into consideration the Julian PTO executive committee has the following concerns regarding the proposed plan one the likelihood that most children regardless of which option their parents or Guardians choose will have to change teachers this may not be as big of an issue for elementary children who have a single dedicated teacher

030however our Middle School our middle schoolers have eight teachers it takes considerable time for teachers and students to develop a routine trust and report to ensure successful learning regardless of that uh if that learning is in person or remote your plan will dissolve these harder bonds and thrust kids back to the first day of school again eight times over all new teachers and classmate cohorts also mean that our children will lose many more valuable weeks while we establishing these bonds and adjusting to new learning styles to the possibility that children have to switch schools we encourage school spirit for a reason to build a sense of Pride and Community it is not a minor issue to switch schools three forcing our children into more upheaval in a time when families are Beyond stress with the

031pandemic social unrest economic unrest and day-to-day uncertainty is not acceptable four for the middle school student the in-person learning option provides minimal interaction with live teachers or their fellow students and combines the worst of inperson and remote learning we don't understand how you can ask our middle school children to take the health risk of returning to the classroom when the plan calls for most of their learning to take place in the classroom via Zoom with teachers not in their classroom this means that children in the middle school will experience a the stress of worrying about Co exp exposure B the downsides of Zoom learning C trying to navigate talking on Zoom with a mask and the flip sides of teachers trying to understand them D the stress of not being able to physically interact with

032other students or teachers e a negative environment where many children are constantly being scolded and reprimanded to stay apart from peers follow covid rules not be free to move around or drink water and lose any of the Comforts they've developed to cope with the stress such as fidget toys being able to walk around Etc five this plan puts teachers and staff In Harm's Way the Julian PTO executive committee believes this framework for reopening school's hybrid learning model for the second trimester is focused on the Elementary School teaching model and does not take into account the very different educational models implemented at the middle schools this is unacceptable the Julian PTO executive committee wants a plan that meets the needs of the 1,000 middle school children at Julian Middle School we fully understand that some populations

033of the Middle School need to be at school in person such as children with IEPs and 504s children who are homeless who have unstable home lives Etc we fully support a plan to bring these children back to school but to mandate a complete shift in the educational structure for all students at this time will cause many midd schoolers emotional stress and discontinuity in their education these opinions are from the Julian picho executive committee and represent a small demographic of the school's population we are currently developing a survey which will be sent to our parents and Guardians asking their thoughts regarding the proposed framework for opening reopening school's hybrid learning model and we'll provide the results of that survey to you before the October 19th t97 t97 Town Hall sincerely the Julian PTO executive committee um

034so those are mine I don't recall who's reading the next bch I'm next do you want me to do my batch before we move on yes that would be great thank you okay uh this is from sarant good evening school board members I am writing to request that you reconsider the proposed hybrid learning plan for the middle school students I do not see any upside to this plan for our middle school students or teachers I really concerned that this proposed plan whether we choose remote or partially in-class learning will upend much of the progress and connection my seventh grade son his classmates and teachers have worked to establish this fall the idea that teachers and students may be facing new corts is so disappointing not to mention possibly starting over on entirely new teams and

035are having teachers in classrooms from another school being assigned new teachers means our kids are going to lose an additional two to three weeks of learning time to establish Community Connection all over again times eight teachers truly this goes deeper than losing out on education the social emotional Havoc this plan will cause is tremendous children throughout our district have endured so much chaos in 2020 with Co and all the political social justice upheavals now to disrupt the connections that they have established with their current teachers and classmates is going to be devastating d97 claims to prioritize emotional mental health this plan does the opposite of that how can this inperson model result in a positive experience for our middle schoolers and their teachers we are asking middle school kids to come to school for three

036hours to attend several their classes over Zoom with teachers who are physically in other rooms this means they experience all the downsides of remote learning and all the downsides of potential impersonal inperson learning including the possibility of Co exposure removal of all emotional supports they currently receive such as toys chewing gum getting a drink of water and moving brakes and strict rules to enforce physical separation what possible educational social emotional upsides will come from this I also question the timing of implementing this plan on the heels of Thanksgiving break and a few short weeks before winter break we know that there will be many families hoping to see and planning to see extended family members over the course of these holidays I understand that trimester 2 begins on November 30th but wouldn't it be more

037prudent for to launch the hybrid learning plan in mid January I am so disappointed that this is the plan proposed for our middle middle school students I will not sign my child up for in-class learning this plan doesn't even approach being close to worth the risk to students teachers and families thank you serion the next one is from Michelle greetings we have one child in eth grade at Julian Middle School her experience with remote with the remote learning model implemented during the first trimester has been very positive she is happy doing well in school and likes her teachers the proposed framework for reopening schools hybrid learning model plan seems targeted for elementary school students who have one primary teacher for the entire day it will not be affective for middle school students who have eight

038teachers within a given day d97 needs to develop two separate models one for elementary students and one for middle school students over the two thou the over 2,000 middle school students deserve a hybrid plan teaching model which is more than sitting in a classroom watching Zoom classes we are not sure what that model should be or if it is even possible but I would rather the district focus on continuing to bring middle school students into the classroom who need additional assistance than to completely blow up over 22,000 students schedules and creating chaos we fully support bringing middle school students back to the classroom who are willing and able to but to force all students specifically those students who wish to continue remote learning to completely new schedules with teachers is not healthy nor productive for

039our children please allow students the choice to continue remote learning with their current schedule sincerely Michelle Gus and do Chen and the next one is from sorry I go back and forth here Laura Loos Z Dr Kelly Dr Starks and the d97 board as the parent of a Julian Mill schooler I'm concerned about stage three hybrid learning model plan for the second trimester my child has already developed bonds with teachers under difficult circumstances we are grateful for their care and commitment and we are distressed at the possibility of Starting Over Again in the setbacks that might ensue the plan would upend students establish relationship without significant benefits to offset that sacrifice some parents are understandably eager for their middle school children to be back in the school building either because their children would benefit from

040inperson instruction or because they need more support and supervision than parents can provide at home because of other work because of work or other circumstances either way the plan doesn't do much to help it offers minimal inperson instruction and little time at the school building for support and supervision here is a proposal to better assist families whose students need more support to succeed at remote learning the district could replicate the park district and H programs for Middle School families that need it while continuing to provide more in-depth services to students with IEPs that would give students all day support every day while while leaving current schedules and class assignments intact and preserving teachers and team bonds the this proposal might not answer the need for Meaningful inperson instruction but neither does the district plan which

041suggests that there is no safe way to accomplish that at the middle school level with heterogeneous cohorts this proposal would help a lot of families however and harm no one thank you for your consideration Laura Laos and the next one is David crowler dear District 97 board Administration as the parent of two Julian middle schoolers after reviewing the district 97 framework for return to school I am unclear how the hybrid model provides any improvement over the current remote learning plan the the hybrid model offers the opportunity to sit in the classroom for three and a half hours twice a week and participate in Zoom classes masked while the teacher is also masked and likely in another room as the students around you may be Zoom learning from other teachers this adds the risk of exposure

042to the virus with very few of the benefits of being physically present at school The Learning Experience will definitely be degraded with mask Zooms in a full classroom o of other Zoom students as compared to unmasked zoom in your own space at home for remote learning only being at school for 3.5 hours times two times per week offers little to no benefit for parents who are trying to get back to work being in one class with about a dozen other students who will be glued to the Chromebooks for three and a half hours offers little value for socialization and shuffling schedules and changing teachers removes any sense of Comm community that has already formed within the classes while I recognize the challenges inheriting inherit in dealing with covid-19 and I appreciate everyone's desire to return

043to some semblance of normaly this plan seems to be discernibly worse than the remote learning environment and I challenge the d97 administration to head back to the drawing board to come up with a plan that is reasonable alternative I cannot see how signing our kids up for the hybrid option offers any improvement over the current remote model sincerely David KCK Carrie kovak I have submitted these questions for the town hall next week but I hope that you'll consider them raising them during the board this week as they are time sensitive why is there not a third option to remain with the current teacher whether he she is remote or hybrid leaving that out puts parents in an impossible situation where maintaining teacher continuity is the highest priority for their kids mental and emotional well-being please

044consider moving the selection date to after conferences so that we can have a chance to speak with our child's teacher to see how things have been going so far this year it would make an immense difference to have the extra data points in making the decision and J schan I've been a frequent attendee at pass board meetings over the past eight years and ran for the board in 2015 as a board you represent our entire Community parents students and even those without a relationship to the school your job is to ask questions evaluate the answers and vote with conviction specifically the board's responsibility is to represent the needs and desires of the community and educational matters as a nation and as a community we are facing challenging times which are challenging our ability to teach

045our children if if there ever was the time to revisit the board's core objectives and responsibilities it is today the community is asking for more collaboration transparency and Innovation it's time for the board to be the bridge ask more challenging questions and represent the needs and desires of our community so that all voices and perspec can be heard this board has the strongest voice in advocating for our children's education pleas please make sure you are using it and that is the end of my public comments um just to give the full 30 minutes oh I'm sorry go kiss go ahead go ahead I was gonna just wrap it up with something a comment so go ahead oh no that's it that's go ahead then um okay I was going to let people who email know

046that um if you did not include public comment in the subject heading um we did not read it um and someone know noted that there is said that maybe there's nothing on our website that clearly describes um what is required to do to to submit a public comment so if you did not write public comment in the subject heading it will not be read tonight however I do think that we should probably put something on the website if it's not there that is very explicit about um how to submit a public comment um in the age of Co can I point out item 3.1 on the agenda right right but I'm they're saying that when they go to the website and it's not a board meeting before the board meeting yeah so maybe there could

047be a way to put it on the website I can add a statement I don't see any harm in putting it in multiple places in case don't actually open up the agenda all right um Joe back to you thanks for that um and I do actually that's a good reminder um I I had a friend who asked me whether uh it mattered in terms of the board or administrating Administration reading the comments whether it was a public comment or not um and we do read all the comments regardless and so the public comment is really if you want it to be read publicly at the front of the meeting um or at the end of the meeting um so at this point for the sake of time we will come back and finish the public

048comments um but I know a lot of people are really interested in seeing the Special Report um ahead having the discussion there and so we are going to move to the next piece of of the um agenda which is the special reports and the d97 return to school planning thank you so much uh Port president Bry and also uh Vice chair Kim uh good evening everyone I am uh Dr Carol Kelly I have the pleasure of serving as your superintendent and uh the purpose of uh our presentation this evening uh was to update the community around the return to school uh planning for trimester 2 uh and also to preview uh the event that's taking place on Monday October 19th which uh is currently scheduled as a a town hall uh where the community would

049be able to uh have many of the questions uh that you are raising uh addressed um but uh for this evening uh we wanted to um review uh the materials that were emailed out to the school community on Friday um as uh we have um at least Tena ofely have asked if uh you can look at the learning selection form which is currently due on October 20th and I know that that date might change based on this conversation so Michael if you can go to the next slide um before I get into the um the presentation this evening I really would like to thank from the bottom of my heart uh all of the staff members that you see on this page and uh I'm sure that there are many many others who have provided

050uh input in terms of uh reading over uh sections or helping to craft uh many of the plans that I will be um sharing with the board in the community this evening um in particular I want to uh give a special thanks to our uh leaders um for these uh teams so for safety and operations I'd like to thank Jeanie Kean and uh Jim Hackett uh for the learning models team I'd like to thank Dr ebony Lofton and Michael arensdorf uh from the master schedule and the district calendar I'd like to thank Gina Herman for social emotional learning I'd like to thank Carrie Cam and of course for financial impact I'd like to thank uh Dr Felicia Stark's turn uh so next slide please so just some working agreements for uh the presentation I will

051really try to not spend uh the the entire amount of time that's allocated uh for uh the presentation um so that I would be able to answer questions that the board would have um at the end of the presentation next slide uh just once again um in terms of the the The Guiding principles and we heard a lot of it with the uh the public comments uh what we what I have read in terms of emails that I have received and also in many of the meetings that I have attended this is not a perfect process at all and I just you know again want to reiterate um that we are uh really attempting to do the best that we can um given the the the situation at hand so for uh myself uh there

052are three guiding principles um that really are um overlaying um the conversation this evening again going back to the teams of individuals who have been really working um long long and hard on how might we as we look ahead to trimester 2 um how might we focus on our students and staff so it's really just a trusting um end uh in those teams and also uh that they really have um presented to us uh the very best in a um forgive my like using sling um but in a really crummy situation that we're in this Global pandemic the second thing is I want to thank all of you for having patience um with the process patience with the fact that we did not plan for a pandemic and there is no one on this team

053that has gone through this before uh so as we are going about with our planning there will be uh missteps um and we fell fast uh fell forward fast so that we can learn and then uh regroup um and I just want to thank all of you really for for your patience um and as we heard with some of the public comments uh we really all do have our students and our staff in mind with everything that we're doing I know that may not feel that way um at all times but we really do so next slide please so what led us here for this evening um so just a real quick re recap uh from day one we stated that during trimester one we would be in a remote only uh option for all

054of our students and our staff and that was clearly communicated via emails uh board meetings um and that throughout we talked about like what we would do to prepare for trest two next slide please so there are really two critical critical components uh that we're looking at as we think about trimester 2 um and the first of it is that we want to focus on our mitigation plan what are those strategies that would help to reduce the spread of covid-19 uh among our students and staff upon reopening schools uh we believe that we want to protect the health and safety of our students and our staff by requiring the following guidelines outlined in the recommendations that we have received from the Illinois State Board of Education as well as the Illinois Department of Health those

055are things such as requiring face coverings um anytime that you're inside of the school buildings uh limiting The Gatherings to less than 50 individuals uh making sure that we increase the schoolwide cleaning and disinfection of our areas requiring the social distancing of at least 6 feet uh apart um making sure that our family members are uh doing the self- certifications prior to students uh coming to school as well as having those entry points in our schools and of course teaching uh the uh handwashing and encouraging the frequent handwashing and the use of sanitizers throughout the day next Slide the second critical component for any reopening plan um for any form of in-person instruction would have to we have to consider uh what we want to have in place to make sure that the level of

056spread occurring within our communities um is at a low or a minimum level one of the ways that Community spread is defined is by using threshold levels and District 97 has established four attendance stages and assigned uh these threshold values and we've assigned this by um reading and Consulting with various organizations such as the global Institute for health the Northern Illinois Public Health Consortium return to school metrics workg group and the Illinois uh Department of Public Health uh as of Friday the current positivity rate was 4.8% for our region area um and it does certainly seem at least for right now this Mo that the data is trending in the right area um however uh we want to ensure that we continue to look at this metric um before making the decision of whether or

057not we can safely move into stage three um as well the second thing that we use to prevent major disruptions in student learning is we look at the weekly cases per uh 100,000 people and again we felt it very safe um as we were leading into this school year um to go with remote only because we saw those data Trends um trending upward um and as we think ahead to trimester 2 we also want to look at these data Trends next slide please in addition to the health and safety guidelines uh we have been Gathering feedback from a variety of stakeholders um in the community um with our um parents we have been reading your written Communications whether you send us uh your thoughts through let's talk or email um each of our building principles

058did deliver a uh School level uh survey asking our families what they feel about their remote learning experience es uh we've had a variety of uh meetings with uh uh parents who are in leadership positions with different organizations whether it's the food allergy committee uh divco ptoc um and various administrators have had face to well virtual face-to-face meetings uh with family members uh Donna Middleton and her team have been having conversations with our special education advisory committee um and we have at least right before uh the communication was sent out last week we have formed focus groups to get feedback um from a parent perspective next slide please another important stakeholder group for us um has been the staff feedback um as I stated we have the transition planning team uh and there are a

059variety of Staff members that are members of that core planning team uh in particular our learning Modell's team our School nurses uh education Council um each week uh Gina Herman and I have been meeting with the Union leaderships of all of our associations uh the the presidents or co-presidents uh and we have also pulled in some focus groups of Staff members to get their opinions on various things and then next slide in terms of the community feedback uh myself and other members of the team have various um uh professional learning networks um and networking uh with other uh for me superintendent uh or other administrators we are able to see and uh uh talk about like what other school districts are doing uh to deal with the the pandemic and education of our of our

060students uh we are also in really close contact with the Village of Oak Park Public Health director uh and we have been in contact with the various Social Services agencies as well as other government Al agencies here in Oak Park next slide so I'd like to shift now to the plans and also the potential slide uh it was stated earlier one of the public comments and we also said this summer and it is true um that we really were attempting to focus all of our decisions or guiding all of our decisions by three main priorities the health and safety of our students and staff the um providing that consistent highquality learning experience and our commitment to equity we have been instituting a phase in attendance approach based on those guiding metrics that I talked about

061a little bit earlier um and as we are looking at those guiding metrics again with the positivity rates and also the weekly uh cases per 100,000 um incidents trending in the right direction it does appear that we may be able to move into stage three and in stage three of our phase attendance approach this is an option where families if they would like to choose um can have their students resume in-person learning uh using a hybrid AB rotating model um it also allows for families that elect to do so a full-time remote only learning option um for those students who are not uh ready to return on site and then of course the extracurricular activities may still be uh limited to remote only um before I move into dive into phase three I would like

062to point out that based on the metrics we have moved into stage two and what that means is that primarily our student students are remote only however we have been providing for specialized populations some inperson uh hybrid uh experiences um and we would continue to do so looking at our students that need uh the inperson supports the most um and later on this evening's agenda uh you will hear from uh the administrative team on our recommendation for our tier three students um but since September 15th we have had students returning on site um depending upon like which specialized population that they are in next slide so yet again as long as our the the science the numbers remain um in the safe range to do so according to the Illinois Department of Public Health positivity

063rate and the weekly cases per 100,00 th000 people we will be able to offer hybrid learning as an option for students again if families elect this option during trimester 2 once again I want to say this we recognize um is not a perfect plan in that it does have tradeoffs and I'm going to share um a little bit about like what some of the tradeoffs are um and as we recognize that every family and household is different and you may look at this differently for phase three it includes a fulltime remote learning experience as well as the option for uh hybrids next slide for the full-time remote uh learning option uh for phase three um it would uh look very similar to what families are experiencing right now there would be a mixture of both

064synchronous learning experiences as well as asynchronous learning experiences next slide and based also um on the feedback that we're getting with family Not only would we continue with the full-time uh remote only option but we will continue to refine it in order to improve this experience um by our students um by looking at things such as screen time um offscreen breaks uh the mixture of the instructional time and uh providing uh continued intervention and enrichment experiences for our students next slide now introducing the uh hybrid uh learning model um in this option the plan is primarily Guided by the health and safety of our students and staff so that we can provide as much as possible consistent high quality learning experiences in terms of our commitment to equity that was one of the third areas

065that I talked about previously we do recognize that there are unintended consequences based on this plan if we elect to follow next slide similar to what we Shar shed uh back in July students selecting this option uh will be in one of two cohorts the main exception is for the purposes again of the mitigation strategies of this plan is that we would not have a snack or lunch built into the inperson schedules while while students may bring their own refillable water bottles on campus uh lunch would not be uh eaten at school and in this plan it's over a 10day period that students would be on site um for three and a half hours each day um or over a 10day period a total of 17.5 hours and on average I think that that is

066about roughly um 185 hours next slide during the hybrid um learning AB rotation um in addition to the in-person um instruction in the afternoon um students will receive either a remote or asynchronous uh instruction for the remainder of their afternoon next slide once again our first priority as we plan for phase three uh for the hybrid learning model model is safety so the following safety precautions are things that we want to have in place we want to have stations for uh hand sanitizing uh available at all of our entryways hallways and classrooms uh we again you know we want students to be able to fill their water bottles so we will have touchless stations um even though we have closed down the regular water fountains as a mitigation strategy we want to make disinfectant wipes

067available in our classrooms to allow for frequent wiping down of desk and other surfaces uh again the reason for no snacks no lunch on site is not only because of the mitigation uh strategies for covid-19 but to also protect the welfare and safety of our students and staff who may have life-threatening food allergies uh we want all to fill a sense of uh inclusion um and for them not to have to go uh to other places to be able to eat and then finally our buildings and grounds department will have uh cleaning protocols in place to protect the safety of our students and staff next slide once again the uh full remote option is still available for all and uh with the um adjustments that we're planning to make based upon your feedback um that

068you have shared with the with the principles will will continue to uh make those adjustments however for those students that are electing the hybrid learning uh one of the things that will help to protect the uh safety of our staff and our students is uh by doing the symptom and temperature screenings um and to comply with the screening um it's really important and imperative for not just the students but the staff as well um as we look at this this model is that if any of the symptoms uh any one of the symptoms um that we see are um available with the student or staff uh it will be really important for uh that that staff or that student to um stay home and to uh seek medical uh advice or attention and in addition

069to the self-certification process at the home before the student or staff comes into the building uh we will also have uh uh temperature checks at key entry points um at each one of our schools now I'm going to get into the next slide some of the challenges and we we heard some in the public comments next slide please so some of the uh full disclosure moments um that have been brought to our attention uh through uh various meetings that we've had um I just want to uh share that with the board and the community um going back to the survey uh results that um the principles survey their school Community it appears that the majority of families have shared that their remote learning experiences are going either very well or well um particularly with our

070Middle School families um the second point is by offering the hybrid option our mitigation strategies do currently exclude the use of our facilities by external organizations um and basically what this would mean then would be organizations such as the parks District HEPA um and there are two other uh agencies that are currently using our facilities they would not um be able to use the facilities um so this will definitely impact uh Child Care uh Transportation uh may be a concern for students who are not currently assigned to a bus uh especially on the days that the children are on site if parents elect hybrid and uh for students and staff with uh certain medical conditions according to the Illinois restore plan uh they really should not be on site for a hybrid uh we would

071need to or want to make a remote option uh for for those um uh community members uh and also as you have uh heard from public comments or a lot of us have read uh over the weekend with some of the emails that have come in um and our transition planning team has used a racial Equity analysis protocol I do want to bring um to the Forefront some other existing uh challenges um as we're planning ahead for phase three uh the first is reaching all of our parents equitably or all of our parents experiences experiencing this um in the same manner um and I want to raise uh to the Forefront and I don't really have to raise this it's just a fact that covid-19 is disproportionately impa impacting our black and brown families um

072more than others not only in the the country in the state of Illinois but even here in the Village of Oak Park um so as we explore um you know moving into phase three I I do think that it's um um important for us to raise the question uh if uh the option might deepen um uh opportunity Gap um for uh some our black and brown um uh students the other uh thing that came up when we did the racial Equity analysis protocol is that some of our families uh live in households with extended family members some of which may be uh elderly um or may have family members with uh pre-existing uh or underlying conditions um and you have we may have some families that do not have access to Transportation so if students

073are experiencing any of the covid related symptoms once they are in you know at the school uh would all of our families have access to transportation in order to um pick up their their their son or their daughter um from the school uh the team also brought up the um the possibility for social aration for students uh who choose either remote only or on-site learning uh because of the multiple ways that students will be able to uh attend school uh the second existing challenge uh and I think I brought this up before is the care of students when they are at home um with our having uh students and staff on site and our buildings um as a part of our mitigation strategy not being able to be used by external organization uh this will

074impact our child care providers um who are no longer able to use our facilities uh the other thing is that um not saying that this is uh highly likely uh however even with the mitigation strategies in place we may have occasions where there will be a need for uh what in our guide book is called the adaptive pause um and we are unable to predict when that adaptive pause uh would need to take place um so it may cause more um or less stability not only for our families but for our students as well um if there are instances when a classroom would need to be closed or um hopefully not but uh an entire wing of a school or a school itself um and then the other question is uh for families who may

075not have um real flexible schedules if their son or daughter are presenting with symptoms what happens if there is no one um at the home or um there's not the extended uh family or social uh Network to be able to pick the the child out from school uh the teacher student matching process I know that that has come up a lot um and I I definitely um uh hear that concern and uh definitely understand the concern um and uh want to explain that um the mitigation strategy around uh some of some of our students or staff uh not able to uh participate in that the hybrid um as well as our not knowing yet the extent of um how many families will continue uh with the remote only uh versus the hybrid um may result

076in um some differences between who students are currently assigned to um and we just don't know the extent of that happening yet um but that will uh certainly um impact our students um it will certainly uh impact um the relationships that that are forming um next slide and I don't raise those existing challenges um to at all uh demean the plan um but I do want to just say that where we are right now there is no perfect plan um and I I really have heard your messages um and am looking forward to um the discussion with the board um I will ask other members of a cabinet team and uh Jeanie Keane and Jim Hackett if we can all come back on camera um because this is uh the the concluding um uh slide

077here in terms of what we laid out in our communication on Friday um but we are certainly you know based on the board's uh input we are certainly um very open and not tied to um the next steps in terms of the dates um that are outlined here so thank you very much for your uh attention um thank you for your patience um I would probably safely say uh that uh I'm I uh I I don't know that there will be uh anyone in the space that probably would want to uh be be standing here um but I I do um I'm deeply humbled um and appreciative of all of your support um as we are trying to navigate and make some um really um uh tough decisions and uh I also would like to

078thank um all of you for the comments that you have submitted um and I feel really honored that you felt safe um that you could share uh what you're what you're feeling um in that way so thank you very much so Jung I will turn the floor over to you to facilitate um the Q&A um thanks for the presentation we know that you and your team have been working really really hard to try to create a hybrid plan um uh I have some comments but maybe I'll open the floor first to see if others have questions or comments to start I have um I guess more of a proposal for discussion than a comment um but before I get to it I want to I want to thank Dr Kelly I want to thank the

079administration and teachers and other school Personnel for all the work they've put in under what I think we can all agree are very difficult circumstances uh I think we all know that developing effective learning models under the current pandemic is incredibly complicated and involves numerous moving parts and I agree there really is no perfect solution here I also want to assure everyone that has emailed us suggesting that the right path forward is clear and obvious that we've gotten numerous other emails suggesting a directly opposite path that is equally clear and obvious to the email's author we have received many messages expressing gratitude for how the fall semester has gone so far and I know that a lot of hard work has gone into making remote learning as successful as possible we've also heard from a

080number of parents for whom remote learning has been a real struggle not because of a failing of their teacher or the district but because it is a model that just doesn't work well for their particular child's needs since the framework for reopening schools was published on Friday we've gotten a lot of feedback many concerns and questions from parents teachers and others we've heard some already tonight we're going to hear a lot more uh later in the evening um but overall I would say the feedback we've gotten has been helpful and constructive and it's underscored for me that as a district we need more time to address the complexities of when and how we move to a hybrid learning model in my opin opinion aspects of this that would benefit from more time and planning include

081but aren't limited to how we minimize the likelihood that students will need to switch teachers better understanding parent preferences will enable us to more clearly forecast this and make an informed decision several parents have suggested that in addition to surveying preference preferences are on hybrid versus remote we also asked parents whether they would prefer that their child keep the same teacher regardless of the learning model which I think makes a lot of sense I think we would benefit from more time in planning around the pros and cons of various Hybrid models for district 97 including the one that's been recommended but others as well and also from a deeper understanding of the relative benefits of Hybrid models versus remote learning generally and for specific student groups Child Care is another major issue I think we

082need to better understand what parents needs would be under a hybrid system and how we can work with local Partners to ensure that they're met I think we also need to better understand how we best serve the needs of middle middle school students giving given schedu and complexities and another concern that's been raised that I think makes sense to better address is the timing of implementing a hybrid model particularly given concerns around a covid spike over the holidays given all this I would propose that the board and administration develop a new process and timeline for back toschool planning and that this be a process that reflects urgency but also ensures that key questions and concerns are addressed I also think it should be a process that that's transparent and provides parents District personnel and other

083stakeholders with an opportunity to inform and react to proposed plans and draft form before they're finalized and before people are asked to make difficult choices based upon them if others agree with this I think we should work quickly as a board and as a district to come back to the community with a new timeline and process for moving forward and so that's my proposal thank um thanks Gavin that was very well spoken um I would Echo a lot of the same sentiments um I think it's important for us to hash out some of these details and I know there's a lot of questions um I work at a university that is partially face Toof face and we are also KN going back after Thanksgiving so I think there's a lot of concern about the timing

084around the holidays um and while people are you know and it's sad but we've you know I've seen community members kind of um you know judge each other in terms of whether they're going to see family or not not and it makes these decisions very difficult and obviously has complications within the classroom as well um and so I I would agree that I think um I we really appreciate the best efforts of the administration um but I think there also could be some opportunities to take into consideration some of the comments and feedback uh that have been coming from the community I understand that I think the administration felt that the community wanted hybrid um and that was the expectation after first trimester but I think considering we're literally on the cusp of not making

085our metrics again for inperson um we just saw nutrier go back uh and then go back and then leave again because they are over their metrics for in-person learning um I think the timing of this is not is not the best um and so I do feel like there would be opportunities for more engagement and transparency and um it would be helpful to to be able to kind of just have a lot of different folks engage around it a little bit more um I um this is olly I agree with both what Jung and Gavin said I think a couple other things to highlight is um that I think that we are we're hearing a lot about other districts but I do think that finding comparable districts is pretty difficult one of the things that

086um I've been inquiring about and trying to figure out is is what percentage of other communities actually go and select remote and I think what we're learning is that in most communities we're talking 80 90% of families go back to hybrids so the changing teachers and moving classrooms around is an an issue in a in a district where 90% of the families choose hybrid so we do have a unique District in that we in the summer we're coming out around I think 703 maybe 65 35 and we're going to come out there if not more break even um at this point I think the other thing that um we should talk about is is just how sustainable it is with the fact that symptoms of covid look so much like symptoms of the flu um

087if some if a teacher shows up with an elevated temperature or a cough or a kid has a you know a kid is a not that that's less important but it's less um you you don't have to replace the the child in the classroom we have to know what the child is going to do for to access their education but do we what are we going to do to uh meet the needs of a classro room that's sitting in in a hybrid classroom if the teacher has to um has to go go home due to a symptom that reminds them that's similar to covid um so I appreciate Gavin the thoughtful um proposal I appreciate the opportunity to have those conversations and I appreciate the administration and District um the team the entire team um

088and I've been one of the liaison for the board so I've participated in those conversations they have been extremely thoughtful they have been centered around staff and students they have raised all of the concerns that we are also hearing from parents and recognize that these are things that make returning to this hybrid plan and any hybrid plan um you know not ideal and not one- siiz fits all but would welcome the opportunity to keep the discussion going hi everybody this is sh and I just want to again thank everybody for their hard work on this um we're in the social media chats we're listening we're reading your emails and so we hear what you guys are saying um as everyone has pointed out you know there is no easy solution to this um I want

089to point out that a lot of us move to Oak Park for the diversity for the equity and as the the way that things are setting now we would have very um segregated schools um and I think Dr Kelly has pointed this out and so I just want to bring that to attention is that if you're a person who values Equity um we have to think about like this plan as many black and brown families are not comfortable uh returning to schools and I think just in general people are doing what they think is best and so junk spoke to the divisiveness on social media and some of the emails and I don't I know for a fact Dr Kelly did not create this plan like this is her intention but I think that there

090are so many different needs in our community and so we're trying to find the best planned um and so we welcome in um increased engagement we want to hear from you we encourage you guys to send your feedback your thoughts or your ideas if there are other ways in which we can involve the community I know some of our healthcare workers our Frontline workers have said you know use me uh talk to me they want to be engaged they want to be involved and so Dr Kelly if there are ways in which our community members who are involved in healthcare um we would love to see more of them be bring uh their thoughts and opinions and things that they're doing and their institutions to the table um and just thank you to the board

091um I know this hasn't been hard this hasn't been easy for any of us we're dealing with just regular school board stuff and then we have our kids in school we're trying to figure out what are we going to do my husband and I were split on this topic um so we're trying to figure out what's best for our children as we think about their social emotional needs uh but then also their academic needs so just I thank everybody for their um their thoughts and ideas on this yeah it's Catherine please go ahead this is Katherine I just wanted to um thank the board members for their comments up up until this point and thank Dr Kelly and her team for all the work that's gone into this I I think one thing that has

092become apparent to me is that um I don't think we're we're ready as a community and as a district to switch to to make a drastic switch to hybrid right now I'm not seeing the gains um really in any area of by making the switch and um while while I appreciate the idea of kind of going about the back to school planning potentially in a different way I also think that we have an opportunity to um build on what we've done so far I think we've gotten such great feedback about remote learning and the progress that we've made um and the connections that are being made in the classrooms I know my kids are experiencing that um you know and maybe the route to go is to build on what we have and to to

093then also take note on what is well for particular students or groups of students and focus our energy on solving those particular issues um potentially by a phase in approach as we've already been doing but maybe increasing our our phas in approach to provide support for the students who may need um more of an in-person experience but I I don't think that that's necessarily everyone's experience right now so I think we have an opportunity to kind of keep going and uh you know hold on to the things that are going well and to fix the things that are not going well and to make it through the holiday season and the cold and flu season and hopefully come out on the other side of this with more information um and potentially look at you know

094a different model for either later in the winter or trimester three but it it just feels right now it feels rushed um I think we're we're sending Panic into the homes of our families um and I'm not finding a reason to do that I I don't think what we're talking about right now is aligning with our Equity policy I I don't I don't think we are supporting um the students that need all students need to be supported but I think we know that there are students that need uh more support than others and I I don't think we're doing anyone um any service by by trying to pull off this hybrid plan right now yeah um I just I mean I feel like I'm repeating a lot of what other people said but I do

095want to say thank you to all of the people that um were involved and trying to figure this stuff out it it's as a board member it it you know there's parts of it that are personal um but I I also believe that this role you know really requires us to kind of like you know take a step back and and think about the whole picture um I would love to see um some datadriven information you know I would love to understand a bit more about how what our par what our parents what are they thinking right like what do they want to see what are what are their thoughts I know we did a survey about how they're feeling about remote learning but I don't know if we've um shared those results or is

096there an opportunity to do a bit more to get a real pulse right on where parents stand I I think having a feeling or you know social media is a helpful barometer but there are some people that are not even active on social media there are people that that are in this community that we're not engaging with so I would really kind of lean into the idea of putting some data behind how we kind of decide what our parent Community is really interested in just ask them right I think um that would be very helpful um so I don't want to make any value judgments about what we should or should not do because I I'd like to have a bit more information and make that decision um I think a lot of this work

097is going to be possible with Partnerships and I know we had at the top of the call a conversation or a letter from the Oak Park teachers Association and so I would encourage us as part of this planning is to bring all of those Partners to the table um we want to be in alignment with them we want to feel like any strategies that we are going to put forward are done with the people that are closest to our schools and obviously that includes the Teachers Association that includes hepsa the park district all of these decisions have Domino effects right like you make one decision here and there's another decision ision there so I I would um you know any movement forward that we have I would like to see that uh done in alignment

098so that the next time we're coming together it's like we've talked about this and this is kind of where this is what the data is telling us this is what our Community Partners um are telling us um um so so those are two things that um I'd really like to see as we move forward with this work and thank you to all the parents thank you to all the parents as Sheree said so eloquently we are listening to you um we are asking questions your your feedback is really informing kind of how we think about this work so keep it up thank you so um you know I'll also say thanks to everyone for being part of this and for uh getting us this far in this you know ever evolving issue of how do

099we deal with covid um something that is unprecedented uh in our lifetimes and in our parents' lifetimes so uh you know it's it's clearly a tremendous challenge I think um uh you know the more the more I think about it the more I come to the conclusion that as we kind of can see here but you know I think we've seen in other places as well if if you read about it you know the hybrid model is is is a little bit more the worst of Both Worlds and it is the best of both worlds um I think you know there's still a ton of uh necessarily isolation in the classroom um and uh and it's it's not uh it's not as if we're going back to normal when for the students that go into

100school and so I guess I I worry that um we you know that we would think about putting a hybrid plan in place that I don't think is really going to make the school day any better for anyone um for the most part with the exception of the the students that we're providing additional resources for that sort of have to be provided in person and but otherwise I don't see it really improving the education process and at the same time it is putting people in much greater danger um of being infected with covid which you know can certainly mean illness and could even possibly mean death and so you know we're until there's a vaccine or there's some serious therapeutic uh treatment for covid I think that it's a little bit full hearty to consider

101a hybrid plan Beyond the the special education and and tier three plans that we're looking at um particularly at the same time that diseases with the exact same symptoms will be prevalent and we're going to end up with tremendous amount of disruption because of that so um I appreciate all the hard work and I think you know this is the plan that as it evolves and as time moves on we might be able to uh implement but at the moment I just I think remote is is our best possibility and Dr Kelly I um wanted to note that I think it might be helpful um for community members to know that there are students that we have done a phasing in I'm not sure if that's like common knowledge like we have students now who

102are in the schools um and so I think just you know as much as we can talk about what we are doing surveying uh parents or even uh teachers or administrators who are doing those types of experiences I think because this period is I don't want to use you know uh this period is uh I'm going to say unprecedent I feel like people say it all but it's because it's unprecedented um or something we've never experienced before I think the more models that we get the more best practices and discussion around what's already happening what's working what's been successful that helps right it helps provide a foundation we're basically starting from ground zero and we're trying to understand how do we get from a to to to B and understanding what we've already done and

103what has happened there could be incredibly helpful we have hepsa in the Park District who are operating kind of manyi remote learning environments for five six weeks now um successfully right and I'm not saying that that means that we should all be doing that it's very different but I just think that the sharing of best practices and the building of knowledge helps educate others about the experiences that we're going through so I would love to see in addition to kind of continuing the evolution of this Pro of this you know how we talk about this that we're also mindful about the stuff that we're currently already doing that feels very risky to some that is actually has been working or maybe it's not right so just um just how do we educate the community about

104the things that we are currently doing in our district and where we are and what we're seeing and what's been helpful and what has not been helpful is a part of that educational process for us as a community so thank you for the uh feedback uh Jung I will turn the floor back over to you um so I guess the before we kind of move forward I do want to acknowledge to the parents that whose kids are struggling with remote that this is not necessarily we're throwing out hybrid completely um and that the you know the district will try to work more closely with providing supports for students who are struggling um I think if we Del delay the timeline on this it also provides opportunities to address the child care issue which is a

105huge issue um currently child care providers are working in our buildings to provide additional services to Children um and with the removal of those spaces it's a little more unclear in terms of where those children would go or the capacity of those programs to provide the level of child care that we have um so um so I guess St stay tuned as we kind of continue to work through this um and uh yeah so we appreciate all of all of your time consideration um do we have to agree to delay any I don't know any survey any I mean is there anything that we have to do and maybe not today but that we should talk about providing an update on at a at any particular time um I would like to suggest uh to

106not to meet um with I think the board and the the administration should meet as a committee of the whole I know we have not done that previously um but essentially it's um a way for us to come together to talk through this in more detail um ideally before the town hall so that that you know Dr ke if there are any changes or updates Dr Kelly can make those announcements at the Town Hall next week I don't I know scheduling might be dicey so I'm not 100% sure if we're able to do that can we um I'm I'm all for a committee of the whole meeting as soon as we can do it I think that makes a lot of sense I'm wondering um given the uh the sort of as it sort of

107officially stands right now the impending decisionmaking deadline can I don't know if we vote on it or not but can we at least agree uh that that that particular deadline is off the table so that parents who are listening and hearing us at least know that they're not going to be asked in I forget exactly seven days or however long it is to make that decision so I guess the question would um be if you want us to Dr tell if you want to make the decision or do you want us to vote as a board to delay it and um I don't I don't know that we can hash out a timeline now um and possibly delay the town hall I I that's another option based on whether we can get the committee of

108the whole scheduled I do feel like we need to address this rather quickly as I know there's a lot of anxiety in the community about not knowing um I even for teachers not knowing if they have to arrange child care as they're brought back into the classrooms um so I I would welcome kind of a dialogue I guess Dr Kelly in terms of what you think the next step should be uh so processing through the um the the comments that were provided I would uh like to um propose to the board that we um have an opportunity to come back to you on the 27th with what you know um I I think I just kind of want to get my w my brain around um I I I definitely um heard and want to

109take action on how we can make our planning process more ex ex um engage transparent and engaging um so if okay with the board i' like to um come back on the 27th of October with a a a timeline and like what the the process would be um and it could just be the way that I'm hearing it um but there's really just a few a few more weeks of school after November 30th so perhaps that that timeline could have a after winter break um depending upon the depending upon like what we share with you on the 27th does that make sense so do you think do you think that since we all have been holding October 19th we can convert that to Committee of the whole I I'm concerned that if you come back

110on the 27th and we haven't had the committee of the whole discussion then we have to schedule it that would be perfect um so the 19th if you do the committee of the whole the board will be giving us input in terms of information uh we wouldn't necessarily I guess the clarifying point is we would necessarily have to prepare anything preparation for the 19th um so can I ask a question go ahead no no you go ahead well I was gonna say I think that a lot of parents are probably looking forward to the town hall so can we um Can can we give parents uh what the options are to submit their feedback because I know that people may have not been able to attend this meeting tonight um so I think that if

111if we talking about if we're talking about um being engaging in our community and going into those uh those spaces we should provide additional opportunities for parents to provide their feedback I I think we should still have a town hall I just am wondering if okay if I'm just saying not maybe that not that day I agree with you I don't think we should abandon the town hall I just wonder if the town hall on that day if this is not a plan that we if we want to still talk about like the mo the priorities for the plan and whether or not um you know I don't know which what C what trade-offs we're willing to to have I just don't I just don't know if it's premature on the 19th if people don't

112think it's premature then I I don't I definitely agree with you we don't want to take away opportunities for families and parents to communicate with us I just don't know if it's premature now um I'm sorry to interrupt you Ash can we maybe uh I know that Amanda's been working with Dr Chandler uh I've not had a uh chance to touch Bas maybe if hearing like what the process will be um can um potentially speak to sh question so let's see if I can find Amanda I am unmuted can you hear me yes I can okay um so yes I've been meeting um I've met with the Dr Chandler a few times he is the facilitator that worked with District 200 to conduct their two town halls in conjunction with the um we had a

113pretty um we have a plan for this in terms ofing questions through noon um tomorrow and my concern would be that these questions that we've received over 200 thus far are based on the plan that we sent out to families and staff on Friday um and we really we they basically are going to help us sort through those questions the high volume So the plan was for them between when Wednesday and Friday morning to go through all those questions sort by category they have a very like detailed process to help us get organized we on our panelists who are responsible for answering so it's it's kind of Highly choreographed and again it's all based all these questions are based on the assumption that we were moving forward with the hybrid model as submitted so my

114concern I think if we are shifting gears a little bit and kind of changing our timeline is um does that Monday Town Hall makes sense given the fact that the questions submitted may not align with what um the conversation that's happened here tonight so definitely open to suggestions and I think not suggesting at all that we completely scrap a town hall but um just wondering how this discussion may impact what we have for next Monday and if there's maybe an opportunity to reschedule um and come back to the community with more like maybe just the questions a little bit um depending on what the board I I appreciate that and thank you for that my concern well my hope is that some of the questions from the town hall may be able to help guide

115us and again I think that we have we have talent in our own backyard right we have lots of doctors um people who are on the ground doing this work right now and I want to see more engagement with those communities um I think that we by I've only heard a couple of names in terms of like the medical community um and I would like to see more input from the parents who are in the hospitals who are doing this work to give us ideas and so I don't necessarily think that we have to have the town hall at a certain day or time but I do think that that town hall should help guide us in how we're planning out so I don't want it to be too far in advance like if we're

116talking about October 27th or whatever um I just want to make sure that we have an opportunity to really give parents the opportunity to solicit or give their feedback I I would agree with that I think uh in particular as I said earlier I would really like um us to do that at a point where we are still discussing potential courses of action and drafts and to get feedback before we've presented things as like the plan um I agree with you Amanda I think having Q&A that's sort of intended to be about what was you know what would have been a final plan plan that's no longer a final plan isn't the best use of time and probably doesn't make a lot of sense so um I don't I don't know what we can do

117between now and then to sort of reorient it and change it into the kind of thing we might want it to be it seems like we probably need more time in the administration probably needs more time to figure it out and and so I guess what I'm suggesting is yes we should have a town hall we should probably think about other ways to engage folks uh around our sort of what comes next but probably not uh on the timeline that we've been talking about yeah that's hopeful um can I add another piece it's not about scheduling but it is connected to the anxiety that the the community is feeling you know I'm an elder board member meaning I've been on the board a little bit longer than most people I'm probably an elder just generally

118speaking but I think in the T in the three and a half years that I've been on the board we have historically said that changing schools or boundary lines was just off limits right and I I I do think that a lot of the comments that we're getting are from people who are hearing a possibility of having their not having their teacher or not being at their school and so I I I know that it is something that is being considered but I want to be clear that you know from my perspective I can only speak for myself that that convers ation has always been relative pretty much off limits for you know for three and a half years even we've had conversations about maybe we could for transportation we could change the borders and

119put people in different schools and that was unheard of it it so I do think that maybe we can I think just saying that maybe that there is no strong desire by any of the board members I'll speak for myself but I I I believe that's the case for any for any student at this Point given covid and given all social emotional aspects of what they're going through that taking them away from their teacher or taking them from their school it just sounds um in this community anyway it is not considered really an option so I I do think that um I don't know if there's a way I mean I guess I can't definitively say that that's not going to be discussed but I think that there's not a strong appetite for that and

120I think that that I think that what I'm seeing in the letters and just from so I know that I have a limited point of view it's coming just from emails that of people who are you know committed and they they're sending their emails to us that that the fear of that is very strong so I think if there's anything we can do to kind of you know know hey we're talking about this we're continuing to plan but we understand that that's kind of nuclear in my opinion the idea of taking someone away from their teacher or having them go to another school except in a child care situation right now we do have a child care situation where kids are going to like one school and they represent three or four three or four

121different schools but we understand that that's a function of child care but taking them not having not not having your teacher that you've already been connecting with um feels very Nuclear So I feel like I just want to go on the record that we you know that should only that's a nuclear option I think I think I think I was say I think we all agree but but I don't think it's mathematically possible to not move some classrooms around if we go to hybrid I mean I my point is just sorry I just want to make sure that my my statements are clarified that we start off with the premise that it's something that we don't want to do that it's kind of a nuclear option and that we at least put that out there

122I don't my impression from the uh from the emails was that there was a lot of anxiety around that I just want them to know that we're not taking that lightly um and that it's a possibility but it's a it's a nuclear one and we don't have enough data at this point to just to know how many people are going to opt out of a um hybrid option even if we present it in a way that is lined up in a way that people can get behind so we just don't have enough data at this point to even know what those numbers might look like if a number of people opt out even if we provide them with a hybrid so I'm I'm just I'm speaking for myself to those parents I just want to

123say like we hear that anxiety and um it's not the appetite for it is not very strong so sorry Holly just want to clarify so there's certainly that anxiety coming from parents about worrying about they're that they're going to have to change teacher or their children are going to have to change teachers I do think though that the historic discussion around changing Borders or changing schools has not been about the fact that the borders have to remain static forever or that the schools can't ever have variation in who goes to them it's about making sure that if that change ever does occur and if we do have to make any adjustments that we continue to think about the racial integration of that change and making sure that it remains so if we were to go

124to that option we just have to make sure that we are taking that into account that it's not uh you know it doesn't end up creating a an imbalance uh of integration in our different schools because of the actions that we take if it if it continues to provide that integration um and it's our only option because of the way the numbers work out I think that's comfortable if it's if it's uh if it doesn't then that's problem well and I also think that um the times that I've been involved in that conversation have also involved like property values if the line just keeps moving over a block and back and forth um people uh start to find that living on borders between school districts is not as stable as maybe possibly other places and

125so to provide some stability with regards to to those lines has been something that's been valued as well well in my mind Holly that's an argument for changing the borders regularly can I we don't want to have that idea that one school district is better than another so where do we land on a survey did I miss that are we going to delay the survey the parent survey it s it sounds like um we're uh delaying the timeline yes I think it would be helpful to to collect that data of whether parents are much more committed to staying with their teacher um I've seen a lot of just within our social Social Circle that um parents are much more committed about retaining their teacher um than they are for the modality I know there are

126some families that are struggling and are willing to have that disruption to change teachers if it means that they'll have more in person um but and so you know we don't want to Discount their their concerns but I think I think it would be helpful to figure out what what people need and want because I think the data we're working from from the summer is probably outdated um as Holly alluded to I think people's perceptions of what remote learning based on the spring is very very different from what the reality of it has been um and so to plan accordingly I think it would be helpful to probably collect a survey but not the maybe not the one we have out right now can I ask along those lines important question when are we going

127to go back I mean like if we were to determine tonight that November 30th isn't workable because of all the reasons that have come up that would give us more time to think about the survey get information from folks do all those sorts of things if if we're continuing to work with November 30th as a deadline it limits the timeline and makes it harder for us to do everything I'm I'm pretty sure we all said we're not okay I I don't think I ever heard like a definitive like we're not going to do that so if that's the case that's great um also maybe do we I don't know if we need to vote but if we and if Dr Kelly is amendable to this but if we can just make a statement or make

128a motion I don't know how any of this works sorry um that we aren't uh we aren't going to go back until at the earliest after the New Year um I think that you know as I said a lot of the universities that even are going face to face aren't returning after the holidays um people will be traveling um I think in the next two months that'll give us a lot of time to have more transparency and engagement um you know I've done a little bit of leg work myself and our hybrid model is actually not very different from a lot of the other ones I've seen so I'm just curious why people think that other districts are doing it better um but I think it would allow the community to ask those questions and

129get some answers um and you know and we may have a very similar you know we may all decide that this is actually the best model but I I just feel like a lot of there's a lot of uncertainty around it so can I ask Dr Kelly um and Amanda when when we've been collecting information from fam preference also demograph information if if we are not can we do that I feel like the demographic information associated with the survey results is essential in the decision-making process I mean similar to the conversation that we were just having about school borders if we find that um certain populations of our families are choosing one model over another um I I think that that should be factored into our decision-making process so Manda do you want to take

130that question so we we did not include um and and I also want to clarify because we've we've definitely run into as we've been including more demographic questions and surveys um over the last year or so um we typically do have to distinguish between um the demographics of the parents who are filling out the survey and then the demographics of the students uh we have the student demographics so the parent demographics are where we struggle to kind of CCT that data because they don't they don't provide that at registration we can easily collect the student data based on you know when we run the numbers um through power school but we would need to add that to the parent survey um so that the parents can indicate their own demographics if they choose we typically

131give them the option um not to reply if they don't want to but um we would need to include it we didn't this time we only included the question about the learning preference um since this was more of an enrollment form but um we can certain um if we're looking to kind of refine I'm guessing that um we would need to send out a brand new form because um we we've had I think about a thousand people complete the form since Friday and I think if information changes we should probably give everyone the opportunity to fill it out again um in case they change their mind with new information so um if yeah if we'd like to include that in the new survey or a learning form we've been trying to call it a learning

132form like a selection form form because we really wanted to make clear that with that form we were looking for parents to make a commitment versus just sort of providing an opinion but um but yeah does that make sense Katherine it does yeah thank you thank you I just think it's a helpful piece of information and and up until this point I haven't um been aware of any conversations where where we're looking at that information associated with preference for different models and I I'd like to have that information for for sure okay so Jung it looked like um you were about to ask about ex do we need to vote on extended yeah I guess um if we want to vote as a board about extending the deadline um that the earliest we would pres

133we would potentially go back for a hybrid model would be after the new year uh and and that's assuming that we think hybrid is best so that there's a lot of information gathering and obviously there's a lot of Statistics that could change or metrics that could change in the next two months um do do we but we didn't vote on the current timeline like there's no yeah I mean I guess it would be whether as a board we're saying to the administration that we as a board want you to change the timeline you kind of you kind of did with the um the board back in August approve the transition plan and according to the minutes it did say through um the end of trimester one yeah um so you didn't vote specifically on the

134dates of you know uh the town hall taking place on the 19th or that the form is duing the 20th but some of those dates were decided upon based upon the the number of weeks that we would need for some of the information to get back from the families to plan um for the class list and things of that nature yeah and I don't want us to get maybe hung up on like formality right of vote it sounds like what I hear junk saying and if I'm wrong I'm often wrong you know let me know but it sounds like what you're saying is do we publicly as a board want to just say that we would like to encourage the administration to wait until January right we're not voting on it but we are basically

135just kind of you know acknowledging that we are not the timeline that we are now thinking about is not focused on a November 30th timeline but more focused on after the holidays which I I think is now extended January 11th or whatnot um is that is that what you're asking I just want to make sure that we don't get hung up on whether it's a vote or not yeah so I guess I'm uh and so I don't know if I need Cheryl to do a roll call just to just to get verbal affirmation from every everyone or no no well I can interrupt and tell you you can't vote on it tonight it's not on the agenda we'd have to wait until the next meeting sorry right so you don't have to vote you can

136just ask people we've done this numerous times where it's like does everybody agree that we should wait yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah and it's not considered an official V like I don't think I yeah to crystalize this unless do that unless other unless folks have um points to the contrary I guess we would end with um strongly suggesting to Dr Kelly that we reconsider the plan and the timelines and move the um the the potential start of the school year till after the New Year depending again based on all their metrics and the planning Etc um and then I guess the board would need to kind of just hash out the committee of the whole meeting in the town hall and all that too so is anyone against that or are we kind of unanimous

137as a board on that I'm good with that okay then thank you again to Dr Kelly and the team for being open to this and and all the work you've put into this planning we really do appreciate it we know it's it's a Herculean task um okay then I guess we are moving on to the next point on the agenda which is the approval of the minutes from the September 22nd 2020 board meeting so if I could get a motion to approve the minutes I move to approve the minutes from the 20 the N the September 22 board meeting second burlock yes Moore yes Ray Meer Rob I think he stepped away for a second okay Kim yes Roy yes liel yes Carney yes did Bray buer return I'll mark him absent okay up next

138we have item 5.2 The consent agenda so if I could get a motion to approve the bill five items 5.2.1 oh I got it I am move that we approve the consent agenda 5.2.1 Bill L 5.2 .2 Personnel 5.2.3 adoption of policy including 5.2.3 point1 through 5.2.3 point1 point10 second Spurlock yes Moore yes leel yes Kim yes Carney yes Roy yes Ray Meer was that a yes I don't think he's back that's okay um up next we have the administrative item public official bonds sorry the public official bonds if someone could make the motion I move that the Board of Education Oak Park Elementary School District 97 approve the shity and public officials bonds as presented second right yes Carney yes Spurlock yes Moore yes leel yes Tim yes Bray Meer still absent okay up

139next we have uh the approval of the amended contract administr administrator cont contract sorry I move that the Board of Education of O Park District 97 approve the amended multi-year employment agreement of principal John Hodge as presented second like Gavin he's Irving okay my home turf here need this yes Bernie yes and SP live yes yeah sorry no go ahead yes uh Kim yesel yes fre Meer still absent H yeah I just had a question because I was trying to Mark Mark down my calendar can can we at some point even if sow just clarifies should we be holding Monday and what is it going to be I just don't think I left that that conversation yeah maybe when we maybe at the board remarks we'll come back to that why don't why don't we

140hold it even though we may not figure out what it's gonna be tonight okay and then just being respectful of the our right disrespectful of our facilitator and that Amanda's got to switch gears that we make sure to get if we're Switching gears we should switch gears what whatever we're going to do it'd be great if we just seal that one up because I feel like that one it just I'm not seeing in it let's see six let's board remarks seems like the best place for it to be okay great thanks okay um up next we have administrative item 6.1 the tier three inperson learning board report uh learning report um is that a Cabinet member presenting sure um it's me H so we just wanted to um provide a proposal in terms of really

141kind of supporting students who may struggle academically um once we've reviewed the data that looks at our common assessments across math and literacy so we're proposing that um after we determine which students actually sit within the 10th percentile that we provide them with some level of in-person support um right now we have it into different Moe modes um so a Saturday proposal which would be three Saturdays a month um with two and a half hours of inperson instruction and it' be really kind of around intensive intervention so we're looking at our core instruction happening during the week but mtss is really kind of predicated on the core plus more so providing them with intensive intervention on Saturdays and we've also proposed um a potential after school model um again still that same premise of um

142core plus more and providing intensive um academic intervention reading and math um there are two different proposals for pricing um in terms of what we would need to make sure that we had um teachers available that we had teacher assistance available that we had a nurse on site um obviously PPE um cilial staff and then also student um materials in curriculum so we've outlined those budget items um in the on the last page if there are any questions um but just wanted to um make that proposal to the board just because we know that um while our best efforts have really been poured into remote learning um that we also need to make sure that we're really cognizant of those students who may not um be resp responsive to our virtual tutoring or our virtual

143interventionists um and really do need some on-site support So AB just to clarify are you offering two different options for families or are you going to end up making a recommendation between the two we'd like to make a recommendation one of the other so we're not going to offer both um okay but wanted to be transparent about um kind of what the budget requirements would be for either one so we will end up with one well and also one of them is three hours and one of them is six hours so I I mean is there a certain like growth objective that can be accompl like do we think we could accomplish it in three hours as opposed to six hours yeah so I think once we kind of look at the data um the

144Saturday sessions um and both will be pretty intensive but we're also kind of thinking about what safety looks like as well um but so we will maximize um the the instructional time no matter what um so we do think that they'll be benefit in addition to again our virtual interventionist our virtual tutoring that we're offering with partnership with the E team um this would just be again a compliment to that yeah I am I'm very happy to see this um you know excited about uh giving students in tier three opportunities for Intervention when you guys um came up with have you talked to the parents about some of these options and kind of what of their what have their thoughts been about it is something parent generated is it something that you guys identified and

145now have to go back to the parents and talk about if that's in the document I'm sorry that I missed it no it's something that we generated based on what we've learned from our phase in of our supports that have been happening since um early September so we will kind of get some feedback um around potentially kind of the the um the way it's delivered but I think in terms of what we're delivering um in terms of the level of intervention and the the the decisions that we're making around that um that has been kind of forwarded by the team and what are we hearing are we hearing anything from parents in tier three about like the I know we've been doing we did the social emotional um survey I just feel like it would

146you know I'm just curious to understand like how they're experiencing this and kind of to Katherine's point about who you know who's responding do we have any data around kind of their experiences thus far with remote so sure so overall we looked at all 10 schools they sent out the remote learning survey data but because we haven't identified yet um MTS the students who fall within this tier because we just finished kind of our data collection period um last Friday we aren't able to disaggregate by tier three but I think what we're getting from um just kind of our general sense is that most families are um benefiting from remote instruction so um that kind of has been our foundation and Guiding Light for this but again we just as we're bringing students back who

147need kind of intensive supports um we want to make sure that we're also thinking of um this uh particular group of students as well thank you for identifying the need and coming up with the plan appreciate it AB are there any um transportation options associated with any of these plans for students who normally would qualify for Transportation or would that yeah unfortunately um in terms of Transportation it would not be something that we'd be offering unless we wanted to kind of think through um costing that out which when we originally did that it was pretty cost prohibitive um so and we don't want to assume that you know students who already received Transportation are also going to benefit from like also fall into this category so um we did not forward Transportation costs on to

148this um proposal yeah I was just wondering I just wouldn't want the transportation to be what stands in the way of a student receiving the extra support absolutely um and we can that's kind of something we want to look into we can add that on to there but um we would want to kind of see um if that present I think to to keep this point if if ever talking to parents and kind of um identifying families who might benefit from this um we do want to kind of probe and see if that would be a barrier or not yeah okay thanks I agree I think that would be great to better understand and and try to address um Evony one question I had is I'm just trying to track the different budget estimates across

149the two models and on some it seems like it's twice as much for the weekday because it's twice as many hours but then for some it doesn't quite um work out that way can can you we don't have to go super deep into the detail but maybe just give us a quick kind of overview of sort of how the budget differs across the two proposals sure so the curriculum remains static um once we develop that um the change is likely in the amount of hours for teachers um and the amount of hours that we need for Teacher assistance um and then because we need a nurse for twice as long um you'll see that difference in the nursing nurse um component as well because it's over two days instead of one and so then we

150kind of um estimated what that would look like over a three-month period so for Saturdays it's three Saturdays um a month um but for the weekday um program it would be all four weeks twice a week if that makes sense okay so that's kind of where the difference stands and then we costed it out for both three months and for six months okay okay thanks sure um um I have a budget question I know that we have talked about that we haven't been using the full amount of the 1.4 million that we put towards a child care budget and I'm not saying that we put this in there but I I from where do you guys see this budget coming from is this something that um the 1.4 million of extra support that we were

151willing to put towards child care you'd like us to think about allocating to this is there another budget that this comes from or is this an additional amount on whatever the budget is that Rob's already prepared yes so um so this is Rob good evening every Rob hi so um so so we actually when in preparing the budget um added some contingencies for unknown support that we may need to provide to students during the covid uh shutdown so while not anticipating this exact program we have put in a dollar amounts within the budget that would cover that so there's certainly as we talked about previously going to be savings uh of significance related to the uh the Child Care Program but but separate from that we have budgeted it budgeted line items for these exact

152types of programs that will provide needed assistance to the children or the students while they're um while this uh covid learning uh setup is uh being done so it's this is not an amount in above and beyond what's already been this is part of what's been planned for it it it it's contained within the budget yes okay thank you any other questions for Ebony no all right thanks so much ebony we appreciate it I I know that oh I'm sorry no no I just said thank you for considering oh thanks all right um up next I think we have the board assignments um so we have first up we have the standing board committee lays on report so for fa Fork CCE and um claim I know fa has a meeting on Monday yeah I

153was thinking I was about to say to you that it's it was scheduled during the same time as the town hall but now the town hall has been moved so and I also have collaboration for early child and SCH at the same time oh for is on Wednesday the 21st what's the agenda item for Fort Holly that's the big thing that the budget okay no the the uh the fork is going to be the uh tax levy right I was like we already so it's it's gonna yeah I mean it's gonna it's gonna do be a debriefing of the tax of the budget but it's going to be mostly on the uh the the upcoming tax levy that the boards going to consider in November and November okay okay I was like they might still

154be doing the budget too I just was like we'd be behind if we we're getting it to them just [Music] now anything the board should know about the levy Rob or that anything are you you guys anything we should know beyond that I I mean no I mean it's it's just going to be presented you know the same questions you know whether whether the the board of education is going to want to consider the 2.3% increase which is the CPI that they uh that you're entitled to if desired in December and concurrent with that have a discussion around uh whether the Board of Education wants to Abate that last Bond and interest payment on the pre- uh referendum bonds well that's a big one right I mean I feel like uh those are big now

155that one's a February question right but you guys are lay laying it up but we're laying it out there under the under the uh the the the premise that all these major financial decisions are connected is it possible to do a followup on or either send out minutes from that because I feel like it might just be helpful to understand how they're thinking about it too because I feel like we are because of this earlier decision around child care we which is not was not the status quo as we were going through the cycle of the the calendar year that's changed things so it might be helpful to understand what their thoughts are about about the discussions that we've had about potentially using that money for other things I I don't think we I don't

156think we engage them around that no we will and and it's our intent I mean it's going to be too early to have a really good handle on your long-term Financial condition as it relates to Illinois because uh the progressive income tax is going to have a a relative could could have a relative impact on what Springfield does and the the magnitude of the federal bailout to Illinois would have will have a magnitude on what the state does in terms of its impact on schools so so so we won't really have a really good handle at the meeting about the long-term impact but we certainly will have an update and know at least internally what's going on like you said for example that that the uh the child care costs you know for one are

157going to be you know likely coming in under budget unless something um something develops that we haven't discussed yet got it yeah thank you gra I'm I'm eager to hear what they think um were there any additional reports from like the from any of the intergovernmental Liaisons I think I mentioned the collaborative Early Childhood has an upcoming meeting OPF is on the same night as Fork that's right we have do we have a quorum for the tri board meeting in um November for the collaboration um thank you for asking it would be Katherine and Jung I haven't heard back from either one of you I will be there yep I plan to be there yes we have a quorum thank you ladies y um okay so at this point we are open to board remarks

158um and then we need to finish public comments and agenda maintenance uh so board remarks I H you were asking about trying to figure out Monday um we have a facilitator it seems like there's a a strong interest from everyone to make sure we don't that we engage the community frequently and but at a timely time and at a time when it's timely and they have something to comment on or is it I just don't know how what whether or not Monday makes the most sense for a town hall and we get the people's feedback at that time or we want to commit to the whole for I just don't know what the sequence is and I think Amanda's probably it sounds like she's already done a ton of work to get ready for Monday

159so to the extent there's a pivot that has to happen I think that sounds like that would need to happen really fast yeah I mean I don't see how we're having a town hall on Monday right I how is that even like we've already decided that we need more data we don't have the information that we need I don't see that happening in the next couple of days so I so your point is we should then find a date for the town hall right now or I just think we need to give um let we need to make that decision and I when I suggested we go Committee of the whole Shere this is a very valid point that there's parents that want to weigh in and maybe it is an opportunity to have them

160weigh in early rather than rather than later and that's just a possibility I'm not saying that that's the right either either way is right I'm just saying that they're there could be some value in conducting a town hall and getting feedback earlier rather than waiting well if I can ask Amanda if she's still on the call um I guess I am curious about the use of resources in that way so like if we were able to get the question kind of coalesced and brought those to the committee of the whole on Monday night if we did it that way um if you thought that would make sense or if it's better to use the facilitator um at a different time for an actual Town Hall versus for this purpose um so I scroll through the

161questions um sorry was someone talking um so I scrolled through the questions um just to kind of get a sense of what was there um a lot of the questions are pretty specific to um the plan so because I was thinking initially well maybe we can still move forward and just try to address some elements um I think I am actually scheduled to meet with um Dr Chandler tomorrow at noon which is when we were meant to close the submission form for questions um and we were going to connect um because I because I told him that I wasn't sure how tonight was um going to um like I wasn't sure if tonight would impact anything so we already have that meeting um I'd like to discuss with him because he definitely has a process

162um you know that I think worked pretty well in District 200 and um we are kind of using his Council in a lot of ways so I don't want to speak um for him and commit him to anything um so I would like to talk to him I think and kind of determine next steps like I'm not sure that these questions will be I don't know if it'll be a good use of anyone's time on Monday so if he's got an idea maybe I can um once I meet with him I can follow up like with the board um and we can determine next steps but I I definitely think you know we'll we'll want to do something I don't want the community to think that we are going to scrap all together but um

163you know we just want to make sure that it's worth everyone's time because it's 90 minutes and you know we want to make it useful for everyone okay so maybe I would suggest that um folks keep Monday night open and then we'll wait to hear back from either Amanda or Dr Kelly tomorrow in terms of what they think um scheduling what scheduling might make most sense um and then maybe Cheryl can send out a doodle to figure out whether we try to meet the Monday night if um the cabinet and administration feel that's the best option or if we try to find another date on the calendar later in the week um or even possibly next week I mean since we have suggested that we not move forward uh until after that new year we

164have a little more time it's not I mean it's it's urgent but doesn't have to be like tomorrow yeah Dr Kelly I don't know if you want oh I'm sorry Jung what exactly are we doing on Monday I want to make sure that I understand is it a town hall is it a committee of the I think I well my under I don't think it necessarily makes sense to do a town hall unless um the the conversation with uh Dr Chandler comes out that he thinks it's a great idea in which case we would have a separate Committee of the whole so then it would still it would really be the administration having some sort of feedback um session with the community versus um the district uh or the the board and the administration trying

165to kind of problem solve and troubleshoot and and just really kind of get on the same page yeah I mean I'm just gonna say I I I feel like we should take a step way like not way back but I it seems very rush to be on a Tuesday kind of feel realizing that the feedback that we got on the plan was very much like we need to you know do additional work I don't know how much work we're going to do by Monday right I I and I don't so I just want to make sure that we're realistic about timelines I don't want to rush into it and then parents like well this wasn't what I expected it to be I think Gavin's point about maybe we should have this discuss this offline is

166starting to make more sense to me because I I do think that um I feel like there are so many pieces that still have to be put together in order for us to have an intelligent conversation about this it feel it would feel rush to me to do anything on Monday do we want to have a discussion though where we give feedback before we have something to comment on so that whatever comes so that there's some more better Direction I don't know what Dr Kelly and the team would like from us but do I mean is it better if we are in front of that instead of getting a new revised plan and then doing this again I I think that we should flesh out the what we see as key questions and our thoughts

167around process I don't think we need a town hall on Monday to do that um but I think I I I think we should yes Holly and I think that can be the basis for a discussion as well but um and I feel like we've kind of done some of that too right I feel like there is data there I mean I feel like we're all kind of trying to do the best that we can with our schedules and stuff like that we have questions there were like I saw like three or four pages of questions around the plan that we were circulating amongst ourselves so it's not like the work hasn't been done I don't know if um what might not have been done is just pulling together what some of the parents are

168suggesting and doing that I I guess I would say if we are really like trying to this right like we could um I I think Holly your point maybe we should look and see what data we have already and start from that and circulate it and see if those still ring true for us I don't know I just well maybe for the sake of time um we I'll maybe uh if Dr Kelly and Amanda are okay we'll wait till tomorrow um once they have they meet with uh Dr Chandler and they can have some discussions about what they see moving forward uh makes sense and then um Kissa either you or I can connect with uh the two of them about trying to schedule something and what timeline makes sense for us to get um

169to do a committee of the whole that sounds like a good plan is that okay with you um Dr Kelly careful okay careful Perfect all right um then up next unless there were more board remarks I'm sorry yeah actually I do so I know we we just talked about the budget so that was a good um conversation about the budget so I know that there are tons of families out there who are struggling and um may not have met the requirements for free or reduc lunch and I know that is the like threshold that we're using for um Child Care um so I wanted to hopefully have a discussion about families that need assistance with child care but don't necessarily meet the free and reduced lunches because I've talked to quite a few parents who

170didn't know this was even like a thing um and they' expressed like I'm having a really hard time like I mean of course we're I know my family my kids eat like there is no tomorrow um so families who are dealing with increased um you know expenses due to that people who may have gotten laid off so I just hope that we can have a conversation about like how to help those families who are facing Financial difficulty but may not meet the uh requirements for free or reduced lunch for child care purposes thanks for bringing that up Shere we have talked about sliding scale in the past my understanding actually is that everybody on the board supported um the idea that we would develop some kind of sliding scale for families that don't receive free

171in reduced lunch where we might offer to cover some portion of child care so I'm uh 100% behind that idea thank gav so if we can like continue this because I I spoke to one parent who um they were quoted like a ridiculous amount of money and I did uh put her in contact with the administration and it was kind of like this is all we can do for you her child has a IEP so I think especially when we're dealing with um children who need additional supports if those parents that need to be out of the home um I think we should be doing a little everything that we possibly can so thank you can I ask like how do we move that forward because I know it's come up a few times I

172know I brought it up at least once um so maybe this's a question for Dr Kelly or Rob or I'm not sure but how would we move forward on that well go ahead um so I mean part part of the reason why um we kept the budget as it was was that was that the Board of Education authorized up to that amount of money so I didn't feel like I had the authority to to to reduce that line item although it certainly seemed like it was going to be significantly lower but but that's right I mean we've talked about different options and if if desired certainly um we could come up with some various models that could that could uh um you know model some sort of a sliding scale scenario to um to to

173for the board to consider if that's the direction the board would like to uh to go I feel like when we first talked about it there is a sliding scale like throughout this the village already like the Community Foundation already has it hepsa has one park district has one there was like a there is like there are sliding scales in place so I just I I wonder if we I mean heos I think is on their website I wonder if it could be even easier just to um help by you know supplementing that in some way right because it it would seem that the person the sliding scale that's being offered isn't sufficient so can we supplement yes the sliding scale exactly so as a parent with three children in a district um this person

174for one child was ready $10,000 um I know I don't have $30,000 for child care so um and it wasn't me but um I just think about like that's a huge thing right and to say like hey we have the SC sliding scale this is what it is sorry if you can't do it I think that just sends the wrong message especially again dealing with the uh students who have IEPs and their parents may not have the support or be able to provide that additional support um because they're either working outside of the home maybe they're at home with like older siblings um and the best place for them to be might be at one of the childcare centers so if we can provide some additional support that would I think would go a long

175way with a lot of parents so so we can certainly get an idea of what the uh the the the partners in the village are doing in in terms of that uh in terms of that area and and and and see if we can model something off of that and create some maybe uh uh some scenarios that that the board could take a look at in short order that would be great thanks Rob than Sheri um were there any other Bo remarks no um I guess we should do the agenda maintenance and then the public comments that's right okay so yeah thanks Michael oh those are minutes oh Michael we need the um next I don't have the I don't have the other agenda oh it's not hyper okay so then um we we'll work

176it out we'll work it out we'll well and then it sounds like there may be items um added anyway if there's going to be some more back to school updates potentially in the next I linked the wrong item I'm so sorry I'll send you all a draft to the agenda in the morning it's okay Cheryl clearly none of us made it that far down the agenda and clicked on it I usually go right to agenda M I don't know partly on us but I will note that you know Jung and I do see the agenda every uh the Wednesday the meeting goes out and um the big item on there outside of back to school is the discussion the policy discussion are we still on for uh we moved it from September to October this

177was about can uh registration deadlines and things like that are we still scheduled to have that conversation on the second October meeting yes that's policy 750 okay are there any plans to send um the board some information it seems like it's a very hot topic is are we going to get like some the policy committee is actually meeting Friday morning okay and they'll hear the update at that time so once we know what being proposed we could certainly share it with the board yeah early as you can just so that people have a time a chance to synthesize and next ask questions before they get to the table would be great and we'll we'll also have other two weeks in between from that moment to voting on it so that's great too just checking that's

178it for me um then we are going to continue to read the public comments and I think Sheree is up next it would be helpful if I took mute no I'm here you can't see me because I'm hiding um can you hear me okay yes okay dear Board of Education District 97 thank you for your Serv can you give me the name first Shere uh hold on because I don't put it to sorry it makes it a lot easier uh Lisa Pearson thank you dear Board of Education District 97 thank you for your service to our endearing yet challenging Community I am proud to be both a resident and teacher in our community no one expected this pandemic and certainly no one wanted it but it is here and we have to deal with it

179it sounds like the adequate amount of vaccinations for the average citizen would not be available until the summer or fall of next year we should hold course until science and a medicine has an accurate grasp on our predicament and give the needed vaccines we all know that the epidemic is not the fault of the school Community some f some act as if School is a warehouse for children while their parents work actually I think it is the responsibility of the businesses to let their employees adjust their schedule and give paid time off so this was not so difficult for so many remote learning has been a challenge for most since there is little personal connection it is difficult to know what students are thinking or learning when I cannot see them at all because if

180their videos are off or they have left the room many students and families have adopted using resources that haven't been available to them or are fiscally inappropriate now there is concerned that the connections made between teachers and students will be dis disbanded if class grouping change during hybrid hybrid learning is not what most people think it is students will not be able to freely socialize with their friends in class or after students will be placed in one location usually for the class day and they will be unable to physically interact with their peers they must keep their mask going all day which makes communication very difficult I have brought clear mask hoping it will make it easier but they fog up quickly one of the techniques to good teacher is to swoop in near student

181uh student Stacks to help answer any questions to motivate or encourage now the teachers will have to sit from the student who cannot roam they cannot give personalized instruction like they currently do in Zoom breakout rooms I'm very concerned that a few people continue to ignore the social distancing guidelines allegedly the co spread a few months ago between 18 students at oprf was due to a home party where masks were not required and even adults attend it if adults cannot make good choices at least part of the time why should we expect our teenagers to do so my partner has severely high risk factor which has made it which has made us consider separate separating while I have to be in the school building he would not be able to care for his elderly parent

182out of state if there were any suspected transmission I'm also mystified why any changes would occur around the holiday that would preclude those who have stayed safe from seeing relatives I more concerned about families who disrespect quarantine and will go about their travels without concern for others and the local population thank you for considering that we we all are human beings each of us have a connection to others in the community remote learning is the best way to keep us all safe until we have access to the vaccine Thank you Lisa Pearson the next comment is from it's a long one Alison Nelson uh jar did you say something I'm sorry I'm hearing some background noise um dear District 97 Board of Education thank you for your continued and tireless efforts to support the students

183of District 97 I'm a lifelong Oak Park resident proud District 97 Alum and have been a teacher at Long Fellow for the past 17 years I'm invested in this community and our kids I'm writing to express my concern that we are looking to offer a hybrid return to school model to begin on November 30th while I yearn to be back in the classroom my students being on site in the physical classroom is not going to look any of going to look the way any of us want needs or imagines it to look at this time the safety of all students their families and staff of District 97 must take priority I do not see a benefit of the return of school simply to students so students can sit in the desk six feet apart from

184what their peers their teachers or for the entire duration of school day with remote learning we are able to accomplish so much more learning interaction support and collaboration while staying safe there are a number of obstacles associated with any sort of hybrid return at this time here are a few examples if we return to school at this time unfortunately due to the necessary saf protocols students will not be able to leave their seats they will not be able to socialize or collaborate since the expectation is that they will all remain 6 feet apart as a teacher I will not be able to meet with students to conference and should check in one-on-one small groups the way that I've been doing um each day on Zoom students would not be able to take breaks to move

185around or go outside for recess students would not be able to leave their assigned seats and sit in a comfy spot or read complete work with a FR we won't be able to gather and on the carpet for class meetings and circles we will not be we will not share supplies or materials students will not be able to eat snack at all well at school for three and a half hours and even drinking outside of the water bottle is a RIS risky practice considering the masks would need to come off to take a drink it takes weeks to establish classroom routines and build Relationships by the time we figure out teach and practice our new classroom routines for the hybrid return model which would be unlikely any routines and expectations that we have ever had

186to enforce or follow it will be time for winter break and they will have to start all over again reteaching the expectations around student return for 2 and 1/2 week break this will eat up already limited instruction time and the hybrid model will offer I also have many concerns about the fact that we're looking to attempt to bring students and staff back in the building in the heart of cold flu and holiday season it is inevitable that many people will travel and gather in large groups in December and November so why are we taking the unnecessary risk that will not only put our students in staff at risk but also the immediate and extended families what protocols will be put into place to ensure that students and staff who who choose to travel to locations

187with Co surges well such as neighboring Wisconsin self quarantined for 14 days and not come to school while I know remote learning is not a perfect is not perfect for every child I think there are lots of benefits to stay home I have been able to meet every student during the day individual Zoom breakout rooms I check in on students social emotional wellbeing conference with them about academic work and if they need help with anything I'm able to be there to assist this letter goes on for quite a bit so I will send it in to Cheryl um the next one is Stephanie Su suru my name is Stephanie suru I have been teaching French at Brooks for four years I'm speaking as a member of the Oak Park Teachers Association and I'm requesting that

188the Board of Education instruct the administration to develop a hybrid plan that will actually work without upending all of the hard work educations in the community have done so far to make the school year successful I will also request that the board instruct the administration to begin bargaining in good faith with the OPA for the safe and viable return to in-person hybrid instruction on Friday October 9th while Educators were using the remote planning day to develop lessons and units as we are as as well as attempting to I sorry attending to a variety of meetings we were surprised when we were sent the proposed hybrid plan only hours before it was shared with the community this email ultimately sidetracked much of the work due to the nature of the document we as professionals struggle to

189plan for our students when we have absolutely no idea what our second or third trimesters will look like or what we will will or will not be allowed to do this to our students if we are a remote in person or hybrid uh while the district operates in the Optics that the educator voice was included in the planning it was sought and properly ignor ignored much of what is happening in our district right now feels very divide and conquer we are pitting Educators against one another we are pitting the community against each other when we are so divided nothing gets accomplished I want to be with my students and I want very much to be treated like a professional I would like to work in good faith with our administrators and believe that they care

190about the Educators and students but there is no love and no care in the proposed hybrid model there is no evidence that the safety of Staff or students is a priority there's no consistency for our learning and for a district that preaches Equity Equity seems to be afterthought my trust in d97 and the right thing is waning and I hope that you will have the gumption to put us back on the right track one which unit unites all of us and actually includes all voices without breaching the bargaining the bargain contract thank you um the next one is from Josh krishman it says school districts everywhere are facing unprecedented challenges and difficult decisions in the face of this pandemic I appreciate the efforts put into the district and teachers in face of this in the

191face of this these challenges after reading the d97 framework for reopening schools I'm concerned that the plan does not achieve the goals of returning students to inperson learning having middle school students return to school only to zoom with teachers who are in different rooms is not a good plan the process of introducing this plan to families in the community is also disappointing when a district announced the initial hybrid plan this summer the plan was short on specifics and was announced without the chance to solicit in input and refine the plan the district's information session was to be held the night before the decision were due from families now given extra months to come up with the revised hybrid plan the plan is again short on specifics there is no chance to refine the plan based

192on community input and the town hall is the night before decisions AR due for families this is not a collaborative process in a 40 PL in a 40 page plan the most important information about instructions for middle school students is reduced to a single sentence middle school students for most classes will physically ble in one classroom while receiving remote instruction from a teacher who is in another classroom due to the current health safety guidelines that do not allow for the mixing of student groups throughout the day my hope is that the district will improve the hybrid plan based on feedback from the community and they will find a way to get Middle School students person instructions from the core subject teachers thank you for your work and dedication to the education of the children of

193O Park sincerely Josh Chrisman parent of two Julian students um and the last one is from Rachel Weber and re dear bard of Education I am proud to be a teacher of d97 and will always work to do what is best for my students however this hybrid plan at this time is not a good plan for our students shuffling classes at this moment has the potential to add yet another trauma tor kids we have been working hard to build community in these trying times that have made real connections please don't undo all of our hard work while also compromising our safety according to the metrics provided by the Northwestern co co dashboard as of this morning we are2 people away from the from meeting the criteria for the returns to stage two meeing less than

19470 people out of 100,000 for the last 7 days as the weather changes more people will be forced indoors allot for greater opportunities for viruses to spread please consider reworking this model into something that works for All Families when it is safe to do so as of right now we just aren't there yet November 30th is way too soon to be putting so many people in so much Danger let's take our time and do this the right way staying remote until it is safe to return thank you Rachel Weber and that is all the comments that I have okay um the next comment is from Cecilia aobos while remote learning has been an extreme Challenge for both my students and I I do not think going back to school is going to be less challenging

195at all my students and I are starting to get into a great routine where we know each other and can make jokes and learn all at the same time going back to school doesn't guarantee I will have all of my students which means I will have to create relationships all over again which by the way has taken an entire month I will not be teaching in person since I'm a special area teacher which means I will have to spend weeks building relationships again which will only set us back even more than we already are it is not safe to go back I live in a la latinx Community where we have been told we are a hot spot for months now I don't own a car which means my only means of traveling are two

196CTA trains it's not safe for me to go out unless it's once every two weeks to go to the grocery store to get a necessary survival going to school every day while teaching remotely still makes no sense for special Area Teachers it will only increase the spread of co9 teachers and students will have increased anxiety it will be extremely detrimental to our health I do not think it's the right time to go back to school nothing has gotten better with covid-19 nothing d97 teacher um Tammy hin dear board I'm writing in regards to the proposed hybrid schedule I know that there are no good options in the midst of a pandemic however I believe what has been proposed to be the worst option available I have a third grader at Lincoln who's been doing great

197with remote learning I realize that is not the case with every student I credit her success to her teachers who gone above and beyond to build trust amongst her and the class and amongst the students with the each other they are a lovely group and have been doing remarkably well working together even as they have transitioned to more asynchronous learning as the years progressed even though my daughter has been doing well she's still increasingly fragile increasingly Fragile the longer that this pandemic continues she's frustrated more easy is quick to cry is more worried in general we're all struggling in these uncertain times and I believe her fragile state as a result of that I worry that to possibly have transition to a new teacher and a class with new students will push her over the

198edge we're asking too much of our teachers and students to up and all the work and progress that they have put into adjusting to this new normal of remote learning it's not fair nor does it make logical sense to now change everything on them one third of the way into the school year my second concern is the precarious timing of returning to the classroom right after Thanksgiving break I realize that this is the start of the second trimester this has been the goal but I believe if we we return just as people have visited with families and possibly have traveled we will be be in an Adaptive Pause by the second week of the second trimester using the links d97 provided in the framework for reopening schools I looked up our current stats in order

199to progress stage three with the hybrid model we need to have less than 70 weekly cases per 100,000 and a positivity rate of less than 5% for last week we are at 69.8 cases per 100,000 at a positivity rate of 4.8% we're currently on the edge of an Adaptive pause this is without being in the midst of flu season without families getting together for the holidays I don't believe that this plan will be sustainable with these metrics we all as a community struggled with adjusting to the full remote learning plan this fall working parents and had to find places for their children to go during the day the district stepped up and worked with the park district and other community organizations create spaces for kids to do their e-learning while their parents worked the district

200again stepped up to make sure that every student had access to iPads laptops and internet in order to complete their e-learning teachers had to learn entirely new ways to teach and create safe spaces over the Internet so their kids could learn students could learn everyone adapted and Rose the occasion this plan is simply not worth the chaos turmoil that we will be putting our teachers and students through in order to get back into the building two or three half days a week it also does not address the fact that working parents will need to find a place for their children for the five half days and two to three full days that their children will not be physically in school the timing Logistics and emotional tour are not worth this hybrid plan I'm asking that

201you you do not follow through with it thank you for your time and consideration the next person is Alise smiith dear District 97 Board of Education I'm a proud product of d97 Not only was I born and raised in Oak Park but I returned here to teach in the District that made me who I am I've spent the last 14 years teaching in d97 because I knew it was one of the best districts to be in I even moved back here to raise my family so my daughters could experience the wonderful District I had grown up in I've always stood by our district as a teacher and parent defending them and working hard to make them proud however I can no longer stay silent during this time because I'm very disappointed in the district's hybrid

202plan I understand the need and want for families to send their children in person and I want everyone to do what they think is best for their family but I think this plan is a ter terrible one believe me I would love nothing more than to be back in the classroom with my students who I miss more than anything but this is not the time to do it why would we return to school during Peak flu season and during various holiday seasons when students are going to be around numerous people and possibly traveling how can we ensure that everyone is being safe and truly quarantining after going to an quote at rest state where they they should quarantine for 14 days how will we know when a kid sneezes or has a runny nose or

203cough that it isn't Co what happens if students or staff members get exposed to co right before Thanksgiving or winter break will we have to spend the holidays will we have to spend the holidays alone away from our families to ensure we are healthy won't pass it on to elderly imuno compromised or quote unknown underlying health issue quote family members end quote family members the safety of all students their families and the staff of d97 should take priority over everything aside from the health risk of returning I would much rather stay remote because I want to stay with my current class that I've worked hard to build a rapport with and I've gotten to know it takes time to get to know each other and get used to remote learning but we did it we

204have all finally gotten into our groove we form relationships are able to meet one-on-one in small groups with students in breakout rooms and have been learning however many of these things won't be able to happen in person with this cybrid plan I get that families want to send their kids back to have some normaly and for them to socialize but unfortunately school will not be able to be what it was before students won't be able to play with toys together work in small groups or Partnerships or even sit next to each other teachers won't be able to help tie student shoes or zip coats help Comfort them when they have to separate from their parents at drop off imagine how hard this will be after months of being home together or sit next to them

205to assist them when they are struggling in the past when my kindergarteners were sad or hurt I was able to comfort them but now I get sad to think of the same situation occurred I wouldn't be able to do that I'd have to be like a heartless robot 6 feet from them assuring them they are fine picture that your child crying and needing someone to be there for them but nobody can be instead they cry alone feeling like nobody cares I know that there are people on both sides of this that want motor hybrid but almost everyone I've heard from are saying they want to stay with their current teachers this is one of the important most important things to both parents and staff however this cannot happen if we go hybrid there is just

206no way I know I'm out of time so I'll end with this the district had staff members fill out a survey weeks ago on what they wanted to do I chose remote for various reasons however I worry that my voice and opinion will not matter I know you're giving a choice to families if they want to stay remote or go hybrid I already chose remote for my daughter there's just one more sentence but maybe you could give that same choice to staff if families and staff want to go back to hybrid allow them to but if teachers and families want to stay remote allow them to this also it won't solve all the problems but it will at least show that you truly value and care for everyone I fear that if you don't do

207this you force teachers to go back that don't want to or can't your face is short as of teacher teachers and what will you do then the next person is Adrien Court good evening my name is Adrien cour I'm a teacher at Percy J Julian Middle School I first want to express my gratitude for everyone to everyone working behind the scenes on the framework document shared on Friday while the document is thorough I find it important to make my concerns known over the proposed hybrid model at the middle schools the proposed model States one students will receive instruction from a different teacher and may have their teams changed two middle school students for most classes will physically be in one classroom while receiving remote instruction from a teacher who is in another classroom due to

208the current health safety guidelines that do not allow for the mixing of student groups throughout the day as I look at these points I'm extremely concerned for the social emotional well-being of our students and staff the dismantling of classroom communities which have been built in the remote setting coupled with the fact that our students will not be able to interact with their peers is unsettling my nephew a middle schooler in another District returned under a hybrid model in which his teachers traveled to him he came home in tears and begged my sister not to make him go back he expressed learning in environment was traumatic he couldn't work in groups the teacher couldn't get close enough to offer support cour when he was struggling he couldn't socialize with his friends and he was beyond frustrated

209he begged to go back to remote learning and he was received was receiving live inperson instruction remote learning wasn't ideal for him either but he felt it offered him the opportunity to work collaboratively receive support as needed and continue to build relationships with classmates I can't even imagine how this will be compounded for our students under our proposed model I'm also nervous that our students will not be provided with the same level of rigor or support that they are getting now in their most setting under a hybrid model how can we expect our teachers to successfully provide remote instruction to students in another space while supervising or supporting the students in front of them furthermore how can we expect our students to actively participate in class when they'll be competing vocally with both the teacher

210and their peers who are possibly receiving instruction from another teacher in perhaps a different content area additionally being that we are in a pandemic and heading into flu season we should be assessing the impact quarantining waiting for covid test results and AD after pauses we'll have as it relates to continuity of instruction I appreciate that safety is our top priority and giving everything we have learned I beg that we continue with remote instruction through at least winter break we should utilize the feedback given from students families and staff to make changes to the remote schedule to ensure more needs are being met we should continue to identify our highest need students and provide supportive in-person spaces for those in which remote learning isn't working let us use our time over the flu season to develop

211a more robust hybrid learning model for our middle schools that could better support students and staff when flu season's over the proposed hybrid model will not make things better for our students or staff what it will do is water down instruction increase stress and ultimately create unnecessary health risks without any benefits thank you for your time consideration attention to this matter the next one is Jamie winchill Dr Kelly and the district 97 Board of Education we're writing to express our great concern for the hybrid model is presented to for the middle schools as teacher Librarians we work with every student in each building we've been in many Zoom classes this school year we witness firsthand the energy and positivity teachers put into creating warm welcoming virtual classroom environments we collaborate with teachers as they create

212engaging supportive learning experiences for all Learners we work with teachers to encourage students to turn their cameras on to unmute themselves and share their thinking to add a comment to the chat or to show their understanding through formative checks remote learning is challenging but it is functional and it's consistent the hybrid model as presented for the Middle School seems alienating and isolating students will have live instruction for only one class the rest of the time they will be in a cohort of students who will be zooming other classes simultaneously while the teacher teaches their own classes via Zoom if it's hard to get students to turn on their cameras or unmute now why while they are remote imagine how hard it will be to get them to engage virtually if they're wearing a mask in

213a classroom of their peers while a teacher teaches another class entirely students schedules and teams will be reworked eliminating the Rapport and expertise teachers have developed regarding students needs and strengths starting trimester 2 in a hybrid setting will be like starting the school year all over again with the same amount of work needed to build relationships and develop classroom communities these changes will be unnecessary trauma to our students during an already traumatic time our work as teacher Librarians would likely be on Hiatus while teachers devote time to classroom atmosphere the Rhythm we are developing with teacher collaboration would likely be interrupted also by advisory be eliminated as advisers we would lose the relationships we're building often one-on-one Sor will be the only time a teacher will check in on a student's holistic progress the payoff

214of the hybrid model at the middle school seems negligible if not negative please consider the safest and smartest option Keep Us remote I know I said it was Jamie Winchell that's the teacher librarian at Juliet Jennifer Nelson the teacher librarian at Brooks also signed off on that comment thank you um the next one is from Julie Jenkins and that is dear d97 Bard and Dr Kelly like many others in the community our family has significant reservations about the plan put forth by the district for the hybrid plans for learning we are concerned that at no point in these last six weeks has the district asked us Point Blank whether or not the situation is working for our family without surveying families before asking us to make a binding decision for the next four months the

215district's not capable of making a data- driven decision to best serve the needs of the Oak Park Community you're asking families to make a final decision that significantly impacts our child's education mental health and physical well-being without giving us information to understand the full Ramic ramifications of that decision it's simply not possible to make the decision with so many unknown factors we understand that the current remote plan is not workable for many families in the district but instead of asking those families to self-identify and formulating a plan for those families while maintaining consistency for families that have a workable plan this new plan throws everyone into in an already uncertain time additionally we are concerned the district is planning to start the hybrid plan on Monday November 30th we understand that this correlates with the

216trimester start and end dates but the d97 community deserves a better explanation as to why we need to stick to this date for students who will be assign new teachers and in some cases an entirely new school you're asking them to basically restart their Academic Year and give them only three and a half weeks to settle into completely new routine before the students have three weeks off for winter break our teachers have worked so hard to build community in this new learning modality and the November 30th start date for this plan is asking them to restart their Academic Year three times in a span of 5 months then back on our children's unknown but because you have given us no information by which to judge which modality will be the least amount of upheaval for

217our children you have also provided no information about what to expect in trimester 3 if we're able to go back to school more than two days a week will children be reassigned again in March will they return to their current teacher based on this we're pleading with the district to make two concessions one allow families to select from one of three options based on their fam's priorities continue full remote learning option to hybrid stay with their current teacher regardless of the type of learning two push back the start of the hybrid learning plan to Monday January 11th and give families until December 1st to decide their plans when we have a better idea what Co numbers will look like in the fall and early winter and if there will be any changes to co responses

218at a national level um I'm going to bounce over to three new ones that came in that Kissa got at the back end because there were so many um first is from Allison Welch dear d97 board of directors and d97 administration we know many people have worked hard to develop plans for remote learning and possible returning to school this letter is not intended to take away from our respect of how hard this is behind the scenes as a parent of a third grader at a school that's open and an eighth grader at jul we are glad there is plan for elementary school children to finally return to the classroom we know that especially the youngest elementary school children need impers instruction to help them not only learn to read but begin the Journey of reading

219to learn we have seen how our third gr son is transformed by this opportunity to be in person with peers and learning in the classroom with his teacher at GCE Grace L Lutheran our primary concern with your plan is that as designed it's a plan geared toward the structure and process in elementary schools and does not naturally or effectively translate to the Middle School experience in fact I would argue this plan is hugely detrimental be extremely disruptive to all middle school students even those whose parents want them to return at all cost and with all consequences we outlin some of the details below we strongly urge the board and administration to do the following a reconsider the plans for the middle school and allow teachers parents and principes to come together to figure out a

220less disruptive way to proceed B delay parents having to submit preferences for trimester 2 until after parent teacher conferences and until after the middle schools have been able to come together and craft a better solution C C1 changing teachers my daughter has eight teachers eight middle school students and parents spent a great amount of time over the last six weeks beginning with the meet the teacher and curriculum nights and extending through every day the students have met with their teachers the thought of changing teachers already has our eighth grader on edge and worried honestly the thought of this disruption has kept me up at night and kept a pit in my stomach we've been marching ahead fine with no next expectations and now that will essentially be thrown in the air there will be several

221weeks of learning lost as teachers and students have to get to know one another again how will you recreate these opportunities to get to know the teachers once new schedules are out of trimester 2 for trimester 2 did you consider asking the students for input at how this would feel will there be more meet the teacher curriculum nights how will you even be able to measure the social and emotional impact of this decision both on the morale of teachers and on students you indicate that providing consistent high quality learning experiences is one of your goals of the plan changing teachers Midstream absolutely works against this goal two teachers not in the classroom even considering this reality baffles me while I love my middle schooler and her peers I also know the likely path of an

222unsupervised classroom filled with 1 13-year-olds mask infractions phone infractions talking infractions distraction of others please explain how learning will occur under these circumstances how much of this health risking in person time will turn into discipline and behavior your management three complexity and Logistics entry how will this occur with proper spacing of students accurate temp checks hand sanitizer adults to run this process my son attends Grace Lutheran it takes eight parent volunteers every day of the week to manage entry of just 160 children who are dropped off at the curb for a 35 minute rolling time period busing how will this occur safely I heard that I'm just going to finish number three schedule I don't have the words to describe how convoluted the schedule appears um there's several more of that one's from Allison Welch

223the second one is from Derek burel dear members of the board I'm writing in regards to the proposed hybrid plan that was sent out to families on Friday this plan does not seem to be in the best interest of children families or teachers there are many other possible hybrid schedules that would meet the needs of families more appropriately a halfday morning afternoon hybrid would put children in front of their teachers every day providing consistency and an opportunity to be in the classroom interacting face Toof face with teachers and classmates many other school districts are implementing this exact plan and if funding for more custodians to safely clean in between cohorts is necessary then those funds should be prioritized Oak Park is a desirable place to live for many reasons including our school district we should

224continue to maintain that reputation by more effectively problem solving in the best interest of our children families and teachers this proposed plan does not meet those standards most most troubling is the lack of transparency in arriving at this plan without adequate family and teacher input we were guaranteed a less than desirable outcome we can do better let's not lose an entire school year due to our inability and unwillingness to meet the needs of all our community and the last one is from Mike Kelly Dear District 97 board I welcome board responses to the following questions how was the board involved with the current reopening School plan if the board was involved what feedback and changes were requested be made by the district 97 Administration to the plan prior prior to sharing it with parents what

225requests are are the board hearing from parents including an option to have students returned back to school 5 days a week for live inperson teacher instruction in the mornings is the board aware that parents requested to participate in designing the reopening plans and the district 97 administrators refused to allow any parents to be involved Dr Kelly received a number of questions from parents at a recent coffee Zoom meeting that were not addressed and answered with the board as the district 97 Administration with the board as the district 97 Administration team to share these questions and answer on the district 97 website and with the board thanks for your time Mike Kelly and I turn it over to the next person I think that's me um this first comment is from Claire mcdermit I understand that

226when we begin the hybrid model students may not have the same teacher they've been with since the beginning of of the Year my son is a first grader and last year in his kindergarten class had two different teachers due to maternity leave I really don't want him having four different teachers in two years he finally has created a relationship with his current teacher and is thriving there's been so much change to daily lives already I Fe this additional major change would just be too much please consider thank you Claire McDermot this is from Jana Shanley for the children who have EPs and 504s and special needs where in classroom experiences are most beneficial I need help from our district to understand how this proposed hybrid plan benefits them with their needs yes in-person learning is

227most beneficial for these learners but how are they supposed to manage the asynchronous learning do you believe this plan is a road to success for them this is from Jenny Austin dear board members thank you for volunteering to guide our school district during these unprecedented times I like many others am disappointed by The District's proposed hybrid plan when public schools in New York City Neighborville lrange Riverside Glenco just to name a few and many private schools are able to provide safe and effective in-person learning at least half days five days a week it is extremely frustrating that the district's plan provides between six and nine hours of weekly in-person learning it is further frustrating that these schools have already started providing inperson learning and yet our district won't do so until maybe November 30th study

228after study shows show that schools are not super spreaders Professor Emily Oster a professor of Economics at Brown University published the results of a study of more than 200,000 kids in 47 States over the last two weeks of September that showed an infection rate of 1.3 infection infections per thousand students 2.4 infections per thousand staff members as Professor Oster wrote in a related article in the Atlantic zero is not realistic how the district has mishandled reopening schools has expedited the decline in the quality of our schools which started long before the pandemic we have several family friends who have already moved out of the district many more who are actively planning to do so and several more who move their kids to private schools since August our kids deserve to have a remote deserve to

229have an option for in-person Education that matches what our neighboring schools are offering and nothing less remote learning is not an equal substitute for in-person learning this is from Allison Nelson dear District 97 Board of Education thank you for your continued en tieless efforts to support the students of District 97 I'm a lifelong Oak Park resident proud District 97 Alum and I've been a teacher at long fella for the past 17 years I'm invested in this community and in our kids I'm writing to express my concern that we are looking to offer a hybrid return to school model to begin on November 30th while I yearn to be back in the classroom with my student being on site in the physical classroom is not going to look the way any of us wants needs or

230imagines it to look at this time the safety of all students their families and the staff of District 97 must take priority I do not see a benefit of a return to school simply so students can sit in one desk six feet apart from their peers and me their teacher for the entire duration of their school day with remote learning we're able to accomplish so much more learning interaction support and collaboration while staying safe there are a number of obstacles associated with any sort of hybrid return at this time here are a few examples if we return to school at this time unfortunately due to necessary safety protocol students will not be able to leave their seats they will not be able to socialize or collaborate since the expectation is that we all remain six

231feet apart as a teacher I will not be able to meet with students to conference and check in one-on-one or in small groups that way have been doing each day on Zoom students will not be able to take breaks to move around the room or go outside for recess students will not be able to leave their assigned seats to sit in a comfy spot to read or complete work with a friend we won't be able to gather on the carpet for class meetings and circles there will be no shared supplies or materials students will not be able to eat a snack at all while at school for three and a half hours and even drinking out of a water bottle is a risky practice considering the mask we' need to come off to take a

232drink it takes weeks to establish classroom routines and build Relationships by the time we figure out teach and practice our new classroom routines for the hybrid return model which will be unlike any routines and expectations we have ever had to enforce or follow it will be time for a winter break and we will have to start all over again reteaching the expectations after students return from a 2.5 week break this will eat up the already limited instructional instructional time the hybrid model will offer I also have many concerns about the fact that we are looking to attempt to bring students and staff back to the buildings in the heart of cold flu and holiday seasons it is inevitable that many people will travel and gather in large groups in November and December so why are

233we taking on this unnecessary risk that will not only put our students and staff at risk but also their immediate and extended families what protocols will be put in place to ensure that students and staff who choose to travel locations with cover surges such as neighboring Wisconsin self quarantined for 14 days and not come to school while I know remote learning is not perfect for every child all the time I think there are a lot of benefits to staying remote I've been able to meet with every student every day in an individual Zoom breakout room a checkin on students social emotional well-being conference with them about their academic work and if they need help with anything I'm able to be there to assist will not be possible in the classroom when we almost maintain a

234six-foot distance at all times the teacher will be sitting at the front of the room each student will be seated isolated from one another six feet I'll just finish this paragraph it goes on for a bit longer uh each student will be seated isolated from one another six feet apart completing work independently and submitting it to teachers on Google classroom or seesaw students in my class have also grown accustomed to working together in small groups to complete assignments and have discussions with each other via small group breakout rooms addition students have the opportunity to socialize with friends in buddy breakout rooms each day this is from eron Connor hello the school board must consider switching to a daily four or five day depending on teacher planning time Am Pm hybrid model the current plan provides

235only five half days over a two-e period and the inconsistent schedule would be difficult for parents particularly working parents or single parents to manage a daily amm hybrid model would increase the total amount of instruction time provide students and families with a consistent schedule and be more Equitable as students would receive in-person instruction more frequently it is unfair and unacceptable to make parents be choose between the current remote plan and the flawed hybrid plan the district announced when there's a better option available especially if teachers support a daily Am Pm hybrid model follow neille in doing what's best for students and change from our two or thre day half day hybrid to a daily Am Pm hybrid model several other Suburban Cook County schools are already doing are already following this plan such as the

236Grange Riverside and Glenco and we must join them this is from Mara Moss superintendent Kelly and members of the district 97 board I'm incredibly disappointed in the plan the district presented to families on Friday this plan potentially disrupts teacher student relationships for all families and decreases instruction time for those who opt for some in-person learning you have devised a schedule that will be incredibly challenging for families without a caregiver at home full-time to navigate middle schools schoolers will still be learning remotely but from within a school building despite isbe guidelines that clearly state that teachers may move from class to class all of this was done without significant input from some incredibly important stakeholders neither parents nor teachers were allowed to participate in a meaningful way in developing this plan by limiting our input to

237short surveys you missed valuable insights that could have shaped better plans for both remote Learners and those desire to be back in person by ignoring the questionnaires parents and teachers completed in July to indicate our learning preferences you failed to form cohorts that can stay together for the duration of the school year as we transition between remote and hybrid learning I ask that you allow parents and teachers to be more involved in this process I ask in particular that you listen to our teachers their concerns about the current plan and their suggestions for better ways to get our students back in our buildings I appreciate that this is incredibly challenging work and that there is no perfect solution but I think we can do much better than this our children deserve it and so do

238our d97 teachers and staff um this next one is from Don gulay I understand and whole wholeheartedly support exceptions for students with special learning needs and for those families for whom remote learning has been a horrible experience but for the majority of us it is either safe to return to school or it is not this complicated hybrid approach throws everything into chaos daily routines after care services Etc but most of all the a plan that threatens to break up classrooms after what they will after what will by then have been three months of painstaking and Herculean efforts by our teachers to build a rapport with their students and establish classroom routines and methods of assessing and monitoring their assigned students in a remote environment is a simple failure by all involved to understand what school

239is school is not Child Care school's not a building school is not a curriculum school is Teachers the plan seems to place no value on the work teachers have done above and beyond what anyone ever thought would be expected of them in favor of Forward Motion at any cost did the teachers know this could happen I'm heartbroken for them if this plan moves forward this is from Katherine Meredith um actually it's from multiple people Katherine Meredith Joel blacka Jamie Winchell Ryan Winchell Kelly Belmont Katie Leos Desi alos Tim Walsh Susan Walsh nefret Stringham Sarah peros Katherine Knox Katie traan Maggie Cahill Lauren Brock Johanna Clark Kate O'Keefe Elizabeth Chu and Karen McKinny dear District 97 Administration board and Personnel we are writing to you as a group of concerned District 97 teachers and parents as

240teachers in the community with children who also attend our schools we have a unique in sight into how our decisions affect them we believe that it is our job to raise and educate the whole child process that entails nurturing children social emotional and academic development when we began remote learning six short weeks ago we entered a veritable Crucible of Stress and Anxiety as we navigated a completely new way of teaching parenting and living in this pandemic version of our world despite this tremendous stress and hard work we've been pleasantly surprised to have bonded with our students as well as witnessed their bonds developed with with one another in a short period of time we have also seen this with our own children as we have watched their relationships with teachers and classmates flower over Zoom

241a feat we thought virtually impossible at the start of the school year it was with this mindset that we received the new hybrid plan in our email inbox on Friday October 9th just a few hours before the community at large received it our Collective heart sank into our stomachs when we read the following statement quote when the district begins offering hybrid learning we cannot guarantee that students will maintain their current teachers class assignments whether they continue with remote learning or transition to the hybrid schedule it is possible that students will not have the same teacher or in some cases be assigned to the same school end quote attachment and security are Paramount for children now more than ever as the world around them grows increasingly uncertain a tenant of of trauma informed practice which has

242been emphasized during multiple teacher professional development sessions is building trust trust is built through consistency and stability this current hybrid plan and its possibility of repeated separation of children from their teachers as well as their home schools would rupture trust and cause children even more anxiety than they are already experiencing this highly stressed state will make it incredibly difficult for children to feel safe and secure and in turn will make it much harder for them to effectively learn additionally we have been pleasantly surprised by just how much our students and children are able to learn in this new remote format teachers have created systems schedules and routines that are maximizing both student learning and relationship Building Systems schedules and routines that are currently working will be obliterated by the new hybrid plan given given these

243concerns we ask that the proposed hybrid plan be put on hold for the general population of District 97 until January 11 2021 in this interim students can remain remote with their assigned teachers and classes and more time can be spent on Alternate solutions that better address the social emot social emotional needs of our students and children thank you for your time and consideration this is from Brett Williams dear board members my wife is a teacher in District 97 I would like to state that my wife's health and the health of all staff and students is more important than anything else at this time we should stay the course with remote learning until a vaccine for covid-19 has been approved and made available this is from Valerie KH I'm writing to share my absolute horror at

244the Hybrid plan for trimester 2 it is such an awful plan that I don't even know where to begin with all of its problems this plan represents a worst case scenario for pretty much everyone teachers students and families I'm dumbfounded that anyone thought it would be a good idea and pretty appalled that the district would allow a small but noisy group of parents to bully them into changing a system that is working for most students and families I have two kids at hatch a fourth grader and a kindergartener the proposed plan negatively impacts both of them as well as me and my husband it is also horrible for our teachers and their families we spent five years establishing connection and Community with hatch teachers students and other parents Families my kindergartner who is very social

245has finally only just started developing friendships with his classmates a kindergarten has finally settled into remote learning he's finally making some progress his teacher understands his strengths and what he needs help with I finally don't have to sit next to him for every second of the school day and all of that all of our hard work will be Tau out the window if he's placed with the new teacher and new classmates I'm devastated for him any kids who need inperson the amount of exposure is outrageous for those kids their families and the teachers who will have no choice sorry and kids who need in person the amount of exposure is outrageous for these kids their families and the teachers who have no choice but to expose themselves to a deadly virus with no reliable treatment

246and their families too these kids will be in one cohort for inperson school and one for the rest of the day this expands exposures by multiples moreover how will working parents possibly navigate a workday when they need to pick their kids up after three hours and then find alternative child care for the rest of the day especially those who work outside the home this solution makes absolutely no sense and is downright dangerous Reverend Emily Gage posted the letter she wrote to the board on Facebook I would like to second every single point she made I'm too horrified to list all the unbelievably realistic and a awful aspects of this plan Emily's letter expresses exactly how we feel about the proposed plan for primester 2 I've been so upset and the district has caused such upheaval

247that I haven't been able to gather my thoughts to write an email I wanted to send something before the meeting today voicing my opposition to the pros plan I'm begging you please do not implement the proposed hybrid plan for trimester 2 please uh this next one is from Jennifer castano members of the board as I shared with the district earlier this fall my hund my husband and I are very impressed with the remote learning model this school year it is clear that the administration and teachers went to Great Lengths to address and improve remote learning and many levels including creating a community and connection with the teachers tactics for engaging the students and much more my children third graders at by love their teacher Miss Walsh Kay and are responding very well one of my

248sons who has been diagnosed with ADHD is responding better in remote learning than in in-person learning as impressed as we are with the remote learning model we were equally disappointed with the decision being thrust upon us having to choose between hybrid and remote and not having the ability to ensure that our children maintain the same teacher in the same community that our teachers have worked so hard to create over the past two and a half months is a choice of frustration in the no win situation I'm totally sympathetic to the fact that the remote learning model is not ideal but the proposed hybrid model is fraught with more negative side effects than the remote model exhibits currently these include the following and others disruption of continuity potential loss of teacher loss of classmates loss of

249connection to the classroom Community this is the most distressing from an educational and social emotional standpoint the teachers have worked so hard so incredibly hard to create a community to learn the strengths and weaknesses of their students and to create that teacher student bond that is so important disruptive schedule for both students and parents with a halfday model two days a week and sometimes three days structional issues due to issues of maske wearing acoustical lack of watching lips move enunciation pandemic status over the past two weeks Illinois s's greatest positive test results since last spring as we enter the winter months it seems ill advised to return to in-person school with flu season approaching in a pandemic that is far from under control at what point do we have to go back to remote anyway

250and this happens just three weeks before the winter break remaining remote seems the most Equitable way to proceed one that affords continuity and still provides the safest Avenue for educating our children while protecting our teachers and the families that the students go home to remote learning provides a set schedule that all can count on gives a set routine for the students and won't be disrupted by Illinois positivity rates or a positive test within the classroom setting Etc d97 made the right decision in July and I implore you to stay the course is the course that provides the most stability for all the reasons stated above to all members of the d97 community um sorry this next one is from Elizabeth newart how is this plan decided on and why we've learned through multiple teacher and

251Union sources that the Teachers Association wanted a plan for hybrid with group a attending morning inperson four days per week and Group B attending the afternoon inperson learning four days per week this is a model similar to what lrange has created why was this plan not heard considered respected the current hybrid plan is unlike any other in Illinois how will d97 ensure children participating in the hybrid plan don't fall behind the remote Learners given the parity and instructional time how were returns to school metrics decided why were those metrics selected the metrics we have selected to follow make Oak Park an exception and outlier among other suburbs the metrics stand to create inequity who was involved in choosing metrics are there recommendations from idph or ISB for what metrics to use or if they should

252be used at all the criteria for return to full in-person learning is Phase five the concept of phase five or post pandemic was developed early in the the covid crisis it's become obvious since then that even with a W with a vaccine there will likely not be a clear transition to phase five but more of a gradual loosening of restrictions as Community spread lessons given that phase five may be an an impossible criteria to meet what does that mean for our children rur returning to full in-person school this is from Amy corek I would like to express my concern for the proposed hybrid option while I appreciate the desire to get the kids back into school I do not agree with the timing or the proposed plan of the hybrid model I'm concerned with the

253timing of moving to hybrid as we are coming out of the Thanksgiving holiday going into winter and winter flu season in addition to expected Rising covid cases as we move into a season where we spend most of our time indoors I think this puts an increased risk to the teachers the students into the families of both this will add an additional exposure as many families had to come up with cohorts out outside of school and many are also attending the hapsa park district and programs of the likes in addition to the timing why are we uprooting our kids to only Gather in person for five hours per week they may not get the same teacher or even the same school this adds an additional layer of complexity to them and uproots their daily routine in

254addition to the students our teachers have poured their heart and soul into making connections with the students we've also fostered relationships build relationship building between the students in their classrooms they they have done an amazing job under these circumstances when I mentioned to my kids the possibility of not finishing out the year with their teachers they screamed they have such a genuine love for their teachers while I'm sure there are plenty of great teachers out there I don't believe it is in the best interest for our students to make this change they've had enough change to deal with in 2020 in a nutshell I think there needs to be an extension of the current remote plan until it is safe to get the kids back in school I don't think we need to rush this

255thank you my last one is from Cara carodi Dr Kelly and board members I'm writing to voice my concerns over the recent hybrid in-person plans that were released Friday as someone who is a teacher who has family members who are teachers and friends across the country who are teachers I'm highly sympathetic to what schools are experiencing during these unprecedented times it has forced me to realize we must be all in this together or get to get through these times what I've experienced in District 97 is that we are absolutely not all in this together all in this together together would mean that the most important stakeholders in education the teachers and the students would be brought to the table in deciding the best educational plans that work for both I have been asking the district

256and this board since the spring to include professionals experts who are't trained in viruses and pandemics to be a direct part of the planning process for a possible safe return to school many parents in the district have asked to be part of the discussions especially those with special needs many teachers have asked to be heard in any reopening plans the requests have not been met how is that all in this together when you do not include the people most impacted by a reopening plan in your planning what results are the what results are plans that no one likes this has not happened once but twice the current hybrid plan is not only detrimental to teachers is extremely detrimental to those vulnerable Learners and Working Families as someone working with numerous d97 students as a private

257tutor I'm seeing firsthand the results of almost two months of remote learning most have regressed many are falling behind and a few are even failing we cannot allow this there are many students in this District that remote learning simply does not work for there are too many distractions in the home they are burnt out from being behind a screen all day they need live instruction and they need social connections the idea that the district believes support for these students is free tutoring behind a screen with a stranger does not come close to cutting it these students will not benefit from more teaching behind a screen with something that they do not they do not know what they need is consistent in-person instruction of the live teach who can actually check for understanding in real time

258the current hybrid plan takes away more instructional time which for these students is completely inequitable it also takes their current teacher and classmates away which is also not supportive for a Better Learning environment how is this supposed to help these struggling students and two days a week for a few hours is extremely difficult for Working Families there has to be a better model many local schools have returned to some inperson instruction there have been no local outbreaks at any of the private schools and some that have just recently returned are seeing positive gains we should be allowing their models and Le we should be following their models and leveraging them it would appear the most successful models are the ones that have halfday AB groups that come in the morning and afternoon there's no lunch

259and they have one day a week off in the middle for extra cleaning and planning time certainly a district with such resources at Oak as Oak Park could follow that model one thing that has impressed me about this community is its efforts on Equity Equity is achieved by offering people choices by recogn by recognizing what works for one may not work for another we need a plan that those who need imperson instruction can rely on that will set them up for Success not failure I'm glad that those who want remote are able to have success with it but for those students and family who are not so luckely an option is needed and it needs to be an option that teachers and families of struggling students support those are the those are all of mine

260all right so I'm I'm at the end of tail end here um so the first um statement is from Misha floro Benson my name is Misha floro and I'm the parent of a fifth grader named Lucy who attends home schools home school we all have stories and I don't often put the story of my child and her wellbeing ahead of others but this time I'm going to tell Lucy's story in the hopes that you can see her and also see her peers that sit shoulder toosh shoulder with her in the margins Lucy is light she is a ball of energy and therefore needs to move she is highly social and craves the day when she'll be able to return to school to play with her friends again she misses her teachers and she misses the

261warmth that she feels when she's in school alongside other students the school year is hard she's struggling and she needs a lot of help Lucy has an IEP and she has ADHD Lucy also has an amazing team that knows and is invested in her she is an assembly leader this year and she gets to do most of the things that she do if she was in school she engages with her friends on zoom and she has the occasional safe play date Lucy is also black and this year she has a black teacher which is big news in my house because it's a first for her this year is important and although the setting isn't ideal we are making it work we have to because there's another part of Lucy's story too she has only one

262kidney so she can't return to school if she gets sick she could die to say the least I would was frustrated when I heard of efforts by some community members to usurp our school's leadership during a global pandemic these very same parents felt as if they were better equipped to decide what happens to my kids' future they in fact behaved as if it would be better if I as opposed to them comforted my child who would be made to feel excluded as she watches her friends play in the school play lot from our living room window I write to the administration and board and ask that you consider the audacious attitudes that you will be otherwise upholding by not boldly addressing the harm that could be caused if we return to in school learning without

263assurance that students and teachers will be safe I also write to the administration and the board to ask that you strongly consider the culture that you want for our kids is it a climate that is it a climate that is stable and consistent is it a culture that emphasizes the well-being of our children while maintaining an environment where they feel safe and as if they belong or is it all of this while maintaining high standards of learning and if so how is any of this achieved during a global pandemic I'd argue that even with improvements to be made that you're doing it now while students are at home or in daycare learning remotely I am requesting that you consider the current covid-19 data that's in front of you and then consider the individual stories of

264the kids that have the most to lose if we return to school staying the course and staying remote is uncomfortable but it is Equitable and will provide the stability and consistency that families students and staff need during this unpredictable and unprecedented time thank you the next statement is from Jean Walsh C I'm saying your name right as a longtime proud o Park resident and dedicated teacher in d97 for over 20 years I have serious concerns about the proposed hybrid plan for reasons of academic rigor physical health equity and the emotional toll on children to name just a few in the hybrid option the students will receive much less direct instruction at a time when they have already lost instructional time since the pandemic started last March the physical health impact on students families teachers and

265the community could be cataclysmic with November 30th as the date the roll out is scheduled this timing is just when flu and the second wave of coad forecast by Dr fouchy may be hitting its stride the forecast is for the worst winter in a century in terms of health I have many Equity concerns as some families are able to choose options due to their privilege While others are not the emotional toll on our students could be quite severe as they may be separated from their teachers classmates and even their home school at a time that they have already endured too much stress during this pandemic in school they will not be returning to what school used to be they will be masked unable to play with friends unable to walk around and talk with friends

266unable to leave the class to go to their specials unable to go to the playground for resarch unable to eat and talk with friends in the lunchroom unable to gather on the carpet to listen to read aloud finally I believe teachers should also have options in this return to school plan because teachers are people too with the same Health and Family concerns as All Families right now teachers are not given the option to return to school in hybrid learning or to remain teaching remotely for all of these reasons and many more I hope the district will at the very least push the date of the return to school until January after students and amilies may have a chance to quarantine after mixing with many people during the holidays beyond that I hope that the district

267will take another look at this plan and remember that we cannot make any plan be what we all want which is a return to the paway of going to school that is not possible and beyond our control we need to stop trying to expect that any plan will be better or even as good as of what it was before the pandemic we have to just do our best for these little ones who are looking to us to lead the way for them who are looking for us to put their best interest first who are looking at us to treat each other respectfully and kindly and with the grace and flexibility we need to sustain us until we get to the other side of this pandemic and we will do that and we will do that

268successfully but it takes a village we are an incredible Village let's show the kids that we can take care of this thanks for listening Jean Walsh Cay C um the next is from Emily Deo deagostino deoo I recently spent a day in a hospital with my child my child and I along with other all others wore masks we were greeted with kindness and smiles and screened upon entry we were each permitted to carry and drink from water bottles my child was offer snacks in the area where I waited three healthcare workers answered phones behind a reception desk they chatted with passerbys about what they were planning to dress up as for Halloween about what they were ordering for lunch they laughed it looked and felt and sounded normal I felt at ease and safe it's

269what essential workers have been doing since the pandemic started with Grace and bravery and selflessness out of a sense of service and a call to care it is a stark contrast to what's going on here in Oak Park around our public school here messages are circulating about how dangerous schools are for children and teachers right now these message threaten that my children return to school their basic rights of food and water will not be protected they would not be able to drink from water bottles or have snacks these message threaten that teachers would not be able to go anywhere near students if they returned to the classroom these messages suggest that there is no way to safely reopen schools this isn't true while there is no way to eliminate all risk there are ways to

270mitigate and reduce it that is where we have an incredible opportunity to reallocate and invest our resources that is the direction you the board the administration Educators at every level have had an opportunity to move in since March and it is an opportunity you continue to fail to advance your latest proposed plan is terrible for everyone and I question whether you're serious in proposing it or was the goal to propose something so absurdly and patently awful that you'd have an excuse to fall back on remote learning as the only foreseeable option you have allowed public education to become politicized further polarized and dividing a community at a time when we need unity and Leadership I work in healthcare and I've seen so much sacrifice this year I have seen communities rally to take care of

271healthcare workers so healthcare workers could take care of our communities and here in Oak Park when it comes to our schools I am seeing so much Division and so little support for each other let's please start moving in the right direction instead of teaching our children to live in fear let's lead with courage instead of sewing disc cord let's build community instead of mismanaging resources let's teach stewardship instead of Shifting the burden risk and blame to others let's model responsibility and accountability instead of arguing let's respectfully listen and value opinions and experiences different from our own instead of stalling indefinitely let's innovate Solutions and move forward together even in uncy like hospitals public schools are essential to Healthy Communities look what's happened to ours and their absence we're a mess please let's work together and

272use our resources and gifts as a community to safely reopen our schools let's protect our teachers and students and let's welcome back kids who need to be in school with love kindness and acceptance Emily dagostino uh Susan so if I open this up I'll get Susan Raphael my seventh grader my seventh grader son really wants wants to go back to school and see his friends and teachers in person however it broke my heart to tell him about the current plan for the middle school and the fact that he would have to zoom classes and stay with the same kids at all day he was sad at first but understood he said keep me home then and then I told him either way I could not guarantee he would have the same teachers and he was

273no I really like my achievement teachers I don't want to lose any of them I know what has been said I know it has been over said that these kids have lost a lot but the truth is they have but for many the fact of changing teachers for the second trimester and classes for my kids really breaks their heart in this time of uncertainty why can we not just keep kids with their same teachers when I have the chance to listen in to my son's Zoom classes I hear great conversations before class instruction has begun some real bonding and getting to know each other and would hate to lose this now especially at the middle school level I have not discussed the plan with my fourth graders because they would get really sad if they

274learned they would lose their wonderful fourth grade teacher in current schedule and there was no choice that I could make to keep things the way they are I would choose whatever plan keeps the teachers that we have for my girls and Son but we don't have that option I understand why but I leave the but I believe the district can do better and find a creative solution to this issue Grant johy thank you for putting together a hybrid learning plan despite the teachers's best efforts remote learning over a scene has been far less effective than in person other benefits like socializing personalized attention and support for working parents are also lost the current hybrid plan targets in-person learning of 7 to 10 hours per week this amount is not enough I urge you to please

275reconsider your plan and add more in-person hours I recognize that it is impossible to build a learning plan that pleases everyone but the Common Thread is the value of The in-person Learning Experience shared by isby many children including mine are struggling to Simply struggling to learn over a screen I hope you can admin your plan to add more inperson learning time thank you grant Jony hatch parent next is Steve Miller I want to thank the teachers and administrators who put in so much extra time this summer to prepare for this unprecedented school year while there have been hiccups along the way many students and the teachers really seem to have found a good rhythm with e-learning I do want to recognize the very real difficulties that some students are facing with remote learning though and

276acknowledge that does need to be addressed however in reading the district's hybrid plan I'm extremely disappointed that it misses an extremely important point the plan is is extensive and seems to take into account the necessary rules and rs but where it falls flat is the strength of the student and teacher connections as well as the long-term relationship with the school that have already been developed providing two choices for parents that both potentially involved changing teachers in even schools completely misses the importance of these connections I can I can't imagine how hard it has been for the teachers to connect with the kids in the remote setting but from what I've seen with our daughter's teachers they have managed to do just that asking them and the kids to start that over again next trimester regardless

277of what option the families choose for their child is going to be detrimental to all of the students my third grade daughter is quite reserved and has found herself in a very nurturing classroom that I would hate for her to have to leave and start over forming bonds with the new teacher and classmates I would ask that you consider a third option that allows students to remain with their current teachers regardless of remote or hybrid and or continue to reserve the inperson models for the highest need students who are not thriving in the remote option until such a time as all students and safe all students can safely come back full-time thank you Steve Miller bye and Julian parent Adam yaws High d97 board multiple teachers I've spoken with say the survey they received had

278three questions whether they think schools should be hybrid when promoter in person why was a hybrid plan that was laid out not shared with the teachers before quote and quote the survey was taken what makes Oak Park different from other school districts who are doing a halfday Ab session I.E other districts around us are doing an a group roughly 8:30 to 11 and a b group 12:30 to 3 in person 5 days a week what plans are being put in place to address the quote unquote targeted underperforming reading of Julian thanks Adam Ys Brian Pearlman hello my name is Brian Pearlman I am a tutor who works with a fifth grade student at Lincoln though there have been some recent improvements I continue have to have concerns about remote learning going into week seven first

279a positive there is more asynchronous work than there was during the first four weeks of school there is no a schoolwide break from 1:15 to 1:30 emit math has been moved up it is now immediately after lunch still I am concerned about the Outsourcing of teaching to apps like Lexia and zern and over Reliance on Zoom break rooms and the sheer amount of screen time that kids are being exposed to even during asynchronous work in terms of the apps they are not always integrated into the lesson for Lexia the kids are supposed to spend a certain amount of time on the app each week it is not based on content or benchmarks while zern is used more effectively to review math concepts during asynchronous time the usage of apps and quote unquote enrichment tools still

280feel somewhat arbitrary like the learning is being quote unquote outsourced rather than quote unquote quote and quote enriched with breakout rooms the issues are pressing kids continue to be distracted and have difficulty working together in small groups on Zoom there is lots of fighting shouting and exhaustion the only time it seems to work is when the teacher is present guiding the group when the kids are left to their own devices and just expected to work together it tends to be a disaster filled with frustration several times I have given the child I work with permission to mute himself on zoom and simply work solo because this allows him to focus and actually get his work done as an example during the week of October 5th several math problems were given and the kids were forced

281to work in groups every single child in the group shut their screens off muted themselves and worked on the problems alone this enhanced their own focus and they did not have to worry about someone else's work at the end of the exercise the teacher came in and bered the kids quote how come no one is sharing their screen you were supposed to be working together that's not very good group work end quote when the kids are telling and showing the way that they learn best I would urge District leaders teachers and staff to listen finally I wish to remind parents and community community members that asynchronous learning does not mean that kids are not on screens they are often still on their iPads staring at slides videos and apps the American Academy of pediatric Pediatrics

282recommends only one hour per day of screen time for kids ages two to five for kids six and older they recommend quote unquote consistent limits well consistent limits and quote on the limits on screen use the Canadian Pediatric Society recommends minimizing screen time for kids ages 5 to 11 to no more than two hours a day I appreciate you taking the time to hear this feedback and I hope as we move towards a hybrid plan the d97 board faculty and staff take the time to think about what the remote what the remote learning is truly like from a child's perspective sincerely Brian p um Karen John wait did I read that Karen John why do I feel like I read that I haven't heard that name yet okay thank you slate um dear board members

283and Dr Kelly I appreciate the board and Dr Kelly coming up with the hybrid plan but cannot understand why those who opt in cannot have a hybrid plan similar to some of our surrounding suburbs like at lrange where students go half day in person by days a week for Reading Writing and math instruction and go home for lunch and specials remotely this plan would keep current teachers with their current stud students and keep kids at their home school it would help students like my son who has a 504 plan for ADHD and anxiety receive the in-person supports of school while being safe we need to optimize safe inperson instruction time for all kids especially those who are English Lang English language learners lwi income and with IEP and 504 plant we can't leave our children

284behind in District 97 thanks Karen johy mom of a third grader in d97 with the 504 plan this is my last one Rea Gibbs please find my comment for the d97 board meeting this evening it is abundantly clear that the hybrid plan released on Friday is not ideal for anyone kids families or teachers this is not surprising surprising given that the decision was seemingly made in a vacuum without taking Community feedback into consideration what will it take for our board and District leadership to listen to the concerns and suggestions of both parents and teachers signed reetta Gibbs patch parent G to check I think that was oh I yeah that's wait a minut there's one that I did not do I'm sorry I was that last one did um did you guys hear me say

285Jennifer c stand no I didn't read this um members of the board as I shared with the district earlier this fall my husband and I are very impressed with the remote learning model this school year it is clear that the administration and teachers went to Great Lengths to address and improve remote learning on many levels including creating a community and connection with the teachers tactics for engaging the students are much more my children third graders of by love their teacher Miss Walsh Cay and are responding very well one of my sons who has been diagnosed with ADHD is responding better in remote learning than in person learning as impressed as we are with the remote learning model we are equally disappointed with the decision being thrust upon us having to choose between hybrid and remote

286and not having the ability to ensure that our children maintain the same teacher and the same community that our teachers have worked so hard to create over the past two and a half months is a choice of frustration and a no- win situation I am totally sympathetic to the fact that the remote learning model is not ideal but the proposed hybrid model is Frau with more negative side effects than the remote model exhibit exhibits currently these include the following and others disruption of continuity in you know continuity potential loss of teacher loss of classmates loss of connection to the classroom Community this is the most distressing from an educational and social emotional standpoint the teachers have worked so incredibly hard to create a community to learn the strengths and weakness of with weaknesses of their

287students and to create that teacher student bond that is so important second bullet disrup disruptive schedule for both students and parents with a halfday model two days a week and sometimes three days third bullet instructional issues due to issues of maske wearing acoustical lack of watching lips move anunciation and fourth bullet pandemic status over the past two weeks ill Illinois saw its greatest positive test results since last spring as we enter the winter months it seems ill advised to return to in-person school with blue season approaching and a pandemic that is far from under control at what point do we have to go back to remote anyway and this happens just three weeks before the winter break remaining remote seems the most Equitable way to proceed one that affords continuity and still provides the safest

288Avenue for educating our children while protecting our teachers and the families that the students go home to remote learning provides a set schedule that all can count on gives a set routine for the students and won't be disrup disrupted by Illinois positivity rates or a positive test within a classroom setting Etc d97 made the right decision in July and I implore you to stay implore you to stay the course it is the course that provides the most stability for all the reasons stated above to all members of the d97 community Jennifer castano okay I think that's it yeah all right then I move to close this meeting at 10:48 pm thank you John have a good night guys everyone thanks everybody have a great night thank you for