Illinois schools reopening: Naperville District 203, Indian Prairie District 204 offering choice of hybrid, E-Learning

Cate Cauguiran Image
Tuesday, July 14, 2020
Illinois schools reopening: Naperville District 203,  Indian Prairie District 204 offering choice of hybrid, E-Learning
School officials emphasized that the plans are fluid and subject to change, pending case numbers.

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (WLS) -- Both Naperville School District 203 and Indian Prairie District 204 held school board meetings Monday night to detail the plan for the upcoming school year.

Both districts said they will offer families the choice between hybrid learning and an Online Academy - which would be completely remote learning.

Under hybrid learning, students do both E-Learning and in-person instruction. Students would attend class on alternating days to limit the number of students in schools.

School officials emphasized that the plans are fluid and subject to change, pending case numbers.

RELATED: Coronavirus Illinois: IL COVID-19 cases increase by 883, 6 additional deaths

Schools officials said the plan in place so far came after several discussions with state health and education officials in addition to parent input.

Parents said they want their kids back in class.

The return of students back to classrooms has many families debating their options.

For Kathy Jamal, she said in-person learning is the best option for her two young daughters.

"They do need in-person school. I do believe they should not be 100% E-Learning," said Jamal, an Indian Prairie District #204 parent.

"Hopefully the community understands the extreme complexity of which this situation is requiring us to deal with," said Charles Cush, with District 203.

RELATED: Laird Plastics installs plastic barriers inside Holy Family Ministries, courtesy of 'angel donation'

Jamal's daughters said the plan will allow them the sense of normalcy, taken from them during the pandemic.

"I was scared I wasn't going to go back to school, and I was so sad that I wasn't going to be able to talk to my friends and learn the traditional way," said Alysar Jamal, a rising 6th grader.

"I'm excited because I want to see how they're going to change the school," Myrna Jamal, a rising 4th grader, said."And I'm excited to see my friends and new teacher."

Other requirements include temperature checks, face masks and social distancing- something both districts have said will be one of the biggest challenges going forward.