District 87 sticking with hybrid format

Posted on January 28, 2021
In District 87, about 65% of students in PreK-5 are in the hybrid format with the rest in full remote learning. (Facebook/District 87)

 

By Neil Doyle

BLOOMINGTON – As Unit 5 transitions hybrid students in PreK-5th grade to in-person learning five days a week, the superintendent of Bloomington’s school district says their plan isn’t changing.

District 87 has offered students a hybrid format with in-person classes twice a week. Superintendent Dr. Barry Reilly says that will remain the format for the time being.

“If I was to bring back kids five days a week in PreK-5 I would not be able to social distance them six feet,” Reilly told WJBC’s Scott Miller. “Given feedback from our parents, that is the ideal sweet spot. If we were to change that I would have parents who would likely want to move their kids to the remote setting and that would cause a lot of stress in our system.”

About 65% of students in PreK-5 are in the hybrid format with the rest in full remote learning.

Reilly says the plan could change once staff has time to prepare for full in-person learning and the opportunity to get a COVID-19 vaccination.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…