Dear OLCHS Families.
Over a month has passed since the start of the 2020-2021 school year. On August 21, I informed you that due to sudden changes in the IDPH guidance, we could not effectively implement all of the safety expectations to ensure the health and safety of our students and staff with a high number of students present. Therefore we announced that we could not implement our Blended Remote Learning Plan.
Since that time, we have been monitoring data regarding community spread of the COVID-19 virus in our region (suburban Cook County). We have continuously assessed the ever-changing safety guidelines issued by the CDC and the IDPH. And we have worked to improve our capacity to implement those guidelines with fidelity.
I am happy to say that the trends are positive with all three of these factors. The spread of the virus in our region has been stable with a slight downward trend. Recent adjustments to the CDC and IDPH safety guidelines will allow us to implement safety precautions with more success. And finally, our capacity to operate the school with hundreds of students (as opposed to a few dozen that we currently have attending daily) is improving.
Therefore, I’m cautiously optimistic that we can implement our Blended Remote Learning Plan, with some adjustments, in late October. The adjustments to the Blended Remote Learning Plan include:
- The daily bell schedule and weekly class meeting schedule will remain consistent with the current full remote schedule.
- Green Group students will typically attend school for in person instruction on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Exceptions may be made during weeks when school is not open all five days of the week.
- Grey Group students will typically attend school for in person instruction on Thursdays and Fridays. Exceptions may be made during weeks when school is not open all five days of the week.
- Zero Hour classes will continue to operate on a full remote learning model.
- Families that were originally placed into the Blended Remote Learning Plan will have the opportunity to select placement into the Full Remote Learning Plan.
- On days when they are not scheduled to attend classes in the building, students will continue to attend their classes remotely via WebEx. This also includes students who have opted for the Full Remote Learning Plan.
We will implement the tentative transition schedule below. More detailed information to be shared at a later date, including weekly and monthly attendance calendars and detailed bell schedules.
Tentative Schedule for Transition to Blended Remote Learning
Week of October 26th
Monday will be a remote learning day for all students. Freshmen students who opted for the Blended Remote Learning Plan* attend school for in-person instruction Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday following the updated “Green-Gray” attendance schedule.
Week of November 2nd
All students who opted for the Blended Remote Learning Plan* will attend school for in-person instruction Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday following the updated “Green-Grey” attendance schedule. No school will be held on Tuesday, 11/3/2020 due to the Election Day Holiday.
*Parents of students who were initially placed into the Blended Remote Learning Plan have the option to switch to the Full Remote Learning Plan for the rest of the semester by sending a request to Fall2020@olchs.org. Families who previously opted for the Full Remote Learning Plan will remain in this learning model until the end of the first semester.
Please note that these plans are tentative and are subject to change. Community conditions and IDPH guidelines are often updated suddenly with little advance notice, so we need to be prepared to modify our plans at all times. And if we are able to successfully implement our Blended Learning model, we are prepared to pivot back to a Full Remote Learning model if conditions in the community and/or region worsen.
Students who typically take the Bridgeview-Oak Lawn-Hometown PACE 385 will need to find alternative transportation. PACE is not offering the 385 service until further notice.
It is also important that every member of the OLCHS community do their part to keep healthy and to reduce the spread of this virus. Our OLCHS Reopening Plan includes an excellent safety plan, but it will only work if we all follow these guidelines consistently. I am encouraging all of our students, staff and families to practice sound safety measures while they are at OLCHS as well as when they are away from OLCHS. Each of our daily decisions impacts our own well-being as well as those with whom we interact. We need to take care of ourselves and each other.
Sincerely,
Dr. Michael Riordan, Superintendent
Oak Lawn Community High School District 229