This morning, the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) held a meeting calling for the 2020-21 school year to begin with remote learning.
“At this point our recommendation is schools should return to online or remote learning for the beginning of the school year,” said Dan Montgomery the president of IFT. “That is the safest and best option. It’s safest for the students and their families and it’s also the most practical.”
Guidelines to Reopen
IFT, who has over 100,000 members throughout the state, said it consulted with the CDC and IDPH for their recommendations and have developed guidelines for schools on how they should reopen.
Montgomery did note there are schools in the state that meet their guidelines, but said that was an extremely rare occurrence.
“If you look at what we need and what we call in terms of PPE, mask wearing, social distancing all within the health guidelines – to do that in the context of public schools and private schools in large settings and small it’s extremely challenging,” said Montgomery.
What’s Happening Locally?
Both of Naperville’s local school districts announced their reopening plans last week, which offered parents two choices for fall: remote learning or a blend of in-person and remote.
At the time of this recording neither District 203 or 204 has commented on IFT’s recommendations.
IFT does recommend if schools do reopen for in-person instruction, they should bring in younger and special needs students first.
Childcare
IFT also calls for childcare to be more accessible for parents.
“We want every school district to be able to provide childcare for students,” said Montgomery. “There are many parents who are working who will need to be away from home during the school day and they have younger children. We have to help them.”
Montgomery said in order for districts to offer childcare for families they’ll need help from the federal and state government.
For more information about IFT’s recommendations you can check out its website.
Naperville News 17’s Christian Canizal reports.
If you have a story idea or news tip you want to share, we want to hear from you!
