As Oak Park and River Forest braced themselves for the first proper snowfall of 2024 on Friday, Jan. 12, local school districts made the decision to close their buildings and call for e-learning – a decision that proved to be highly controversial.
A working parent, Christina Timme, a ‘09 graduate of Oak Park and River Forest High School and a parent of two at Oak Park Elementary School District 97 students, said e-learning was a struggle for her children, who had to attempt their virtual school days from daycare.
“They are not getting the one-on-one time with the teachers that they need too,” Timme said, adding that her child receives therapy at school. “It’s not helpful.”
A better option, said Timme, is to just give kids the day off.
“I would rather them stay home and just not try to do e-learning, it is not productive,” she said.
All local schools closed for Friday Jan. 12 because of the heavy snow and dangerous travel conditions, and then again on Tuesday Jan. 16 because of the frigid wind chills. Many parents voiced their frustrations.
As of Jan. 16, a petition targeting D200, D97, and D90 titled “We Want Snow Days!” calling for “real snow days, or ‘too cold’ days, without e-learning,” has received more than110 signatures.
“E-learning is a tremendous, stress-inducing burden for parents who must balance being a worker, a ‘teacher’ and for some a parent to preschoolers,” the petition said. “For teachers E-learning is an unfair obligation, doubly so for teachers who are also parents to school age kids.”
Christian Norton, parent of two at Longfellow Elementary, is behind the petition.
While his oldest child can navigate e-learning “a little bit better,” his youngest, a kindergartner, has found it very challenging to be successful.
“It has been very frustrating for him to struggle through e-learning and it has been tough for us as parents as well,” Norton said.
Norton and his wife tag teamed trying to help their children participate in e-learning while also trying to work from home and juggle a toddler.
Norton said he has received messages from other parents who also expressed their frustrations.
But not everyone agrees.
Mary Urbina, a local mom of three, said she was very happily surprised with how D97 teachers managed to continue to provide a great education to students.
“I know it’s not the perfect situation and I know there are families that it is not working for,” Urbina said. “But I want the teachers to know how much we appreciate them, and my children learned a lot, especially my daughter during COVID. It wasn’t just a washed away year.”
State requirements
While some might believe e-learning stemmed from the COVID pandemic, ISBE had already been piloting e-learning since 2015.
According to ISBE, the pilot program was established with the purpose of “recording the efficacy of E-learning during emergency/non-attendance days pursuant to state statute.” The state requires 176 days of instruction and schools must plan 185 days in its calendar to ensure students get in the minimum mandated number of instructional days. E-learning is one way to do that.
ISBE worked with West Chicago 94, Gurnee 56, and Leyden 212 for the pilot program.
In June 2019, Public Act 101-0012 permitted school districts statewide to use e-learning days in lieu of emergency days, which ISBE requires each district to account for five emergency days built into the end of the school calendar year. This law also required school days to consist of a minimum of five hours of instructional time.
“You have to have an approved plan that meets criteria outlined by the state,” said Amanda Siegfried, senior director of communications and engagement for D97. “We were developing the E-learning plan in 2019-2020, even prior to the pandemic even happening.”
D97’s Board of Education approved the e-learning plan in July 2021.
District decision-making
Officials at River Forest School District 90 also said they feel confident in their teachers’ ability to handle e-learning.
“The pandemic accelerated the pace of acquiring more technology that allows for synchronous instruction,” said Stephanie Rath, director of communications and community relations. “Teachers built their skills in making virtual learning as productive as possible.”
A teacher herself, Urbina said she sees it as a good option for short periods of time, like emergency days.
Mary Pat Eraci-Sullivan, a local Oak Parker and teaching assistant at D97, said she preferred e-learning days so that extra attendance days are not added in June, because they would be trading cold weather and snow safety issues for heat related weather issues.
“There is no perfect answer for all, but I am glad D97 chose the E-learning option,” she said.
E-learning has also been seen as a positive solution by some local children.
Aaron McManus, who has a 5th grader at Beye Elementary, said his daughter was excited.
“She said how happy she was that the other kids couldn’t be mean because the teachers could hear them and see them in the chat,” McManus said.
Jennifer Martignon, a student at Roosevelt Middle School, said e-learning is less stressful than physically going into school.
“Sometimes kids need a break from school,” Martignon said, adding she doesn’t find it hard to concentrate while working from her room.
But every student is different, and with e-learning, it is proving to not be a one-size-fits-all.
“This model does allow for continuity in standards-based learning, especially for our older students,” said Dr. Ushma Shah, superintendent at D97, acknowledging it can be more challenging for younger students.
“We have to make one decision as a superintendent that meets the needs of all students. So, it is always going to be less than ideal,” she said.
Shah said had D97 chosen to not do e-learning, eighth graders would have lost two days of instruction as the calendar would have placed the make-up days after their graduation.
So, tension arises from the various experiences of students.
“The question is – given that tension and those constraints – how can we design a model that is as best as possible for all of our students, especially paying attention to our students with unique learning needs and our students with special needs,” Shah said.
“We know that students learn best when they are in school with their teachers and peers,” she added. “Which is why we always strive to keep our schools open.”
Other local districts share in that sentiment.
“Closing school buildings for in-person instruction is a serious matter that we don’t take lightly,” said Edward Condon, superintendent at D90 in an email sent to families on Thursday, Jan. 11. “We appreciate the challenge this poses for families, but know that safety is our strongest shared priority.”
As a district that is not required to have bus service, Karin Sullivan, executive director of communications for OPRF, said they take weather conditions very seriously and often look at what other local districts are doing when making decisions on whether or not to close.
Sullivan said that with the introduction of e-learning, it will be highly unlikely that a district will opt to fully cancel classes during emergency days.
However, many are not sold on the new way to address emergency days despite local districts having already approved e-learning plans for these types of situations.
For D97, their plan expires in July 2024, creating an opportunity to review and make possible changes.
“We are just at that window now, we have that opportunity to look at it again,” said Shah. “We are thinking about how we might engage our educators in that kind of design challenge and figuring out, there are going to be constraints, but how do we create the best student-centered model even given the constraints. What is possible?”