In their first joint meeting of the 2021-22 academic year, Evanston/Skokie School District 65 and Evanston Township High School/District 202 met Monday to share updates on the districts’ collaboration initiatives. Last month, teachers from the District 65 District Educators’ Council demanded more transparent COVID-19 measures from the district. District 65 Superintendent Devon Horton said since.
According to a 2014 study by the League of American Orchestras, less than 2 percent of musicians in the approximately 800 orchestras surveyed were Black. The lack of Black representation in classical music nationwide traces back to barriers to high-quality music education and a lack of representation in programming. Several organizations are working to diversify.
The Illinois State Board of Education will require all public schools throughout the state to resume full in-person learning for all student attendance days this fall, with some exceptions for remote learning, the board unanimously decided Wednesday.
Remote instruction will be made available for students not eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine and are under a quarantine order by a local public health department or the Illinois Department of Public Health. A formal declaration of full in-person fall learning will come from the state superintendent.
Illinois schools are receiving over $7 billion in federal funding to support students as they return to in-person learning. Evanston/Skokie School District 65 and Evanston Township High School/School District 202 are expected to receive nearly $10.6 million and $3.7 million in funding, respectively. The money comes through the American Rescue Plan and will be disbursed over the next three years.
Weinberg sophomore Gisely Torres was biting into a MOD salad in the Norris University Center on Thursday afternoon when her day took an unexpected turn.
At around 4:30 p.m, she was approached with an offer to receive the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Minutes later, Torres received her first dose on the second floor of Norris.
“It was exhilarating,” Torres said. “Now I don’t have to go hours out of my way to drive somewhere, and given that I don’t have a car… this is huge for me.”
For Torres and at least four other students, studying in Norbucks meant they were able to get vaccinated on the spot without an appointment.
Just a week after her twin sons started remote learning last spring, Dara Ury said she knew one of them would need to return to his Chute Middle School classroom as soon as possible.
On Thursday, he stepped back into the Chute Middle School building for the launch of D65’s hybrid learning model. His twin is staying remote. Ury’s son going in-person has an individualized educational plan and a 504, a plan that ensures he receives needed accommodations.
“I think that all of the ‘Return to school or don’t return to school’ is a very personal decision,” Ury said.