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Even if it wasn’t the family learning paradise Szostak imagined, she said she was able to bond with her children in a way that she probably wouldn’t have been able to without the pandemic-induced time together.
And, recently, it made her toss and turn at the prospect of them returning to school in-person.
“My kids were very split in the beginning, one leaning towards wanting to go back, one that didn t want anything to do with it,” she said. “But, they both are really glad that they ve got to go back and have that routine and have that connection with their friends and their teachers.”
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Last week, the Illinois State Board of Education reduced school social distancing from 6 feet to 3 feet. The move had a dramatic impact on the quest to return to in-person classes.
“It’s changed everything,” said one of DeKalb s interim superintendents, Ray Lechner. He said bringing back everyone in-person every day without the rule change would have been very difficult just based on the limited space they have.
Teachers do need to be vaccinated as a part of the rule. Lechner said at least 98% of staff have had a shot.
“It opened up so much having a second dose for staff and the 3-foot distancing, said Lechner. Now we are definitely in the homestretch.
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Peter Medlin (PM): I want to start you off with just a few broad questions that are more open-ended. What are just one or two of the bigger issues that you re looking forward to tackling once you re officially in your role [on July 1]?
Minerva Garcia-Sanchez (MGS): Are you familiar with I m sure you are with the diversity plan?
PM: I am, yeah, I was gonna ask about that.
MGS: After reading it, there are definitely some areas I feel we need to make sure we take a look at. So one of those is around retention and attendance of adults that work with our students; making sure we re building an instructional culture where administrators and teachers feel connected to the district office and they see us as a support and resource.