“Twelve months into this, they are not equipped emotionally to continue with this isolation. Their development depends on interaction,” Kimball said.
According to the school district’s website, the plan is to move to hybrid learning in the fourth quarter if conditions permit.
But the group Reopen Evanston Schools said the district has not updated the community on how it will make decisions about reopening.
“What metrics do we need to see that we can bring our kids back safely? I think the kids and the parents want a little bit of hope,” Kimball said.
Meanwhile, some parents in west suburban Geneva said District 304 is moving “backwards” after it recently replaced Friday in-person lessons with remote learning.
Evanston Township High School will open some in-person activities in February, school officials announced Thursday.
Due to improving local health metrics, students will soon have the option to participate in athletics, fine arts, hands-on learning, mindfulness practices and other activities in-person at ETHS, the email said. Students will continue learning according to the school’s Enhanced E-learning Schedule.
“Isolation is negatively affecting many of our students,” the email said. “In a regular school year, student wellbeing and belonging are priorities at ETHS and the pandemic amplifies those priorities.”
The announcement comes shortly after the Coalition to Reopen Evanston Schools, formerly known as the Coalition to Reopen District 65 Schools, called on District 202 leaders to provide a detailed plan for returning to in-person learning. D65 superintendent Devon Horton announced just over a week ago the district is set to launch its hybrid learning model Feb. 16.
Evanston Now
A community group that pushed District 65 to set a date for in-person classes has launched a similar campaign to reopen Evanston Township High School.
The “Coalition to Reopen District 65 Schools” has renamed itself the “Coalition to Reopen Evanston Schools,” and in a news release today, listed ten questions they want Evanston Township High School administrators to answer about bringing children back to the building.
“We have a crisis,” said Coalition member and spokesperson Laurel O’Sullivan, a District 202 parent. “It’s time for us to reopen schools for all children.”
Both District 202 and Evanston/Skokie District 65 have been on remote learning since school began in the fall.