February 2, 2021
Good afternoon District 161 students and families,
I am happy to report that the District 161 Board of Education approved a plan for us to return to an in-person learning model on Tuesday, March 9th. I am very thankful for all of the parents, teachers, and administrators who developed the shared recommendation to the Board of Education. I am proud of how hard the groups worked together!
We have already started the student placement process, based on the original program selection forms that parents submitted in January. Once the initial process has been completed, we will notify families of additional in-person slots that are available, in case some of you would like to change your original decision. More information on that topic, and several others, will follow in the next two weeks. Moving forward, here are the important dates for you to remember:
Dates: | Remote Only Program Information: | Hybrid In-person Information: |
March 5: | Independent Learning Day | Independent Learning Day |
March 8: | No School for students | No School for students |
March 9: | Full Day, Remote Learning | PreK through 2nd and 6th grade begin in-person, 3rd through 5th, 7th and 8th grade remote |
March 10: | Full Day, Remote Learning | All in-person Hybrid Program students begin |
As a reminder, the Remote Only program schedule will not change. It will still be Monday through Friday. The Hybrid In-person schedule is Monday through Thursday in-person and all students will be remote on Friday, with live instruction.
Many of you have reached out to share your feedback on our plans to reopen. I am thankful for your thoughtful input. Our focus now is to create valuable in-person learning opportunities for the children returning to school and to improve our remote learning practices so that we are serving the needs of our entire community. I am very excited that we have a clear direction on a return to in-person learning in District 161. You will receive another lengthy email next week with updated dates, information, and frequently asked questions.
Sincerely,
Dr. Dana Smith, Superintendent