Peoria Public Schools Superintendent Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat said the bill is all about equity.
“As a district with the high percentage of low-income kids, ELL (English language learner) kids, children of color, African American children, it really speaks to us,” said Desmoulin-Kherat.
She said equity has become more important than ever amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Right now, a big thing for us is analyzing our kids who are struggling and ensuring that they have some additional support, they’re getting extra support,” said Desmoulin-Kherat.
She said the proposal for a Whole Child Task Force particularly intrigues her. The task force is supposed to help create a supportive environment for children in schools across the state. Desmoulin-Kherat said schools need to have measures in place to address child trauma.
Peoria Public Schools Superintendent Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat said the bill is all about equity.
“As a district with the high percentage of low-income kids, ELL (English language learner) kids, children of color, African American children, it really speaks to us,” said Desmoulin-Kherat.
She said equity has become more important than ever amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Right now, a big thing for us is analyzing our kids who are struggling and ensuring that they have some additional support, they’re getting extra support,” said Desmoulin-Kherat.
She said the proposal for a Whole Child Task Force particularly intrigues her. The task force is supposed to help create a supportive environment for children in schools across the state. Desmoulin-Kherat said schools need to have measures in place to address child trauma.
Ashlee Rezin Garcia / Chicago Sun-Times via AP, Pool
Unit 5 plans to bring its elementary students back to the classroom five days a week, starting later this week.
The decision has parents in the district divided over safety, mental health, and all the other issues the pandemic has raised.
Mike Klug has two children enrolled in Unit 5 schools. Both kids have been learning remotely since March. Klug said while his children miss their friends, they’ve been thriving in the remote format.
He doesn’t agree with the argument that schools should reopen to prevent kids from falling behind.
“These kids are not falling behind because there’s no one that they’re falling behind,” Klug said. “They’re all in the same situation. There’s not other kids that are getting ahead of them.”
UPDATED 4:45 P.M. | Unit 5 plans to phase in more classroom days for its pre-kindergarten through fifth grade students who have been learning in a hybrid
Staff / WGLT
Unit 5 students made a good transition back to hybrid learning after the holiday break, according to district administrators.
Superintendent Kristen Weikle said students still had good safety habits and routines from before the layoff. We are not seeing any widespread (infections) in any of our schools. Naturally, we still have some students and or staff who might test positive. But they appear to be testing positive from outside of the school setting. That s reaffirming. And then, of course, locally our numbers have decreased, said Weikle.
Last week, there were 40 postive tests among Unit 5 students and staff. The largest number was nine at Normal Community High School. The district dashboard showed 122 newly quarantined students and staff.