District 95 looks at how to return

Carbondale District 95 schools have set a goal of late July for developing and sharing a reopening plan for the fall.

A first day for student instruction has been set tentatively for Aug. 19.

"We are assembling to plan for our students and staff to transition back to school for the 2020-2021 school year," Superintendent Daniel Booth said in a news release issued this week. "As we incorporate guidance from the Illinois State Board of Education into our plan, we ask for the public's patience as we create a safe return to school."

On Tuesday morning, more than three dozen District 95 teachers and staff met virtually to begin discussions. Their meeting came about five hours before the Illinois State Board of Education shared its first piece of guidance for districts planning to return to schools closed because of COVID-19. 

Booth led the meeting, announcing that those assembled would create the plan and implement the reopening. Team members will meet weekly to create a plan for what a return to school will look like.

Booth also shared results from the district's recent parent survey about returning to school.

He noted that some 425 parents responded to the survey, representing close to 700 students. 

A majority of the respondents (44.4 percent) preferred a combination of some in-person learning and some remote learning; 34.3 percent all in-person learning; and 21.3 percent all remote learning.