Parents push back against blended learning District 300 hoping to get more kids back into school by second quarter

The Du Quoin District 300 leadership will try to get students back into school more during the second quarter of 2020-2021, as long as it doesn't put students, staff and faculty at greater risk for COVID-19, Superintendent Matt Hickam said Thursday.

Last week, at the September school board meeting, 10 parents stood up to ask the district for more in-person instruction for their children. Currently, students are broken into A/B groups, each group with two days of in-person instruction on Mondays/Wednesdays and Tuesdays/Thursdays. Two other days each week are devoted to homework and Fridays are remote learning for everyone.

The parents said they are frustrated by the slower pace of classes under the blended system. Some children are finding it harder to stay engaged when they aren't in school, parents said, and some are experiencing unhealthy levels of stress.

"Our kids are falling behind," said parent Angela Darnell.

Ellen McPherson suggested that protecting children from the coronavirus is a poor trade-off for a substandard education.

"At what cost are we keeping everybody safe and secure?" she asked, saying that if the result is to "let go of education, you might as well just call it summer."

One parent said her daughter, a good student who loved school, now "cries every night" and begs her mom to home-school her. The woman and her husband felt compelled to get their daughter counseling.

"No one can give me any answer of when this is going to end," she added.

Those who addressed the board (in order of speaking) were Christopher Boyd, Angela Darnell, Amanda White, Ellen McPherson, Cori Maynor, Alicia Kiechler, Crystal Rogers, Stephanie Rathert, Krysta Brown and Paul McPherson.

At a Leadership Team meeting last Friday, District 300 administrators talked with each other about how to get more students back into school in the second quarter. One idea - that Fridays be changed from all-remote learning to some in-school classes - was ultimately rejected.

"In discussing it, we discovered that Friday has a lot of value for teachers," Hickam said. "A lot of them use that time to meet with an entire class or small groups of kids remotely. Or they are focusing on their full-time remote learners.

"To take that time away right now would be a negative."

Hickam said their objective for the second quarter is to get more kids in school, while still keeping the COVID-19 risk low. One possibility under discussion is to focus on students who are struggling and get them more in-person time.

"We've reached out to students who are not doing well academically," Hickam said, adding principals have send letters home and in some cases done home visits.

Hickam said he is meeting with the principals on Friday, and the Leadership Team next week, "to see what we can do."

The superintendent said he has no idea when the coronavirus will let up. Meanwhile, he said, educators are experiencing plenty of frustration too.

"We know this is not the best way to deliver education - but we knew that going in (into the school year)," Hickam said. "Teachers can't teach at the pace they normally would. And there are kids who have been difficult to engage when they aren't in school."

Mr. Hickam said there is stress and frustration among parents, teachers and administrators to provide an education under the existing safety guidelines.

Still, the district has largely kept its students and faculty safe and the risk low.

"I feel like things are going in a positive direction," Hickam said. "We can look at our own data and have not had any major outbreak - hopefully this latest circumstance won't be major.

"I understand that parents are advocating what is best for their child. But we have to consider what's best for all children, as well as employees."