UPDATED: SUNDAY, AUG 9, 2020
WEST FRANKFORT (WSIL) -- Now that West Frankfort Schools are moving forward with only remote learning to start off the school year, the question is, when will students return to the classrooms.
Teachers and staff will continue to report to the buildings to work, unless they are put on quarantine, but students will not return until sometime after September 11th. The school will determine its return date based on the the COVID conditions in the county.
Superintendent of Frankfort Schools Matt Donkin says the uptick in positivity rates in the region factored into their current decision, just as some West Frankfort businesses have closed and area churches reconsider their in-person programming.
"The school would be putting more people together each day, if they started with in-person learning," says Donkin, adding, "That made for a nerve wracking situation."
The school already delayed its opening to resolve an issue of mold, now with the COVID cases increasing in the community, school officials spent three days discussing their options before making the decision on full remote learning.
"As the virus is into the community, into our school family, just the brief interactions we've had trying to figure out the time, the space, all those kinds of things," has been challenging, says Donkin. "And the challenge of bringing 1,600 students and 200 staff here was going to make it even tougher."
Nearly 25% of students had elected remote learning for the fall semester already and the school was busy with making remote and blended work together, says Donkin, now those resources can focus on making remote work for everyone.
"And what we want to do with remote learning is do it as well as we can, and this gives us something to focus on as we're learning and training and fine-tuning things these next two weeks before we welcome students back," explains Donkin. "Our hope, our goal, what we wanted to do from begin with - and we think is most effective - is bring students back in-person, but we just don't think that's the best choice and option for us right now."
Donkin goes on to say that there is still a lot left to consider these next two weeks as the schools will still serve breakfast and lunch, ensuring students have the equipment needed for remote learning, and defining further details to get students back in the classroom.
"We knew that we might end up in this situation, that's been our conversations all summer," Donkin says. "There was the hope, and then there's the reality we have to deal with."
He says they will continue to monitor the situation and .
ORIGINAL STORY
WEST FRANKFORT, IL (WSIL) -- Frankfort CUSD #168 will start the school year with no in person learning.
On Aug. 24 the school year will begin with full-remote learning.
According to Superintendent Matt Donkin the decision was made due to increasing numbers of positive COVID-19 cases and the difficult logistics of "distancing and potentially quarantining over 1,600 students and 200 faculty and staff members."
The District will stay on this remote learning only schedule through at least Friday, Sept. 11.
School leaders say remote learning is the best option for now, but they'll continue to evaluate the situation.
Throughout these Remote Learning Days, faculty and staff will be working from their classrooms at our schools each day that we have school to put together and conduct these remote learning sessions and increase their quality from what was offered in the spring.
The District will be reaching out to families who indicated they have
technology needs over the next two weeks to get devices and materials to them.
More information on school breakfast and lunch programs is also expected over the next few days.
