MARION (WSIL) -- UPDATE: The Marion Unit #2 School Board has voted to allow students to attend in-person learning five days a week.
Currently, Marion's K-12 students are only attending school in-person Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. All students have been full remote on Friday.
Starting the week of March 22, students will begin attending in-person learning on Fridays.
The decision was approved with a vote of 4-2. One board member was not present for the meeting.
A couple challenges facing the district if they were to decide to go to a full school day is how to feed students at lunch time as state COVID-19 protocols limit the number of people in one room to 50. Also, remote learning remains an option for students, and teachers must allow extra time to plan and accommodate those kids.
ORIGINAL POST: How many days a week should students be getting in-person learning during the pandemic? Monday, Marion Unit 2 School Board is holding a special meeting on the issue and parents are picking sides.
Board members and parents are expected to discuss the pros and cons of adding Friday mornings to the in-person schedule.
Board Vice-President, Joseph Bleyer, sent News 3 WSIL a statement saying they've been evaluating opinions of parents staff and the administration to find a solution for a beneficial learning experience.
He says adding Friday morning as an in-person day will increase a student’s class time by 20%.
But one parent told us changing the schedule would reduce time teachers would have with their remote students and she's afraid her child will have "water-down curriculum" and an unfair advantage compared to in-person learners.
And one Marion high school student says the school year is nearly over and she and her classmates say their schedule has allowed them to work, study and get involved in other activities.
"It may seem like a small change just to add a Friday half-day to your students' schedule, but when you've gotten so used to one schedule and you have learned how to thrive in this specific situation, it does seem like a big change to a lot of students and especially I know it seems like a large change to teachers as well," said Victoria Shore.
Bleyer says he would like to see at least at the high school, return all day Monday through Friday but due to the limit of 50 people in a room it would prevent an efficient delivery of lunch.
