A hybrid learning plan to bring students back to Oak Park and River Forest High School could be revealed later this year, but administrators said they are paying close attention to rising COVID-19 numbers in the area.
According to administrators, a steering committee has been formed to seek input from students, staff and community experts, while a separate advisory committee has also been formed to study the issue.
The 48-member advisory committee includes four student representatives, four alumni of OPRF, seven parents of former students, 12 parents of current students, nine medical professionals and representatives from both Oak Park District 97 and River Forest District 90.
Administrators presented information about both committees to the school board Oct. 22, saying a final proposal for a hybrid learning model could be brought back to the board before the end of the year.
“Their role is not to tell us whether we come back in person, remote or hybrid, but to help us address the areas of concern such as equity, staff and faculty training, teaching, instruction and technology, facilities and operations, medical data and guidance,” superintendent Joylynn Pruitt-Adams said. “Their role is to help us determine the best way to safely bring our students into the building, not so much when we bring them in.”
The advisory group already met Oct. 15 and Oct. 20, and is planning its next meeting for Oct. 29.
On Friday, Pruitt-Adams sent a message to OPRF faculty and staff asking them to prepare for a return to the school building.
“The district will begin a phased return to [an] in-person instruction model in a manner that protects the health and safety of our students and employees,” Pruitt-Adams wrote in that letter. “While the reopening plan for second semester is not finalized yet, we would like to provide you with an advance notice that, starting at the beginning of second semester, if local conditions allow, we will offer instruction to our students on a hybrid basis.”
A message left with the OPRF faculty senate union was not immediately returned.
In a letter to the community posted on the school website three days later, Pruitt-Adams noted the four ZIP codes comprising the district have seen a seven-day positivity rate jump from 2.85 percent to 4.36 percent in just one week from Oct. 18 to Oct. 24. During that same period, the number of new cases per 100,000 went from 83 to 167. That data was gathered from Northwestern University’s Feinburg School of Medicine dashboard, officials said.
During the board meeting, administrators stressed any plan for returning students to the building requires COVID-19 metrics to remain low.
“If [they keep rising] we will have to shut down,” Pruitt-Adams said. “There’s a lot on the table. When we started this, the numbers were going down. They are [now] climbing and climbing very quickly. One of the good things about having the plan is if there comes a time for an adaptive pause and we have to revert back to remote, we have a remote plan.”
Board members agreed, saying a new wave of COVID-19 cases likely means the school will remain operating as-is.
“This is not just about what our administration or our staff can do to make this happen, but this is a community-wide effort,” board member Matt Baron said. “To just emphasize that, we can do all the right things and this committee can do a wonderful job, but we need a concerted effort across the board. We’re only as strong as the weakest link in this chain.”
Board member Gina Harris said the last thing the district wants is to switch between remote and in-person learning after making a change.
“What we know is best for students is continuity and relationship building,” Harris said. “Any back and forth of in-building and out-of-building, that lack of continuity is not a best practice. We know students thrive, even in this crazy system we’re dealing with now, they thrive with consistency.”
sschering@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter: @steveschering
