PEORIA, Ill. — Following a Tuesday work session that lasted “all day,” as Dr. Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat said, Peoria Public School District 150 announced Wednesday a plan to allow kindergarteners and first graders to return to some in-person instruction as early as Oct. 5.
Special education students may return as early as Oct. 12.
“We had a board meeting Monday with a proposed timeline of somewhere around Oct. 26,” said Kherat. “The board, through a consensus, said we like the idea of the safety and the advancement with a focus on kindergarteners, first graders, and special ed self-contained students, and can you look at bringing them back sooner?
“We worked on it all day yesterday (Tuesday), with lots of meetings, lots of plannings, and so the date will be Oct. 5 for K and one, and Oct. 12 for the special ed students.”
Kherat said the Oct. 12 date applies to all grades of self-contained special education students.
The superintendent explained the reason for sending kindergarteners and first graders back first.
“Every available guidance and research put out by national and state educators and leaders say the youngest learners and special education students should be prioritized for in-person instruction,” she said.
“As we know, they’re still learning to read. They don’t know at this point how to read to learn, and need the fundamentals and guidance, so it made a lot of sense to focus on them first because they’re so much in need of support as it relates to the basics and a strong foundation.
“We feel very good about the focus on the youngest learners. They also struggle with the computer and in terms of screen time and attention span, so the in-person experience is the best experience for them, for sure.”
Kherat explained the board hasn’t decided which group of students would be the next to be eligible for in-person learning, but she would like for all students pre-kindergarten through fourth grade to be back in classrooms if the environment permits.
Peoria County’s positivity rate and case count, combined with the school district’s case count, will be the primary factors in determining the next steps.
Students on Oct. 5 will resume the A/B model. Parents who do not wish to send their students back to in-person learning will have the option to resume distance learning.
Hear the full interview with Kherat:
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