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IMPORTANT UPDATE ON IN-PERSON LEARNING: JANUARY 12, 2021
Good afternoon DPS family. We have an important update to share on our planned return to in-person learning.
DPS administration established a series of metrics, which you can find below, to guide our decision making in bringing students back to in-person learning. The safety of students and staff is always our top priority. At this time, our transportation provider All Town is unable to provide the minimum number of bus drivers required to safely transport students to and from school. Because of this, we have made the determination that we cannot safely bring students back in person starting January 19. Therefore, we will postpone the in-person return to February 8, while we continue to look for solutions.
We do understand that the timing of this change is not ideal, as many families will now have to switch childcare plans again. Please know that we are working to make the best decisions we can with the information we have, while always keeping health and safety at the forefront of those decisions. We will continue to monitor the metrics and will keep you informed leading up to the February 8 return. Thank you for your understanding as we continue to work through these unprecedented times.
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January 8, 2021 Announcement
We have been monitoring our community’s health data, and based on current indicators, determined that it is in the best interest of our students to begin in-person instruction in Decatur Public Schools. We’ve worked in conjunction with the Macon County Health Department to develop a series of metrics to examine in making this decision – those metrics have been frequently monitor and are posted on our website below. The decision matrix also includes responses should cases arise across our district or in a specific building. We feel confident that making in-person instruction available to those families who want it, while continuing to offer a virtual-only option, is the best decision at this time for our students.
DPS will welcome students back in person starting Tuesday, January 19, following the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on January 18. Students who have previously declared they want in-person learning are assigned one day per week to attend in person for January 19 – February 5.
- In-person students are divided into two groups, A and B – in-person students will be notified by their school which group they are divided into. Group A students will attend in-person on Tuesdays, Group B students will attend in-person on Thursdays.
- All students will continue to attend school virtually on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Those who selected to continue with virtual learning only will still receive assignments for Tuesday and Thursdays; those who selected in-person learning will receive assignments for the day of school they are not in-person.
- Only those students who previously declared through Skyward that they would attend in person will attend for January 19 – February 5.
We have been preparing for many months to welcome students back in person. Below are just a few of the new measures that are in place for when students return:
- We will ask parents to certify in Skyward each morning that their student attends in person that the student does not have a fever and is not showing any COVID symptoms.
- Students will also get temperature checks and a symptom screening as they enter the buildings.
- We have enhanced cleaning and disinfecting procedures in all buildings, and have hand sanitizer and disinfecting supplies available in each classroom. DPS has also hired additional custodial staff to manage these enhanced cleaning needs, including substitute custodians and floating custodial staff to address needs in different locations as they arise.
- All classrooms have also been set up to allow for social distancing between desks.
There is much more information on these protocols in a handbook on our website, just click on Health & Safety above, or go directly to this link to read the Health & Safety Protocols Guidebook.
A form in Skyward is still open today for families to select if they want students to attend in-person starting February 8 – families have until the end of the day today, Friday, January 8, to make that selection in Skyward. If our community’s health data shows it is safe to do so, we will begin welcoming students back in-person more than one day per week, starting February 8. At this time, we are still examining options for expanded in-person instruction, including a possibility of offering two-days per week on the continuing hybrid schedule, in which each A and B group would attend two days per week in person. We will of course continue to offer a virtual-only option for those families and students who want it.
As always, we continue to monitor our community’s health and safety statistics as we make these decisions. We do know we are bound to encounter hurdles and unforeseen bumps in the road along the way, but we will all continue to work together to navigate through these unusual times.
Dr. Paul Fregeau
Superintendent, Decatur Public Schools
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Metrics for Determining Type of Instruction
Decatur Public Schools, in conjunction with the Macon County Health Department (MCHD), has developed a series of metrics to determine when students can safely return to in-person instruction in our schools. Below you'll see the signs we are watching for and response should those signs arise. DPS continues to be in close consultation with the MCHD to make all health and safety-related decisions for our students, staff, schools, and community.
These metrics are based on county-level data provided weekly by the Illinois Department of Public Health, which you can find linked here.
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12/04/2020 Announcement
UPDATED 12/04/2020
At this time, DPS plans to welcome students back in person starting Tuesday, January 19, following the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on January 18. We do continue to monitor the health and safety of our community; therefore, this plan is tentative and will be reevaluated following the holiday break.
Students who have declared they want in-person learning will be assigned one day per week to attend in person for January 19 – February 5. In-person students will be divided into two groups, A and B; in-person students will be notified by their school which group they are divided into.
- Group A students will attend in-person on Tuesdays; Group B students will attend in-person on Thursdays.
- All students will continue to attend school virtually on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
- Those who selected to continue with virtual learning only will still receive assignments on Tuesday and Thursdays; those who selected in-person learning will receive assignments on the day of school they are not in-person.
Only those students who previously declared through Skyward that they would attend in person will attend for January 19 – February 5.
We are also reopening the form in Skyward for families to select if they want students to attend in-person starting February 8. Families have until January 8 to make that selection in Skyward using the “Learning Environment Choice” form under Online Forms.
If our community’s health data shows it is safe to do so, DPS will begin welcoming students back in-person 4-days per week, starting February 8. Students participating in-person would attend in-person Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, with all students participating in virtual learning on Wednesdays. Students will transition from 1-day per week in-person to 4-days per week following this schedule:
- PreK-2nd: 4-days per week starting February 8; 3rd-12th: continue with 1-day per week
- PreK-8th: 4-days per week starting February 15; 9th-12th: continue with 1-day per week
- All students: 4-days per week starting February 22
Parents/guardians do continue to have the option of keeping students on virtual learning only. Virtual students will continue to receive instruction 5 days per week, with a focus on independent assignments with limited face-to-face interaction. Anyone who does not complete the "Learning Environment Choice" form in Skyward will automatically be placed in virtual instruction.
Again, this plan is tentative, pending health and safety statistics in our community, and will be reevaluated as we approach these dates.
Dr. Fregeau
Superintendent, Decatur Public Schools
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11/17/2020 Announcement
Updated 11/17/2020
Good morning DPS Family! Yesterday we received guidance from the Macon County Health Department, requesting that all schools in Macon County shift to virtual learning through at least January 15, 2021. Throughout this entire pandemic, protecting the health and safety of our staff, students, and community has been our top priority. We will once again follow the guidance of health experts and stay with virtual learning through January 15.We do continue the planning process for students’ return to in-person learning. But as always, we continue to monitor the health and safety of our entire community as we make decisions on when it will be safe for students to return. As we approach the Thanksgiving and holiday season, I implore you to please take every safety precaution you can – wear a mask, wash your hands, stay home as much as possible, and as difficult as it may be, avoid gathering with people from outside your own household.Thank you for your continued vigilance in protecting our DPS Family and our community.Dr. FregeauSuperintendent, Decatur Public Schools -
10/30/2020 Announcement
Students from PreK through 12th grade in Decatur Public Schools will continue to participate in virtual learning only for the remainder of the second quarter of the 2020-21 school year. The second quarter ends on December 18, 2020.
“This was a difficult decision to make, as we know it’s very important to get our students back in the classroom. Nothing can replace the live interaction students get in person with their teachers and their peers,” said Dr. Paul Fregeau, Superintendent of Decatur Public Schools. “However, we also know that the health of our community is an essential factor in making our decision, and right now those health factors don’t support bringing our students back to in-person learning.”
DPS administration continues to work with principals, teachers, and staff to plan for a return to in-person learning, which could happen as early as the beginning of the third quarter on January 4, 2021. However, we will also continue to monitor our community’s health factors to make that determination. An announcement will be made on Friday, December 4, 2020, about third quarter learning.