EMSD Families
On the afternoon of March 9th, school districts from across the state received an email from the Illinois State Board of Education regarding updated health and safety guidance. The State Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Public Health guidance on social distancing has changed and is now defined as 3 to 6 feet for students and staff. Schools can now operate at no less than 3 feet in order to provide in-person learning for students.
We are proud of the work we’ve done to adhere to the standards from our public health officials. But now those guidelines have changed, and we will too. Starting with the 4th Quarter of our school year, the East Moline School District will return to 4 days of in-person instruction for those who choose to attend. Families still have the option of full-time remote learning as well.
We realize this is a change from last week’s announcement, but the State Board of Education did not give any indication that the guidelines would change. When balancing the potential disruption against the new social distancing guidelines, we believe we need to give our families the option to choose what is best for their child.
It is important for our families to know, many of our elementary students may need to change classroom teachers for the 4th quarter. Due to the way we were set up for blended hybrid learning, we will need to adjust class sizes. We realize our students have had a lot of transition already, but we are weighing those changes against the new social distancing guidelines. Due to the need to serve in-person and remote students, school hours will remain the same.
If you have not filled out our survey from last week yet to indicate your preference for your child’s attendance, please do so by Wednesday, March 10 at midnight. If you have changed your mind based on this new information, please call your school directly.
We appreciate your patience as we navigate the last quarter of our school year. The 4th quarter begins on Monday, March 29. Our first day of in-person instruction for the quarter will be Tuesday, March 30. Serving our students and families safely remains our top priority.
Yours for kids,
Dr. Kristin Humphries, Superintendent