MORTON, Ill. — In-person learning is the current plan for fall of 2020 in Morton Unit School District No. 709.
Superintendent Dr. Jeff Hill has issued a video statement, calling the spring 2020 semester “surreal, and somewhat strange,” and an experience during which people have learned about themselves.
“Through it all and in the end, I think we’ve all realized we miss being together as educators and as learners, and we’d like to return to that in the fall,” he said.
“Our goal is to be back in school as normally and as safely as possible.”
Hill went on to acknowledge the fear COVID-19 presents.
“There’s going to be risks, of course, but we’ve always had risks when we send our kids to school, whether it’s having them walk to school by themselves, riding their bikes to school, driving to school, or leaving campus for lunch at the high school. There always seems to be an element of risk,” he said.
“We have these things for our kids because we know it’s going to help them grow and develop as they mature into adults.”
Hill said certain modifications are being considered, such as attendance policy, and determining whether or not learning loss has occurred and, if so, how to cater to that.
He added the district was awaiting state guidance on local autonomy as to defining what a “new normal” should look like.
