Mahomet-Seymour School Board to discuss reopening plans

The Mahomet-Seymour School Board will discuss reopening prospects for the 2020-21 school year at a Special Board session on July 6. 

The board packet released Thursday afternoon cites that the plans continue to be in draft form and the Illinois State Board of Education continues to update the 60-page document they released late last week.

A Reopening Task Force began meeting in late May to discuss potential scenarios for reopening. The draft presented to the board of education were organized under Phases 3, 4, and 5 of the “Restore Illinois Plan”, released by Governor Pritzker on May 5, 2020. 

The two plans presented under Phase 4 guidelines, allowing gathering up to 50, were derived from the Teacher Subcommittee Recommended Plan and what is allowable under the ISBE Guidance Plan.

Attendance will be required and taken daily during the 2020-21 school year, regardless of the phase Illinois is in at the time. Students will also be required to engage in the learning process, and complete assignments in a timely manner. 

The district will also ask that students and parents communicate with the district if challenging circumstances arise or if problems, including internet access, impede the student from participating. 

The Mahomet-Seymour Elementary schools will  resume with standards-based grading and Mahomet-Seymour Junior High and High School will resume traditional grading. 

Per ISBE guidelines, students and staff will be required to wear face masks, when possible. 

“Face shields have not been deemed effective for source control and are only to be used when other methods of protection are not available or appropriate,” an ISBE statement released earlier this week said. 

ISBE said face shields could be appropriate in some situations, such as world languages, or certain medical conditions, if video instruction isn’t possible.

Additionally, all students in grades 1-12 will be given access to a district-issued Chromebook while kindergarteners will receive a touch screen tablet.

The district will also update their school health plan to accommodate for state-mandated health screening upon entering the building and to update their absence policy.

Students and faculty who have been exposed to COVID-19, have symptoms of COVID-19, have a fever, strep throat, pink eye, vomiting or diarrhea will be required to stay home. The district will also update their requirements for return to school. 

Plans for a full off-campus option for students who cannot attend school are not yet finalized.

Jump Start Program

The district hopes to start the school year with a Summer Jump Start program to give students in need of additional support a chance to catch up on their studies after school closed in mid-March.

The program will provide small group instruction  aimed at reviewing important skills and concepts from the previous year July 27 to Aug. 6 from 9 a.m. to noon. High school, junior high students, elementary and special education students who meet certain district requirements will be invited to participate in the Jump State program. 

“The district recognizes that all students will need review and support when school starts in August. Teachers in all areas, at all levels, are building in a time of review at the start of the 2020-2021 school year,” the board packet says.

Phase 4 – Teacher Subcommittee Recommended Plan 

Pre-K

Students will attend school on-campus Tuesday-Friday in half day sections, limiting class size to 10 students. Current tuition-based students are welcome to re-enroll, however, in Phase 4 no other tuition-based spots will be filled. In addition to academic learning, there will be emphasis on teaching students proper hand-washing and how to clean their spaces. Teachers would disinfect the room between sessions. 

Grades K-5

Elementary students would begin their week on Monday, participating in asynchronous  learning from home. 

Teachers would be required to be on campus, with professional development in the morning and office hours and remote small groups in the afternoon. 

Tuesday through Friday would be on-campus days for students, one group in the morning and another in the afternoon; teachers would disinfect between groups.

When students are not learning on campus, they will be engaged in a combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning. Asynchronous learning will include online activities with Dreambox (math) and Mystery Science. Synchronous learning will include activities such as lessons by encore teachers. 

Some elementary students needing RtI services in math, reading and/or SEL will attend the whole day. Half of their day will be spent with the classroom teacher. The other half of the day will be spent with interventionist and/or encore teachers. Other elementary students will receive RtI services remotely. 

All students who receive special education services for math, reading, writing and social-emotional learning will attend all day, Tues. through Fri.. They will attend their general education classes for half the day and receive special education instructional minutes and related services the second part of the day, as well as participate in encore classes. 

Grades 6-12

Like elementary students, middle school and high school students would begin their week on Monday, participating in asynchronous  learning from home. 

 Teachers will participate in professional development and department planning on Monday mornings and will assist students in small group instruction during office hours Monday afternoons. 

Then junior high and high school students would attend on-campus learning one day a week, then learn off-campus three days, Tuesday through Friday.

The campuses will be open with sign-ups for students to access the building for internet during off-campus learning. 

Junior high students in need of RtI services and/or additional supports will have the opportunity to receive those services before school and during the school day. High school students in need of RtI services and/or additional supports will have the opportunity to receive those services before school and during study hall both on-campus and off-campus. 

Students receiving RtI and/or IEP services may need to attend on-campus for additional days. Students who participate in Compass and ATLAS programs will attend all four days of in person learning. 

Eighth grade Foreign Language will be taught during the RtI time at the junior high. Students needing transportation for RtI or foreign language may ride the elementary bus.

Phase 4 – Allowable within ISBE’s Guidelines

Grades K-5

In this plan, all elementary students will attend school daily for a full school day. 

Students will remain in their “homeroom” classroom for all classes. Students will have an assigned area within the classroom where they will remain for all learning. This will allow for the most practical social distancing given the age group.

Building hours may be adjusted slightly to allow for professional development and additional support for students. The focus during this instructional time will be on building relationships and reengaging with learning.

Grades 6-8 

Junior high and high school students will follow an abbreviated school schedule Tuesday-Friday, attending school in-person two days a week and off-campus synchronous the other two days.

On Mondays all students will attend school off-campus with asynchronous learning. Teachers will participate in professional development and department planning on Monday mornings and will assist students in small group instruction during office hours Monday afternoons. 

The campuses will be open with sign-ups for students to access the building for internet during off-campus learning. 

Junior high students in need of RtI services and/or additional supports will have the opportunity to receive those services before school and during the school. High school students in need of RtI services and/or additional supports will have the opportunity to receive those services before school and during study hall both on-campus and off-campus. Students receiving RtI and/or IEP services may need to attend on-campus for additional days. 

Eighth grade Foreign Language will be taught during the RtI time at the junior high school. Students needing transportation for RtI or foreign language may ride the elementary bus.

Phase 3 Plan

Should Illinois move back into Phase 3, instruction will take place off-campus. 

PreK students will have set times for daily whole group morning meetings as well as additional time for small group or individual work on specific skills with the teacher. 

Elementary students will have set classroom times for morning meetings, whole group reading, writing, and math instruction. Additionally, students will have specific times to engage in small group instruction. Students receiving RtI services and/or in need of additional support may receive those supports in a variety of ways including online platforms, in-person within the school building (groups of 8 or less), or in-person via a school on wheels. 

Junior high and high school students will follow a synchronous schedule that will allow for students to move through their daily schedule with off-campus learning. Students needing additional support may receive those supports in a variety of ways including online platforms, in-person within the school building (groups of 8 or less), or in-person via a school on wheels. Students receiving special education and related services may receive support in a variety of ways including online platforms, real-time virtual instruction, in-person within the school building (groups of 8 or less), or in person via services on wheels.

Teachers and staff will be on campus during Phase 3. Offices will be open during regular school hours. Each building will have set hours for instruction and teacher office hours. 

Synchronous instruction will take place Tuesday – Friday with Mondays being reserved for asynchronous learning and teacher/staff professional development and planning.

Phase 5 Plan

During Phase 5 instruction will be on-campus. Students will return to school Monday – Friday with health measures in place. 

Teachers and staff are on campus during Phase 5. Offices are open from 8:00 am. – 4:00 pm Monday through Friday.

Kids Club

Kids club will resume for students in grades K-5 with reduced capacity. 

The board discussion will take place at Middletown Prairie Elementary on July 6 at 7 p.m. The meeting will also be streamed live on Bulldog TV. The public can send their comments to Dawn Quinley at dquinley@ms.k12.il.us, log into the meeting at https://mscusd.webex.com/mscusd/j.php?MTID=m2b7bdc27e98698bb2672723d52fb79b0 or provide public comment at the board meeting. The district asks that guests notify Quinley of their intent to participate in public comment.