Yorkville School District students to return to e-learning after spring break due to COVID-19

YORKVILLE – Yorkville students will soon be coming back to another week of e-learning as they return virtually from their spring break.

Yorkville School District 115 Superintendent Tim Shimp wrote in a message to students and families that district staff e-learning planning days are planned for Monday, March 30 and Tuesday, March 31. He wrote employees will finalize learning activities and grading guidelines for students moving forward and student attendance for those two days will not be required.

"By Tuesday evening, Y115 families will receive an email from district administration with detailed information about the e-learning and grading plan," Shimp wrote.

Shimp wrote teachers will be in contact with students on Wednesday, April 1 regarding grade level specific e-learning expectations through April 8. He wrote student attendance will be taken daily and students or their guardians must either check in through the link y115.org/attendance or have a guardian report them as sick on the school's absence phone line by 10 a.m. on that day.

"There has been no indication of a definitive date when schools will re-open to students, so at this time, we are following the state's most recent April 8 return date order," Shimp wrote.
"However, we are aware that this date is likely to change."

The update comes after Yorkville schools began elective e-learning after Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker declared March 17 through March 30 "Act of God Days" for schools statewide, meaning the 10 days of school closure will not need to be made up at the end of the school year. Yorkville school officials gave their rationale for starting e-learning right away despite it not being required by the state during the school district's Board of Education meeting on March 16.

"Due to the prior e-learning work by our faculty and families, as well as the structure of our current learning/grading plan, we are in a great position to continue with this type of learning for as long as needed," Shimp wrote.

Shimp wrote the staff planning days and the student e-learning days count toward the minimum length of the school year and do not need to be made up. The last day of the 2019-2020 school year will still be May 20, he wrote.

"We understand that this is a very stressful, unpredictable, and ever-changing set of circumstances for our students, staff, and families," Shimp wrote. "Our focus and priorities will continue to be on keeping children emotionally and physically safe, fed, and engaged in learning. We will make every effort to minimize instructional loss, continue student learning the rest of the semester, and provide some levels of educational routines and structures for our students and families."