LM Sept 2020

Message From the Executive Director Sharing Ideas and Staying Connected isMore Important Than Ever

Dr. Brent Clark

Hybrid: Communicate Expectations Dr. Genevra Walters, superintendent of Kankakee SD #111, was one of the first leaders in the state to release a reopening plan, which provided students different options for school. Recently, the governor imposed more strict restrictions in her region due to rising positivity rates that raised questions about what that would mean for the district. Dr. Walters has tried to get out in front of new challenges by communicating the expectation that the district only plans to go remote if the governor forces it to. She also realizes she needs to be flexible and agile with plans and make changes to protect the health and safety of students along the way. I realize circumstances in your community might be different, but the general idea of communicating expectations will help when faced with new obstacles. Remote: Stay Connected with Students Edwin Shoemate, superintendent of Cobden USD #17, raised a good point in the webinar about teachers staying connected to students during remote learning. He noted some teachers have visited students one-on-one in a socially distanced and safe manner. This won’t be practical for all students, but I liked the idea how teachers tried to meet with some students at least one time in person, even during remote learning. Stay safe, and I wish you the best as we embark on a new school year. It will be the toughest school year any of us have ever faced but, remember, you are built for this.

One of the ways IASA can support its members is by connecting school administrators across the state. When the pandemic hit, connecting and sharing ideas, resources, strategies and reopening plans became more important than ever. The challenges superintendents face are too large for any one person to overcome. Late last month, IASA launched the Illinois Schools Step Up Webinar Series and gave 12 superintendents—four in person, four hybrid and four remote plans—a platform to share with their peers how they planned to reopen school, what has worked well and what could have been done better. As a way to continue IASA’s efforts of connecting members and sharing ideas—in this issue we also launched a new series, Superintendent Check-In, where nine superintendents discuss reopening school—I want to highlight three takeaways I had from the series that could be helpful for you this school year. Recordings of the webinars can be found on IASA website in the Illinois Schools Step Up Toolkit. In Person: Don’t Forget About Privacy Dr. Gabe Schwemmer, superintendent of Sparta CUSD #140, shared how two positive tests in her district forced her to make one of her buildings fully remote. When that happened, she explained, there was clamoring from people both inside and outside of her district to identify the individuals who tested positive. Schools can, and maybe should for purposes of transparency, report overall numbers (one way to do this is via the ECRA Strategic Dashboard), but providing names of individuals could backfire. School leaders need to keep in mind the same rules about privacy still apply during a pandemic. Hopefully, your local health department will assist with contact tracing and help identify those individuals in close contact with the person who tested positive and communicate with them directly. It will probably look a little different in each community how that will play out, but sticking with that process and communicating that process will be important.

3 LM September 2020