There’s little remote about their intent
More than 300 gather in Orland Park, urge schools to reopen for in-person learning
“It can be done. Your administrations just need to fight for it.” — EllaWoltman, St. Laurence High School freshman
Most advocates from both sides on the hot-button issue of remote learning versus in-person learning agree on one thing.
They want students in school and education to return to normal.
How long that takes is the thorny sticking point.
While area school districts are preparing for limited in-person learning next week, more than 300 people including students, athletes and parents rallied in Orland Park Thursday night clamoring for more time.
The rally in Crescent Park was one of a series of rallies held in Wheaton, McCook and Barrington focused on bringing students back to schools and having fall sports return to normal. The demands are being made because rally organizers say that e-learning is inferior, and some argue
that depression and suicide rates are up because of it.
The loudest voice in Thursday’s hourlong presentation belonged to a student who is actually attending class two to three times a week. Oak Lawn’s Ella Woltman, a freshman at St. Laurence High School in Burbank, spoke out against e-learning.
“It can be done. Your administrations just need to fight for it,” she said. “Public schools should be back in school. The virus isn’t programmed to target public schools. Imagine yourself isolated in your room alone, eyes forced to be glued to a computer screen eventually only coming out of your room three to four hours a day due to social anxiety. Is this our future? No!”
Attendees came from different districts, including as far north as Northbrook. But the Orland Park rally focused on High School District 230 and Orland Elementary District 135.
District 230, which has close to 8,000 students at Sandburg, Stagg and Andrew high schools, plans to have students return on a limited level by the end of the month. But it will be only 25% enrollment per day, meaning each student would be
in person just one day a week.
“We all want our students back on campus safely and when they are ready,” Superintendent James Gay said in a statement Thursday. “The district believes it is important to provide options for families to make the best choice for their children.”
Gay said the district has taken time to assure it can follow Illinois Department of Public Health protocols for health and safety, including obtaining needed personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies.
“We will continue to follow local health data as the district transitions to Stage 2 with 25% of students on campus and aswe look toward Stage 3 with 50% of students on campus at a time,” he said. “And, of course, families also have the option for fully remote.”
Based on responses to an survey of families that closed Wednesday, 70% chose the blended on-site/ remote option and 30% chose to remain fully remote, Gay said.
Orland Elementary District 135, which has 10 schools, wanted to go to a blended learning model in December but may speed that process up.
Diane DeVito, a parent of a student at Sandburg High School, helped organized Thursday’s event after attending the Wheaton rally Sept. 8. She acknowledged full-time, in-person learning would be hard to implement but said bringing students in just one day a week was not enough.
“My personal opinion, and I’m not speaking for everyone, is that two days one week and three days the next would be OK,” she said. “Spread it out. Of course, we’re not saying ‘let’s go back five days a week.’ Iwant some consistency. Put a plan forth. Do
it. There is no reason you can’t stick to it.”
She said those demonstrating understand the need to wear masks and take other precautions.
“But we need to go forward. What is happening is just not workable. It’s a disaster,” she said.
Adam Russo, the chairman and CEO of Edgewood Clinical Services in various western suburbs, told the crowd that learning from home causes anxiety, depression and suicides. If trends hold and teenage suicides go up by
1%, there will be more students dying of suicide than of COVID-19, he said.
Speakers included Charlie and Lanie Jablecki, a sixth grader and a fourth grader, respectively, and Barb Ruggles, a retired 35-year teacher in Chicago Heights Elementary District 170.
Only one person openly disagreed with the philosophies of the rally. A man who did not want to give out his name but said he had a child in District 135 carried a sign that read
“How many of us dying is OK?” on one side and “Keep kids home” on the other.
DeVito said that choices for both sides should be allowed.
“We are not saying everyone has to go to school,” she said. “I understand there are people with compromised immune systems or have some sort of medical condition. But we aren’t given that choice.”