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COVID-19 and REMOTE LEARNING
Updated October 20, 2020
COVID - 19
CPS will begin the second quarter learning at home with the goal of reopening school buildings for pre-k and students enrolled in moderate and intensive cluster programs later in the second quarter.
CPS would only consider reopening schools if our public health officials believe it is safe to do so. The district’s plan has been reviewed and approved by the Chicago Department of Public Health, and we will continue to work closely with public health officials to ensure we are following the latest public health guidance.
Under the district’s current plan, children not attending pre-k or cluster programs are not able to return to in-person learning.
Child Learning Hubs are sites hosted by either CPS or community-based organizations where a limited number of students are able to attend remote classes while being supervised by an adult in a safe environment. Parents who are interested in enrolling their child in a Child Learning Hub can complete this survey. Additional supervision options are available on the My CHI. My Future. Website.
Students who do not choose to engage in in-person instruction will receive daily live, synchronous instruction. Pre-K students will receive a minimum of 60 minutes of live, synchronous, instruction per day. All other grades will receive a minimum of 150 minutes of live, synchronous instruction per day, per ISBE guidelines.
Schools will provide classrooms additional sets of high-touch items to reduce school supply sharing. CPS is following CDC guidance, which includes a regular cleaning schedule for classroom materials and removing items that cannot be sanitized from the classroom. In addition, items that become soiled by bodily fluids will be removed from the classroom until they are sanitized.
Temporary school building closure due to COVID-19 is possible. For example, if multiple COVID-19 cases occurred in a school and there was evidence of in-school transmission, the school would likely close and reopen once safe to do so.
The district is not currently providing extended care. Additional resources can be found from the Illinois Action for Children and My CHI. My Future.
Pods are small, designated groups of approximately 15 students (a socially-distanced classroom) that will attend in-person instruction and activities together.
Pods will minimize interactions between students and staff and reduce the potential spread of COVID-19. Pods will also allow for more efficient contact tracing—if a COVID-19 case is identified, only that person’s pod may need to be quarantined instead of the entire school. This hybrid learning plan is designed to adapt to changing public health conditions and allow an easy transition to full at-home learning or full at-school learning should public health conditions change.
Each pod will contain approximately 15 students, depending on the physical size of each classroom. Principals will be given access to a school planning tool that will enable them to determine the size of a given classroom’s pod based on the square footage available while adhering to social distancing requirements.
School buildings are closed; environmental cleaning experts and emergency personnel are allowed in school buildings, and teachers are able to teach remotely from their classrooms. Families should not send their children to schools.
Yes. Families can pick up free grab-and-go meals for every student in each household throughout remote learning. Lunchroom staff will prepare and provide meals outside of school buildings. Visit CPS meal-sites cps.edu/mealsites to check meal site hours and find a meal site near you.
If you are unable to pick up meals in person, please contact the CPS Command Center to schedule meal delivery at 773-553-KIDS (5437) or email familyservices@cps.edu.
Emergency personnel are staff members who perform essential district functions, such as designated payroll and accounting employees. Emergency personnel who are required for food distribution, cleaning, and core operations at schools are listed below:
Please call the CPS Command Center at 773-553-KIDS (5437) or email familyservices@cps.edu.
CPS is updating cps.edu/coronavirus and sending regular emails to families and staff to provide the most up-to-date information regarding COVID-19. The district will also post notifications on social media. If you have any questions, please contact the CPS Command Center at familyservices@cps.edu or 773-553-KIDS.
REMOTE LEARNING
Every K-12 student will be engaged for the entirety of a typical school day.Pre-K students will receive live instruction, but given the unique needs of our youngest learners, more time and focus will be spent on small group interaction and parental support.
To ensure schools design a school day that best meets the needs of their unique student body, the district has created parameters that define a set of district standards, and also give schools flexibility in designing the school day to best meet the needs of their school community. The specifics of students' schedules will be provided to families by school staff.
In the spring of 2020, CPS provided educators with guidance, tools, resources, and professional learning to support with remote learning implementation. In July, CPS launched the SY20-21 Instructional Priorities Summer Learning Series, designed to focus on clarifying the CPS instructional vision and providing shared, flexible learning opportunities for teachers and administrators. CPS will also produce a SY21 Remote Learning Guide that provides updates to remote learning expectations and useful information on how to strengthen the remote learning experience for all students. Finally, CPS is committed to providing ongoing professional learning support to help schools transition to remote learning, including resources on instructional technology best practices, content-specific learning, and preliminary digital curricular resources.
No student fees should be collected unless vital to the facilitation of remote learning until further notice.
CPS is following the district's regular grading policies, with students earning letter grades based on standards mastery. The district will provide additional guidance on unique grading scenarios that could arise due to the impacts of COVID-19.
The district's Chicago Connected initiative will provide free high-speed internet service to approximately 100,000 CPS students for four years. Eligible families will be contacted over the summer through direct mail, emails, robocalls, and text messages. Families should contact their school for assistance. Principals have been provided a roster of students who are eligible for Chicago Connected.
Families should contact their school's principal to request a device. They can also contact the district's IT Helpdesk at 773-417-1060 for additional assistance.
Having a common platform ensures that the district can accurately track and support student engagement. Google's tools, such as Google Meet and Google Classroom, are synchronized with other district platforms and meet the district's acceptable use policy and security requirements.
Schools will be able to use approved non-Google ed-tech tools that meet the district’s acceptable use policy, but teachers and students will be expected to log onto Google on a daily basis for a homeroom style check-in and utilize Google for live video instruction.
The district has created pathway-specific recommendations for CTE courses. Most courses will combine in-person opportunities for students to work in the CTE labs with virtual coursework and work-based learning.
Yes.
CPS has not yet decided whether the district will hold winter sports; our final decision will be made in accordance with state and public health guidelines. CPS will communicate the final decision with families as soon as possible.
HEALTH
COVID-19 is a respiratory illness that can spread from person to person. Symptoms include fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. At this time, there is no vaccine to protect against COVID-19 and no medications approved to treat it. The best way to prevent infection is to take everyday preventive actions, like avoiding close contact with people who are sick and washing your hands often.
Outside of school, students should maintain social distancing, wash their hands frequently, and follow public health guidance.
Those at higher risk include:
CPS will be sending out regular updates on COVID-19 and will notify the district as this situation develops. For communication purposes, please ensure the district has your up-to-date emergency contact information. For the most reliable information about COVID-19, please visit chicago.gov/coronavirus or cdc.gov/coronavirus. For district-specific updates, visit cps.edu/coronavirus.
RESOURCES
The Chicago Department of Health has established a call center to address questions from the public at coronavirus@chicago.gov or 312-746-4835. Phone lines are currently staffed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m every day. Please note that this call center can not access COVID-19 testing results. For testing inquiries or results, please contact your healthcare provider.
If you have any CPS-specific or school-related concerns, please reach out to the CPS Command Center by calling the Healthy CPS Hotline 773-553-KIDS (5437) (staffed from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday) or by emailing familyservices@cps.edu.
Information on the minimum health requirements can be found here in English or Spanish. These requirements must be completed by October 15, 2020 or upon enrollment. Families who need support obtaining health insurance or finding a provider can call the district's hotline—773-553-KIDS (5437)—or visit https://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/.
If you need help locating medical care, please reach out to the CPS Office of Student Health and Wellness at oshw@cps.edu or by calling the Healthy CPS Hotline 773-553-KIDS (5437).
Bullying, harrassment, and discrimination are always unacceptable. COVID-19 does not distinguish between race, nationality, or geographic borders. Stigma and discrimination against people who have the virus or who have family members with the virus discourages early reporting of symptoms and further perpetuates community spread.
If there is a concern related to staff discrimination, please reach out to the Equal Opportunity Compliance Office (EOCO) by calling 773-553-1013 or by emailing eoco@cps.edu.
If you are experiencing increased stress related to the COVID-19, please contact our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) at 1-800-424-4776 or visit magellanascend.com. If you need assistance locating a primary care provider (PCP), please contact BCBSIL at bcbsil.com/members or 1-800-331-8032. Blue Cross Blue Shield and CVS Caremark have made some modifications to their policies to ensure members can easily access the right care and prescriptions. If you participate in these plans, please click here for more information.