March 18, 2020 – DPS 61 Update for Friday, March 20th:
As Governor Pritzker announced this afternoon, schools statewide will remain closed until April 8, 2020. He has also issued a “stay at home” order for the entire state, beginning tomorrow, March 21, at 5:00 p.m. This means all DPS school buildings and district offices will remain closed through April 7. Furthermore, DPS administrators will be working from home and will not be available at school buildings through the duration of the Governor’s order. However, you can always reach out to your principal or administrator by email or phone.
We will continue to offer meals at our four Grab & Go locations at MacArthur, Eisenhower, Stephen Decatur, and Hope Academy. Grab & Go sites will remain open weekdays from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. As a reminder, parents can pick up food for their students without the student being present – they don’t have to show an ID or even get out of the car. There are also several churches and community groups offering rides for families who don’t have transportation – we encourage you to help connect any families in need to these groups for assistance.
We have heard concerns from some groups in our community that not enough DPS students are able to access the current offering of meals at our four Grab & Go locations. We are examining other options to possibly offer mobile locations – we hope to have more information to share next week.
On another note, the U.S. Department of Education announced today it will not enforce standardized testing requirements for students in elementary through high school for the current school year. This is welcome news, given the current uncertainty about the remainder of the school year.
Finally, I want to thank each and every one of you for continuing to show up for our students throughout these unprecedented times. To our teachers and TAs who keep supporting students as they learn at home, to our principals and admins who have manned buildings this week to help families who call upon them, to our food service staff who continue to provide essential meals to our students – from the bottom of my heart, thank you for all you are doing.
