We, the parents and/or legal guardians of CPS students, hereby request, that for the 2020-2021 school year, the CPS School Board approve that the district's schools commencement date be delayed from the original date of August 24, 2020 to a date after the 2020 Labor Day holiday.
The coronavirus pandemic has brought about unprecedented times and is having multifaceted effects that stretch to all aspects of our lives. The educational system and our childrens' education are undeniably affected by this. Pushing the start date for school back will allow more time to train and prepare.
While it is true that having our children off school longer than usual is an undeniable hardship on many families, the quality of our children's education must be considered. Board members, principals, teachers, and all other staff have much to do to prepare for the upcoming school year.
The additional time is needed to:
• learn and rehearse new health and safety protocols
• new curricular and blended learning strategies need to be implemented based on the A/B schedule
• physical changes need to be made to buildings to accommodate the protocols and blended learning stagey
• educate and train families and students for the changes being made
• the district's new math curriculum needs to be rolled-out
These items are all interdependent.
We request a later start date to allow the board members, principals, teachers, and all other staff more time and to help ensure their to preparedness for these unprecedented times.
