Dear District 39 Families and Staff,
By now, you have likely heard the news that Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker ordered all Illinois schools to remain closed for the remainder of this school year. Like you, we are heartbroken that we will not be able to meet with our students in person before the school year comes to a close. This is not the end to the school year that they or we could have ever imagined.
As a community, we will get through this together and we will put our students first as we always do. We want to assure you that remote learning will continue despite these difficult times. In this past month, we have seen the resilience and flexibility of our students and staff with a new style of teaching and learning. Moving forward, we will continue to offer opportunities to connect, learn, and laugh together even from our homes. We remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting our students’ learning and growth, and our focus on supporting the health and well-being of our students, families and staff will remain our top priority. We are committed to providing meaningful and manageable remote learning experiences that nurture strong, positive connections between students and teachers while emphasizing the most essential learning targets in each grade level or subject area and promoting social-emotional health.
We are exceptionally grateful for the dedication of our amazing faculty and staff, for the hard work of our outstanding students, and for the incredible support of our wonderful families. We are so fortunate to live in a community with the resources and ability to respond quickly to these ever-changing circumstances and to envelop our students with caring support in these uncertain times. Even so, we know the next few months will not be easy ones. Flexibility and patience will continue to be essential.
We promise to be patient and supportive with students and families, understanding that a home environment is not the same for learning as being in school and all of you are juggling a myriad of new experiences and responsibilities. We ask the same from you in return, understanding that our teachers are balancing instruction with taking care of their own families and the many new pressures and anxieties that this global pandemic has placed upon all of us. By uniting together to support our students through a very unusual and unsettling time, we will find strength in each other and within our community.
Looking forward, our April D39 School Calendar has already been established and additional information for parents regarding D39’s Remote Learning Plans is available. During the upcoming week, we will build plans through the end of the school year. We will send an update by the end of next week regarding these plans, and will send additional information as plans are finalized for important end-of-year activities. We know you have many questions - about upcoming events, activities, end-of year celebrations, athletics, performances, grades, graduation and summer school - and we will be working hard to provide the answers in the coming weeks.
We miss our students immensely. Remote learning is simply not the same as the collective joy and exuberance we all experience together within our schools, our classrooms and our many shared activities. Yet, we recognize that these sacrifices are necessary to support the health and safety of all individuals throughout our community. We remain humbled by the role we play in supporting our students and families, and we hope our schools can continue to provide some structure and connection for our communities and students in the coming months.
Please stay well and look for updates from all of us within the next week. Take care of yourselves and one another, and continue to spread joy and kindness wherever you can.
Your partner in education,
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Kari Cremascoli, Ph.D.
Superintendent
Wilmette Public Schools District 39
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