School Reopening Plan for 2021

A Letter from the Principal

Dear Parents,

We hope that this letter finds your family safe and healthy! As you know, Alain Locke’s current goal is to welcome students and staff back to the start of our third quarter, February 8th. Schools across the world, throughout the country, and here in Chicago have successfully demonstrated that they can safely reopen classrooms with the right safety protocols in place. We have developed a comprehensive health and safety plan to ensure Alain Locke is aligned to the best available and most up-to-date public health guidance.

We wanted to provide you with options to determine which return model is right for you and your child. To inform your decision, we included a high-level breakdown of the options below. However, we recommend you review our more detailed plan which can be found in our Alain Locke Reopening Plan.

PRE-K RETURN MODEL OPTIONS

Students enrolled in our preschool program will be offered in-person instruction four days a week, Monday through Thursday from 8:30-2:00 p.m. Or families may choose to continue the full-remote model where students will engage in a mix of live virtual instruction and independent learning at home.

K-8 RETURN MODEL OPTIONS: HYBRID OR FULL-TIME REMOTE ONLY?

OPTION 1: HYBRID LEARNING MODEL (A/B Schedule)

A hybrid learning model balances the need for health and safety while allowing for some in-person instruction every week. To meet proper social distancing guidelines, a pod of approximately 10-15 students will alternate learning at home and at school.  While at school, students will stay in their pods for all in-person learning activities. Students will be able to interact with their peers and teachers in the classroom at least a couple of times a week while maintaining social distancing and other recommended safety precautions. We feel this model will allow for the safest delivery of in-person instruction and social-emotional fulfillment for students.

Hybrid (A/B schedule)


As part of the hybrid model, students will do a mix of in-person learning and remote learning each week:

Shift A will learn at school on Mondays and Tuesdays, engage in real-time and independent instruction at home on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and engage in real-time virtual instruction with entire class on Fridays.

Shift B will engage in real-time and independent instruction at home on Mondays and Tuesdays, learn at school on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and engage in real-time virtual instruction with entire class on Fridays.

  • In-person school hours will be from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
  • At home schedules will be provided so students know when they are expected to engage in real-time virtual instruction when learning at home.

To ensure the safe return to the school building, we are implementing numerous safety precautions as recommended by health experts, including (not an exhaustive list):

  • Temperature checks and health screenings will be required before entering the building
  • Students and staff will be required to wear face masks
  • Student desks will remain 6 feet from each other and, for additional protection, will include desk shields
  • Floor markers and signage reminders will be up throughout the school building to maintain social distancing and promote proper hygiene
  • Standalone air purifiers that remove 99.9% of aerosols carrying viruses will be provided for every classroom/ public area and hospital grade disinfectant will be applied to all surfaces daily

For more information on how we plan to maintain a safe and healthy environment within our school building, please refer to our school reopening plan.


OPTION 2: FULL-TIME REMOTE ONLY

Parents may choose to opt out of in-person learning and continue with remote learning only where their child will continue to engage in all learning activities at home with no in-person learning. Students will receive a mix of live instruction and independent learning at home following an at-home schedule determined by the classroom instructor.

Families may choose this option for any reason. However, once that option is chosen then the family must commit to that choice for the entire quarter.


Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions while you are deciding what works best for you and your child. You will be able to identify your return model choice through an online survey that will be made available to you the week of January 4th on our school website.

We want to thank you for your invaluable support and partnership during this challenging time. Please be sure to check Bloomz and www.alainlocke.org for any updates. Stay safe!

Regards,

Patrick Love, Principal
773-265-7233
plove@alainlocke.org

Vonyell Foster, Dean of Students and Operations
773-265-7255
vfoster@alainlocke.org

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