Geneva parents to protest all-remote Fridays in D-304’s 2nd semester

GENEVA – The Geneva District 304 school board’s decision this week to change its hybrid learning program to have Fridays be remote learning days for the second semester has prompted push-back from some parents who plan to picket the administration center Friday morning.

Stephanie Fellinger, one of the rally organizers, said parents were taken aback by an email from the district announcing the change to all remote learning on Fridays would begin Jan. 29, the first day of the second semester.

Fellinger said the email stated they were making this change due to “positive feedback.”

“That’s what caused a firestorm among parents, especially among elementary parents,” Fellinger said. “None of us were asked anything about changing alternative Fridays. Parents feel this decision was made in the dark of night without asking us a thing.”

The rally and picketing is set for 8 to 10 a.m. Friday at the Coultrap Educational Services Center, 227 S. Fourth St.

Fellinger said she hopes the rally will prompt the school board to reconsider and have the alternating Fridays in place as before at its next meeting Jan. 25.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the district instituted a hybrid learning plan where students with last names from A to K attend Monday, Wednesday and alternating Fridays and students with last names from L to Z will attend Tuesday, Thursday and alternating Fridays.

Students learned remotely on the other days.

At the Jan. 11 District 304 meeting, the school board unanimously approved a proposed plan to go to remote-only on Fridays for all students starting Jan. 29.

Students would have live, synchronous instruction online for 2 1/2 hours with their teachers and all their classmates, as well as asynchronous learning time, officials said.

Fellinger said when Superintendent Kent Mutchler was at Western Avenue Elementary School’s PTO meeting Tuesday night, “he said that it is their goal to get all students back to school in-person, five days a week. And yet, they just took away a day of in-person learning.”

At Monday’s school board meeting, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning Andrew Barrett and Director of Learning and Teaching Shonette Sims presented the plan for the next semester, emphasizing that consistency in scheduling was a factor in their proposal.

All-remote learning on Fridays would ensure that every student would have in-person days and one live remote day, Barrett said.

“We do believe this would help us maintain capacity for managing health needs and limiting exclusions,” Barrett said.

“One less day of in-person learning means one less day of contact tracing, one less day of potential exposures in the building. One more day to be able to manage some of that contact tracing that has to be done to keep our in-person system viable and working and moving along,” Barrett said.

A summary of the change was sent out to parents via email signed by Mutchler, School Board President Taylor Egan, Geneva Educational Association President Kevin Gannon and Geneva Support Staff Association President Leann Enneking.

Mutchler stated in an email response seeking comment that, “The proposed plan for remote learning Fridays was an internal, collaborative effort as indicated by the co-signers in the joint statement sent via 304Connects on Monday night.”