Oswego School District committees drafting plans for full return to classrooms--for next school year

Superintendent says goal is to get back to five days of in person learning

Oswego School District 308 Superintendent Dr. John Sparlin told a group of concerned parents that the district's goal is to begin the 2021-2022 school year with student in person for five days a week during the March 1 Board of Education public forum.

Oswego School District 308 Superintendent Dr. John Sparlin has announced that four district committees have begun work on plans to ensure that the district’s students and teachers will begin the 2021-2022 school year in classrooms five days every week for full days.

Sparlin first confirmed the existence of the committees and the district’s goal of starting the next school year with a normal schedule during the Board of Education’s March 1 public forum.

All of the district’s more than 17,000 students began the school year in full remote learning last August due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past several weeks, students have been participating in hybrid learning which includes remote and in-person instruction.

“We have begun the conversations on what does it look like, five days, full days. We’re talking about next year, but to be perfectly honest right now we’re focused on right here, right now,” Sparlin said.

Sparlin added that he and Associate Superintendent for Educational Services Faith Dahlquist had discussed the plan for the 2021-2022 school year that day, including what it would look like, who would be involved in those decisions, and when it will be presented to the Board of Education.

“Our goal is to get back to five days of in person learning next (school) year,” he said.

Sparlin announced that the committees had begun work at the March 15 meeting of the Board, during his report.

“On March 1 at our public forum, I stated that our goal and intention was to start next year in a five-day learning environment,” Sparlin said. “I want everyone to know that we have put together four committees that begin meeting this week as we plan for next year.”

The work of committee members will include putting together what a remote option for students will look like. The Illinois State Board of Education and Illinois Department of Public Health have not yet announced whether districts will be mandated to provide a remote learning option for students in the 2021-2022 school year.

“We look forward to sharing the work of those committees with the board and the parents and the community in the very near future,” Sparlin said.

The district will end the 2020/2021 school year with its third phase of hybrid learning, approved at the March 1 meeting, and set to take effect April 7.