Local Catholic School Students Face a Tough Choice: A Full Return to In-Person Instruction or Remote Learning, Possibly by an Outside Vendor

 

Sophie Sherry

 

With the start of classes just about a month away, many parents at Chicago-area Catholic schools are facing a tough decision: commit their children to five days of in-person instruction, or opt for more e-learning, possibly conducted by a third-party vendor.

 

The Archdiocese of Chicago announced reopening plans for its school system in early July, calling for a full return to in-person classes, paired with safety measures that include face coverings and daily temperature checks.

 

Any families who aren’t comfortable sending their students back to the classrooms will have the option to continue remote learning, said Jim Rigg, superintendent of archdiocesan schools, which combined have more than 70,000 students in Cook and Lake counties. But as of Wednesday, officials had not finalized any remote learning plans.

 

As in the public schools, plans to restart in-person instruction have been met with a range of reactions: Some families are pleased to see schools fully reopening with public health protocols in place. Other teachers and parents contacted by the Tribune said they have serious concerns about the safety of in-person instruction and what they see as insufficient options for remote learning.

 

Some spoke on the condition that their names and schools wouldn’t be used, citing their jobs or their standing with the school.

 

One such parent from the North Side of Chicago said the archdiocese’s planned safety procedures sound good on paper but will be difficult to put into practice.

 

The archdiocese’s current plan calls for all teachers and children over 2 to wear face coverings while in school, with students attending classes in assigned groups to limit interactions. Parents will be required to take their child’s temperature every morning, with an additional check taking place as students enter the building.

 

But the North Side parent said: “The reality of it is teachers are going to be – especially in your lower grades – really making sure kids keep their masks on, kids aren’t licking their masks. I mean, you’re going to have to have multiple masks a day. I don’t feel that that’s a safe environment.”

 

One teacher at a Wilmette Catholic school expressed similar fears about returning to a classroom with small children.

 

“That protection is great if the students are wearing their masks 100% of the time,” the teacher said. “And I think that all of us just have very low confidence that students that age will be able to wear their masks for seven hours every day.”

 

The teacher claims the school staff has had no input in the planning process and that the instructors were provided a run-through of the reopening plans days after it was already announced to parents.

 

“We were just given absolutely no voice in the decision making, and we’re the people who are in the classrooms potentially risking our lives,” the Wilmette teacher said. The archdiocese is “taking into account the health and wellness of the students but not at all the health and wellness of the teachers and faculty.”

 

For families who opt out of in-person attendance for their children, Catholic schools are “encouraged” to offer virtual learning locally, through their own teachers and administration, Rigg said.

 

Rigg said some schools might choose to conduct remote learning through a separate vendor. He said those plans are preliminary but remain an option for schools with low remote learning enrollment or technological challenges.

 

Some parents, however, have already received letters from their schools indicating they plan to outsource virtual instruction to the outside firm Catapult Learning.

 

“We do believe that we can safely and successfully reopen our schools to in-person instruction, but we also recognize that not every family is ready to come back and so our current approach calls for us to work with each school to provide quality e-learning,” Rigg said.

 

The archdiocese confirmed that those who choose the virtual option will pay the same tuition as students who choose in-person instruction.

 

The North Side parent was told by school officials that Catapult will provide e-learning for students at her child’s school, and so their family has decided instead to pay for a private tutor this fall.

 

“When this third party takes over, they are not using the curriculum that individual Catholic schools are using, they’re using their own curriculum,” the North Side parent said. “There is no benefit for me staying within the Catholic school community if I don’t have the nurture and the knowledge and the abilities that our teachers have.”

 

Parents at one north suburban school received letters indicating they would be able to opt for remote learning through Catapult a trimester at a time. It said school staff would still provide “religion, sacramental prep, and student check ins.”

 

For some Catholic school families, the choice to return to classrooms came easily. As someone who works in the senior housing industry, Curt Schaller said he is very familiar with the risks associated with COVID-19, but his family believes it is best to send their two children back to school at St. Norbert in Northbrook in the fall.

 

While Schaller recognizes in-person learning will not work for all families, he said the procedures put forth by the school give him a great deal of comfort. And although Schaller believes the school did a good job with e-learning this spring, he says people often overlook the financial strain that virtual instruction places on families.

 

“People fail to realize the impact not having schools open has on working families and single-parent families,” Schaller said. “What are they to do with their kids?”

 

Rigg said around 12% to 15% of families surveyed this summer said they intend to continue with e-learning in the fall.

 

The archdiocese plans to announce more concrete plans for remote learning later this week, to help clarify things for those undecided families.

 

Still, with most Catholic schools beginning classes the last week of August, families must make their choices soon.

 

“I understand that it’s a very difficult time, no one knows what they’re doing because it’s so fluid and it is changing,” the North Side parent said. “But to thrust people into (this decision) really isn’t a great option. I mean, at that point, if I don’t have my teachers and I don’t have the people who know my child, I might as well start from ground zero and spend $15,000 less a year.”