Cheating Rampant In Elmhurst D-205 During Pandemic: Parent

ELMHURST, IL — Elmhurst resident Sherry Romano's daughter, a sophomore at York High School, is getting the best grades of her high school career.

Normally, this would be a cause for celebration. Not for Sherry Romano. Far from it.

"She has achieved her highest grade point this semester, none of it achieved through studying or hard work," Romano said during public input at Thursday's school board meeting.

Romano said her daughter was "cheating her way" through this year and that her daughter was far from alone. She blamed Elmhurst School District 205's reluctance to start full in-person learning.

Many other residents have spoken out against the lack of in-person learning this year in Elmhurst schools. Through a recent public records request, Elmhurst Patch found that students' grades in the fall were about the same as the previous year, with slightly more D's and F's.

But Romano and others said those statistics mean little. Romano used her daughter as an example.

"She has learned nothing this year, except how to cheat," she told the board. "Google Translate has earned her a B in Spanish, which is her highest grade ever in Spanish. When she returns to school and does not have Google Translate, I expect she will get an F. She has lost an entire year of knowledge to build upon."

When her daughter is attending school remotely, Romano said, she has a screen for class on one side and a chatroom with her friends on the other, "cheating her way through the day."

She said when she ordered her daughter to go to school in person, her daughter considered it punishment.

"She had a math test. She knew the kids at home were sitting there cheating on the math test, and she couldn't because she was in school," she said. "However, her math teacher, who has yet to show up to school, was not there, so there was a supervisor in the room who could have cared less. The kids talked amongst themselves, and she got an A on her math test, learned nothing."

Romano, like other parents, questioned why teachers weren't in classrooms.

"Most of my kids' teachers aren't even in the room," she said. "(The teachers) go to school, and they sit at a desk and watch Zoom. The teachers who are present stand at the podium with their computer in front of them. Kids sitting in the classroom can't even raise their hand to ask a question. They have been told to write questions into Zoom. You can't even ask a question to the teacher who is right in front of you. The hybrid model is failing our children, and it's a punishment."

Following its practice, the school board did not respond to the comments.

Earlier this week, Elmhurst Patch asked the district about teacher attendance rates, but did not get an answer. On Friday, Patch inquired again and submitted a public records request.

On Feb. 9, district officials plan to unveil their plan for in-person learning through the rest of the school year.