District 114 Plans Return To Remote Learning After Thanksgiving

MANHATTAN, IL — Manhattan School District 114 officials announced in a recent letter to parents and guardians a plan for all district schools to return to full remote learning beginning Nov. 30, and running through Jan. 18. According to district officials, this plan is being recommended due to the increase in positive cases of the coronavirus across the community, county and state.

This news comes nearly one month after District 114 returned to classrooms for in-person learning.

"In the coming days or weeks, it is very possible that the Governor may issue a quarantine," Rusty Ragon, Superintendent of Schools, and Kristen Morphew, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, said in a joint statement."We understand how difficult this situation is for families and we respect your need to be able to plan for the future as best as possible."

According to school officials, the recommended plan includes students being fully remote for the three weeks after Thanksgiving (Nov. 30 through Dec. 18), and will remain fully remote in the two weeks after winter break, from Jan. 4 through Jan. 18 (Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday — no school). They would return to the current in-person model with the option of full remote learning starting Jan. 19.

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Ragon and Morphew also said that even with the district's diligent efforts to mitigate the coronavirus through successful implementation of protocols and procedures in the buildings, they're seeing a significant increase in positive cases in quarantined individuals due to close contact with a positive case.

As of Thursday afternoon, there were 182 students and staff across District 114 in quarantine, according to the district's COVID-19 information page.

"This rise is causing Manhattan School District 114 school district to experience a shortage of qualified staff members and substitutes to provide proper coverage for staff members who are in quarantine," the school officials said, in the letter. "This has become increasingly more difficult to the point we are falling behind and are unable to maintain our staff. It is evident that numerous districts in the county and surrounding counties are faced with the same challenge. "

Officials added that the Manhattan Park District will reopen Camp Coyote 2.0 for the duration of remote learning to help meet the needs of working parents. Visit manhattanparks.org for full details and online registration.

>> Read entire statement, including updates teacher assignments