Letter: Yorkville Educational Foundation Board Thanks Teachers

YORKVILLE, IL — Letter to the editor:

The COVID-19 pandemic has given us a new perspective on the essential work that our educators and staff members perform in our schools each day of the school year. The Yorkville Educational Foundation Board would like to thank the approximately 900 Yorkville CUSD 115 employees for their unwavering commitment to put students first and for empowering thousands of Yorkville area families to decide how to send their students back to school safely. You are amazing!

We have watched over the past six weeks as Yorkville CUSD 115 became the only school district in the area to implement on-site, hybrid, and remote options for nearly 6,400 students. During this time, our educators have been flexible and resilient as they embraced new roles and accepted additional responsibilities. Custodial/Maintenance staff members have rearranged classrooms, assembled physical safety barriers, and cleaned and sanitized every inch of our schools. School nurses developed comprehensive plans for illnesses and quarantines in every school. Support staff, including math coaches and reading specialists, have assumed full time roles as teachers for the first time in years to accommodate smaller class sizes. Librarians and art teachers are now mobile, with author visits still going on via Zoom and art projects proudly displayed in digital portfolios instead of on walls. Administrators spend countless hours reviewing the 30,000 health assessments that come in each week to keep our students safe. Teachers fulfill their traditional responsibilities such as preparing lessons and grading assignments, but they do it while juggling additional responsibilities as a teacher, IT support provider, counselor, and friend.

What is truly extraordinary is that Yorkville CUSD 115 employees continue to create relationships with students to meet their social and emotional needs. This connection is the heartbeat of our school district-- what it means to be a Yorkville Fox. Every day, this steady pulse runs through the district as employees connect through elbow bumps, emails, handwritten postcards, Zoom meetings, and mobile apps. Each student has numerous opportunities to connect to an employee who cares—virtually or at a distance of six feet.

Yorkville CUSD 115 employees, you have not only risen to the challenges placed in front of you, you have exceeded them. Thank you for the additional hours you invest into planning and instruction each day, for the pride you take in keeping students emotionally and physically healthy, and for the sacrifices you’ve made at home to get our students back to school this year. For every small act that you think goes unnoticed, we see you. Our students will remember how you showed up for them, faced adversity, and supported this community during the pandemic. We are grateful. We Are Yorkville.

Yorkville Educational Foundation Board

Alicia Lingane, Kristine Black, Dr. Kathleen Gorski, Shawn Harris, Keri Gaul, Matt Marek, Joanna Nauman, Eric Paetzel, Giovanna Schmieder, Heather Wilkinson