Evanston Township High School Superintendent Eric Witherspoon says no decision about re-opening the school will be made until the day after Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order expires on April 7.
ETHS will be on spring break from April 6-10, so it appears the earliest day school could reopen would be Monday, April 13. But Witherspoon’s message to parents and students is clearly leaving open the possibility that the governor may extend the stay-at-home order.
Witherspoon says the school plans to start recording attendance for e-learning days on Tuesday March 31 and that beginning then assignments given will count toward a student’s grade. But he says the state board of education may offer guidance that changes those plans.
He says the state board is not requiring any calendar revisions from school districts at this time.
Witherspoon’s message also stresses the need for students to stay home for now.
First and foremost, all students must stay at home. This cannot be negotiable. Parents and guardians, please set these parameters with your children. This virus does not discriminate. All of you are susceptible to getting this disease and spreading it. You should not be playing basketball at outside basketball courts, for example. That is highly dangerous. You are in close proximity, all touching the same basketball that will spread the virus, in close contact with one another, and wiping your faces. Don’t get together in person with friends. Period. The virus is highly contagious through the air. Use social media only. You can infect your siblings, your grandparents, your parents/guardians, your aunts and uncles, and ultimately put health care workers at extreme risk. Please protect yourselves and other human beings. Stay home!