Important Links to Review

Back to School Here's all the important information you need for a successful school year—from school supplies and enrollment information to lunch menus. Plus, find resources, read FAQs, and much more. https://www.cps.edu/services-and-supports/back-to-school/

SURVEY FOR STAFF AND FAMILIES ABOUT CHILD SUPERVISION FIRST QUARTER

Dear Chicago Public Schools Families and Staff: Do you need assistance with child supervision during the first quarter of remote learning? CPS and the City of Chicago are surveying families to better understand who may need help this fall finding a safe space for their children during traditional school hours. As we assess parental needs throughout the city, we are evaluating opportunities to provide potential support with child supervision for families who have school-age children under 14 years of age. Please copy the link below and place it on your browser for access to the survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeClUC8ZD-cbvkxmgKzT6X09qFd_X2uLhCaU2QzLgx_jMHZfw/viewform Looking forward to helping you and your child(ren) be successful this school year. Thank you

Sherwood News & Updates Week of August 24, 2020

 

Food insecurity is a challenge for so many families, especially during the Covid-19 Crisis. If your child was getting free or reduced-price lunch during the school year, you are eligible for a program called Pandemic-EBT, or P-EBT, which provides a one-time benefit of up to $342.00 per child. It covers the daily value of school meals your child would have received if schools were not closed due to the Pandemic. It can help your family provide much needed nutrition for your children during this time. But you have to apply soon! The application deadline is August 31st, 2020. P-EBT is available to any child and it does NOT impact your or your child’s citizenship or immigration status. NO social security number is required to apply. If your family currently receives SNAP, the benefits have already been loaded to your Link card. If your family does not receive SNAP, you can still apply for P-EBT online at www.abe.illinois.gov. Once approved, you will receive a debit card to buy food. You can contact your school or school district to complete a Free and Reduced-price Meal application, if you have not already done so. If you do that today, you can also apply for P-EBT today! For more information about P-EBT, or help applying for this program, as well as additional support and resources, call the Illinois Hunger Coalition Hotline at 1-800-359-2163. Se hablo espanol! And stay strong! We will get through these challenges together! Census Response Period Cut By 30 Days - Take the Census Today! The U.S. Census Bureau announced that it will be cutting short the census response period by 30 days, which leaves us with less than two months to make sure all Chicagoans fill out the census. Federal Census Bureau enumerators are now going door-to-door to follow up with households that have not responded. Only 56 percent of the City has responded, so we have a lot of work to do before the census website closes on September 30! If you have not yet filled out the census, please take a few minutes to complete it at www.2020census.gov. Social Graces: Someone you know isn’t following self-quarantine rules. Here’s what to do. Someone you know traveled out of state and isn’t abiding by self-quarantine rules. What should you do? These are the etiquette issues of our time. The “Social Graces” column from the Chicago Tribune is focusing on COVID-19 issues, and will group them in an ongoing list CLICK HERE Earlier this month, it was announced that all Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students will begin the coming school year learning at home. Throughout our response to COVID-19, our top priority has been, and will continue to be, keeping our students and school communities safe. This is the Final Reopening Framework for the start of the 2020–21 school year. This framework gives CPS the flexibility to begin the school year learning at home and transition to hybrid learning once our public health experts determine it is safe to do so. Click here to read more Chicago Public Schools Proposes Progressive Reforms to School Resource Officer (SRO) Program Based on Feedback  The City of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) today announced several proposed reforms to the School Resource Officer (SRO) program, which will build on recent measures to help ensure SROs contribute to safe and welcoming school environments in the schools that choose to utilize police support. In addition to these reforms, which will be proposed in a revised intergovernmental agreement (IGA) that the Chicago Board of Education will consider on August 26, CPS also announced today a series of partnerships designed to improve training, analysis, and student involvement going forward. As of August 18, 55 schools have chosen to participate in the SRO program in 2020-21 with 17 opting to leave the program this year.   To read more click here Application round for Neighborhood Opportunity Fund to open Monday, Sept. 14 The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) will open grant applications for the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund on Monday, Sept. 14. Entrepreneurs looking to start or grow their business on the South, West and Southwest side can find more information to prepare their application on the program's website at www.neighborhoodopportunityfund.com/apply. Applications are due Friday, Nov. 6. DPD will host two informational webinars next week to help applicants prepare for the application process, one in English and one in Spanish. Registration information is below. Neighborhood Opportunity Fund Info Session (Spanish) 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, Aug 26 | Register on Zoom Neighborhood Opportunity Fund Info Session (English) 12:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 27 | Register on Zoom The events will also be broadcast on DPD's YouTube page, however, advance registration on Zoom is recommended. As always, questions can be directed to NOF@cityofchicago.org.

News for Our Parents and Updates

 

Pandemic EBT Link Card The State of Illinois is issuing all CPS students their own Pandemic EBT link card with up to $350 for its free lunch program. The parent is the applicant - the student is the recipient. This card will be loaded monthly until CPS resumes its regular in house teaching schedule, post-emergency Shelter-In-Place restrictions. The deadline to apply has been extended to August 31, 2020. Links to the applications are here: https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=124142 The brochure is linked here: http://www.dhs.state.il.us/OneNetLibrary/27897/documents/Brochures/4980.pdf And... IHDA (Illinois Housing Development Association) was given $396 million of CARES Act funding to provide affordable housing and emergency rental & mortgage assistance due to the COVID 19 crisis. - Emergency Rental Assistance application period is August 10 - August 21 - Emergency Mortgage Assistance application period is August 24 - September 4 These application periods may close early if all funds have been distributed. Here is a google folder with information and flyers in both English and Spanish. IHDA Funding I also attached the ERA announcement and instructions for the application to this email. Applications for rental assistance must be initiated online by tenants, and also require landlord participation to complete the process. There are a number of community organizations listed in the flyers that are available to assist those w/o computer access. More info at IHDA - Illinois Housing Development Authority

NO-COST VACCINATIONS ARE COMING THIS SUMMER TO A SCHOOL NEAR YOU! ¡ESTE VERANO OFRECEREMOS VACUNAS GRATIS EN UNA ESCUELA CERCANA A USTED! Chicago Public Schools is partnering with mobile health care providers to bring vaccinations closer to home. Some locations may also provide school physicals. Las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago se han asociado con proveedores de servicios de salud móviles para traer las vacunas más cerca a su hogar. Algunos lugares también pueden ofrecer exámenes físicos escolares. If your child needs back-to-school medical care, please contact your child’s healthcare provider to schedule an appointment. To find a clinic or provider, go tohttps://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/ Si su hijo necesita servicios médicos para su regreso a la escuela, por favor, comuníquese con el médico de su hijo para hacer una cita. Para encontrar una clínica o un proveedor, vaya a https://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/ If you prefer, you can schedule with the mobile provider listed below. There are many dates and school locations available. Si prefiere, puede hacer una cita con el proveedor móvil que se indica a continuación. Hay muchas fechas y lugares de escuelas disponibles. Tuesday, August 18 - Lyon School Monday, August 24 - Brunson School Wednesday, August 26 - Falconer School Thursday, August 27 - Spencer School Monday, August 31 - DePreist School Please contact them to make an appointment: Por favor, póngase en contacto con ellas para hacer una cita en: Norwegian American Hospital Pediatric Care-A-Van (773) 292-2629 or careavan@nahospital.org

Chicago Connected Chicago Connected is a groundbreaking program that will provide free high-speed internet service to approximately 100,000 Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students. This first-of-its-kind program will be one of the largest and longest-term efforts by any city to provide free, high-speed internet over the course of four years to increase internet access for students. According to Census data, an estimated 100,000 students lack access to high-speed internet in Chicago. In order to narrow the digital divide for CPS families, Chicago Connected will provide up to four years of high-speed internet for CPS families who are most in need. Families who are eligible for the program will receive a notification via email and text from CPS. For more details and frequently asked questions please visit https://www.cps.edu/strategic-initiatives/chicago-connected/

CPS will begin school year with students learning at home - Dr. Janice Jackson, Chief Executive Officer and Latanya McDade, Chief Education Officer

August 5, 2020

Dear CPS Families,

Our top priority in planning for the fall has been to provide a high-quality education for every child while keeping all our school communities healthy and safe. Today, after carefully considering advice from public health experts and feedback  from many of you, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) will begin the year learning at home through the end of the first quarter.

Prior to the beginning of the second quarter, we will assess the state of COVID-19 and the safety of switching to a hybrid learning model similar to what we proposed in our preliminary reopening framework.

Listening to public health officials and affording families time to plan

As we have committed to you and our families, our decision to reopen schools would prioritize the health and wellness of our school communities and be driven by science and the guidance of our public health officials. As educators and dedicated education professionals, we all want students to be in school, but at this time, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) believes that current COVID-19 transmission trends would not allow us to reopen schools in a safe and responsible manner given the sheer number of people we serve every day. And rather than waiting until the end of August to make a decision on reopening schools, we wanted to afford our parents and families ample time to plan for the fall.

Listening to our CPS families and educators

Through virtual community meetings and a myriad of surveys, over 87,000 CPS students, families, and staff members provided feedback on returning to school in the fall. While many families expressed a desire to begin the year in a hybrid model, a large number of families did not feel comfortable sending their children back to school—approximately only one in five African-American and Latinx families planned to send their children back to school in person this fall. Our decision to begin the school year remotely is a reflection of the feedback we received in response to our preliminary framework.

Lessons learned in the spring and how we’re planning to improve remote learning for students

Students will be learning at home this fall, but we’re committed to providing students with an engaging learning experience that is significantly different from what students and families experienced last year. Each day, students will be engaged for the entirety of a typical school day through a combination of live real-time instruction with classmates and teachers, small group activities, and independent learning. Established daily expectations, including classroom attendance and graded assignments, will also help students develop routines. A more detailed set of expectations for remote learning will be shared with families on Friday.

Expanding equitable access to technology and the internet

Unlike last school year when the district utilized digital and non-digital learning pathways to allow schools flexibility to respond to the emergency, teachers will provide digital instruction every day this school year.

We know students need consistent access to devices and high-speed internet to be successful in digital learning, and we are committed to providing devices for all students. Last school year, we distributed more than 128,000 computing devices to students, and we will provide an additional 36,000 devices to children who still need them prior to the start of school. We will continue to monitor our students’ needs and take all necessary steps to ensure students have access to devices.

Over the summer, we also began offering free, high-speed internet access to approximately 100,000 CPS students from limited-income backgrounds through our Chicago Connected initiative. Families eligible for this program have been contacted individually, and 35 Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) have been recruited to get students connected prior to the start of the school year.

Final reopening framework coming this Friday

Families should expect to receive our final reopening framework with detailed remote learning expectations this Friday. Later in the month, teachers and principals will receive specialized training and guidance on expectations for remote learning, and we will follow our remote learning plan through the end of the first quarter. Later this fall, CPS will consult with CDPH on the possibility of adopting a hybrid learning model for the second academic quarter, which will begin Monday, November 9.

We remain committed to helping every student reach their full potential, even under these unprecedented circumstances, and we are confident that with your support, CPS will remain a school district on the rise. Thank you for helping make our plans for the 2020-21 school year as strong as possible.

Sincerely,

Janice K. Jackson
Chief Executive Officer
Chicago Public Schools

LaTanya D. McDade
Chief Education Officer
Chicago Public Schools

Follow Up Communication to All Families

ATTENTION PARENTS AND GUARDIANS - WE NEED YOUR RESPONSE

July 30, 2020

 Dear Parent/Guardian:  

 We look forward to having your child back in our school learning in September. As you know, the district has proposed a hybrid learning plan for all schools which will involve two days of in-person learning, one day of remote instruction, and two days of at home independent learning. Students will be assigned to pods of 15 students or fewer to maintain proper social distancing during the school day. More information on the hybrid learning plan can be found here.

We know that some of our families would prefer not to have their child attend school in-person in the fall, and the district is preparing an option for students to learn at home. In order to prepare and plan for the start of school, we need to hear from you by August 7 about whether or not you plan to have your child participate in the hybrid learning model or the learn-at-home model.

The parent/guardian of record should have received a text and an email from the district asking about your learning preferences for your child. Please complete the short form that came with that text or email to let us know how your child will be learning in the fall. Please be aware of the following information when making this choice:

 

• To ensure schools can plan effectively, please complete this form by Friday, August 7. 
• If you choose for your child to learn at home, you will receive more information in the coming weeks about what to expect. If you change your mind and want to participate in hybrid learning, you will be given the opportunity to change your preference at the beginning of the second quarter.
• If you choose to start the year with the hybrid learning model, you have the option to switch to the learn-at-home model at any time.

 This form also asks if you would like to receive ongoing texts from the district. If texting is a preferred method of communication for you, please say yes to this question. If you opt to receive texts from the district, we will be able to text you about scheduling updates, daily symptom screener reminders, and other important updates.

If you did not receive the form or are having difficulty completing it, please contact our school at 773/535-0829 and press 6 for Ms. Easter and press 7 for Ms. Buzanis so that we can assist you. We are available to take your calls Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m or any time at 773-841-6392. 

While the upcoming school year will look different, we are very excited to have our students, whether in-person or at home, learning with us.

 We look forward to hearing from you this week.

Sincerely,

Alice Buzanis   

Principal