Rally In Glenview Calls For Reopening Of

Schools
Demonstration Comes 2 Days After Dist. 225 Rolls Out Hybrid In-Person Learning Plan
By Tom Robb on September 29, 2020

By TOM ROBB Journal & Topics Reporter

About 130 gathered for Wednesday, Sept. 23 “Open Illinois Schools” rally in Glenview’s Gallery Park with signs saying,
“Reopen Glenbrook 225 schools” and “Kids only get 1 senior year.” (Tom Robb/Journal photo)

An estimated 130 gathered in Gallery Park for an “Open Illinois Schools” rally Wednesday,
Sept. 23, specifically aimed at Glenbrook High School Dist. 225. Keynote speaker at the rally
was Paul Vallas, former Chicago Public Schools CEO and 2019 Chicago mayoral candidate.

The majority of those attending wore face masks, though not all did, and maintained distance
on the Gallery Park lawn while speakers spoke from a podium on a small stage.

Just two days before the rally, Dist. 225 officials approved plans to return students to a
hybrid model for in-person learning, starting with a gradual ramp-up of students returning
between Monday, Oct. 5 and Monday, Oct. 19.

By Oct. 20, all students, not opting for full remote learning, would be back in school buildings
at 50% capacity.
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 Class time would be divided into a rotating block schedule with some students taking in-
person morning classes while others take online classes, switching in the afternoon.

Many at the rally praised the school board’s action as a good start but some said they wanted
students fully back in school.

“Children are being held hostage” by national union leadership who Vallas said are willing to
break collective bargaining agreements to keep teachers out of classrooms.

OPEN
ILLInOIs
SCHOOLS
Paul Vallas, former Chicago Public Schools CEO, wraps up Wednesday, Sept. 23 “Open Illinois Schools” rally in Glenview’s
Gallery Park saying, “Children are being held hostage,” and “People are arbitrarily making decisions without your input. You’ve
got to take control of your schools.” (Tom Robb/Journal photo)

Vallas said in a fiery speech, “People are arbitrarily making decisions without your input.
You’ve got to take control of your schools.” He said the damage being done to young people
taking classes remotely at home negatively affects them, “Not only academically, but socially,
emotionally, nutritionally. Closing schools allows gangs to recruit.”

He and others at the event said teachers, like firefighters and police, are essential workers
who need to be in the classroom.

During discussions about reopening Dist. 225 schools at the Sept. 21 school board meeting,
board members discussed concerns about students contracting COVID-19 and, sometimes
without symptoms, carrying it back into the community to vulnerable populations.

School board members heard about an hour of public comment by members of the public
who called and left voicemails before the start of the meeting. Although there were a few
callers asking for a return to in-person learning concerned about the mental health of
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 students, the majority expressed concern that an outbreak of COVID-19 in school buildings
could bring the virus into the greater communities of Glenview and Northbrook.

Glenbrook South senior Marlo Pulliam speaks at Wednesday, Sept. 23 “Open Illinois Schools” rally in Glenview’s Gallery Park
saying, “We’re being denied an education, we deserve more. At first online (learning) seemed the perfect solution, but…” (Tom
Robb/Journal photo)

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“We’re beingagree to our
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education,” Glenbrook South senior Marlo Pulliam said at the rally.
“We deserve more. At firstPrivacy
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(learning) seemed like a perfect solution,” but Pulliam said
she lacked focus and said her mental health was suffering.

Dr. Dana Russo, a Northfield-based OB-GYN who spoke at the rally, quoted the Elk Grove
Village-based American Academy of Pediatrics school guidance saying, “Desks should be
placed at least 3 feet apart, and ideally 6 feet apart when feasible.”

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance says, “Ensure small groups maintain a
physical distance of at least 6 feet to avoid mixing between groups, if possible…Space
seating/desks at least 6 feet apart when feasible.”

Russo stressed guidance that says “when feasible,” saying, “We know COVID is not going
away, we need to learn to live with it.”

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