SE Illinois News

DuQuoin’s superintendent said that online learning will certainly be making an appearance this fall, though the scale of it is not yet known.

Superintendent Matt Hickam told the school board last month that he is uncertain what the next school year will look like, but that it is certain that remote learning will have to improve upon what was available in the spring semester when COVID-19 surfaced, the Carbondale Times reports. 

The state board of education was aware of the limitations placed on educators in their ability to educate students via online learning to such a large degree that they simply asked the districts to do their best with the tools available, the paper reports.

While District 300 performed well with the rudimentary online learning tools that they had at their disposal, he is confident that in the fall the state will want schools to have better systems in place, as well as more clear guidelines for academic performance, the paper reports. 

Hickam told the school board at its meeting that he believes DuQuoin needs to have better internet accessibility for its students and as such is partnering with internet providers to improve the hot spots for internet access. 

"We're looking for more points like that in the community, so we can have better geographic (Wi-Fi) coverage at least in town," Hickam told Carbondale Times. 

Not all students have their own laptops and tablets, and because of this obstacle, the state will need to provide such resources. 

Hickam said that there might be a need to space out students more generously and as such there is the very real possibility that not all students will be at the school at the same time. Whatever does transpire, however, Hickam said that the students will be taken care of.

"A large majority of our people care about kids, it's not just their job," Hickam said, the paper reported. "That guarantees we'll be successful. We need to be ready to go in whatever direction we have to."