District 21 reports parent and staff support for e-learning days in preliminary survey

Superintendent Dr. Connolly presented preliminary results Dec. 11 from a district survey on whether to keep e-learning days as the default for weather-related closures.

He said the parent survey collected roughly 1,000 responses and that approximately 60% favored continuing e-learning days compared with 40% who preferred traditional snow or school-closure days. The staff survey recorded just over 500 responses, with roughly 72% of staff preferring e-learning days and 28% preferring traditional closures.

"Those are not final results," Dr. Connolly told the board, noting the surveys include English, Spanish, Russian and Ukrainian-language versions and remain open through the following day. He said the district will publish a full breakdown after the winter break.

Board members and parents who spoke during the discussion highlighted trade-offs that the survey clarified: one member said the district made it explicit in the survey that snow days must be made up later, which influenced responses, and another noted that some districts already include built-in snow days on their calendars, which is a contractual and bargaining question.

The superintendent said the survey information will inform district discussions about policy and collective-bargaining implications but is not a final determination. He emphasized the complexity of the decision, calling it "never usually clear cut or easy." No vote or formal policy change was taken at the meeting.