The disruption in learning caused by COVID-19 has caused many Danville public school students to miss out on learning this past year, and board member Darlene Halloran says her experience will lend a hand in making decisions in a post-pandemic world.
Halloran, who is a retired guidance counselor for the district and is running for a third term on the board, says that many of the changes will have a permanent effect on learning, as the district cannot go back to the same methods it had before. She wants students to safely return to the classroom, but notes that many will have learning gaps.
“Some of our kiddos have not been engaged in learning this entire year,” she explains. “We’re going to have to identify those kids and we’re going to have to identify their needs and their gaps, and we’re going to have to create programs to address those. At the same time, for those kids who have been engaged, continue to advance their education.”
Halloran says that mental health needs of students and staff members will be one the the biggest challenges with a return to full learning. She says that COVID-19 is still a threat even with vaccines, and many people have anxiety about returning to a large in-person school environment. The district has been trying to alleviate mental health challenges through home interventionists, and Halloran says it recently received a grant from the University of Illinois School of Social Work to provide counseling services.
In regard to career fields, Halloran says that the district has done a good job of preparing students for life beyond high school, but says that more of an emphasis needs to be put on career and technical skills. She says there are many career paths for students in those fields.
“We have lots of job opportunities available in this county and this town, and we need to be able to be preparing our students for that as well as college,” she says.
Halloran also says that as part of its return-to-school plan, the district needs to identify the students who haven’t been contacted yet in order to figure out if they have been learning during the school year, and also get a feeling for why about 70 percent of parents do not want their children to return to the buildings.
