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Politics & Government

UPDATE: Details, Procedures For Geneva Parents, Students in Case of a Teachers Strike

Here's a school-by-school checklist for parents of students planning to attend school, including school hours, entrance points, cafeteria offerings, parking, special classes and more.

The Geneva teachers union announced Friday that a teachers strike would begin Monday, Nov. 12.

The Board of Education negotiations task force and the GEA are meeting Sunday, Nov. 11, but in case of a strike, here are links to additional details on what activities will be offered, when and where students will meet, and how best to access schools during a work stoppage, courtesy of Geneva School District 304:


Information about negotiations and the potential strike will be communicated through emails to families, District 304’s emergency notification system, 304Connects, local media and the School Board’s negotiations webpage.

If a walkout takes place, School District 304 officials intend to provide a safe haven for students during the school day in an effort to reduce hardship on families. Students will not be required or expected to attend school.

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Students are not required to attend. If they will be attending, parents are asked to call 630-463-3088.  

GENEVA HIGH SCHOOL

Hours: Geneva High School will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day during a work stoppage.

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Busing: Buses will follow a normal schedule and will drop-off and pick-up in the diagonal drive, as usual.

Drop-Off, Pick-Up: Parents dropping their student off at school may do so in the diagonal drive or in front of the Mack Olson Gym on Logan Ave.

Entrance: Please use the Contest Gym entrance or the Mack Olson Gym entrance to enter the building. All other doors will be locked.

Parking: Students driving to school should park in the McKinley North parking lot and enter the building through the Contest Gym entrance.

Sign-in, Sign-Out

  • All students are asked to please sign in upon entering the building at each entrance.
  • After participating in an activity or using the resources available, students may sign-out, leave the building and return again later. Upon returning, please sign-in again.

Cafeteria

  • The cafeteria will not be open for breakfast.
  • The cafeteria will be open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. A limited menu will be available for purchase.

Career Center, On-the-Job Training, Special Classes

  • All students enrolled in Fox Valley Career Center courses must attend those classes. Students in courses that meet at the Career Center must report to GHS and ride the bus to the career center as normal. Driving to the Career Center is not allowed. Students enrolled in Career Center courses at other sites must provide their own transportation as normal.
  • Instructional Program students who participate in On-the-Job Training (OJT) will travel by bus to their job sites with their instructional assistant, if they choose to come to school.
  • Students enrolled in Calculus II at the University of Illinois may come to the Counseling & Advising office to complete their assignments.
  • Students enrolled in the PE Leadership course may attend and assist the Mid-Valley students during their normal PE Leadership class time.
  • There will be no Early Bird classes.

Parent-Teacher Meetings

  • Any meeting that parents have scheduled with school personnel will not take place on the day of a work stoppage. 

Activites

  • The Fitness Center, Contest Gym and Mack Olson Gym will be open throughout the day for students who wish to exercise.
  • The library will be open as a resource for all students.
  • NHS students will be offering tutoring services in the library each day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • The Career Center in the Counseling & Advising Office will be open from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
  • Two computer labs will be open each day for students wishing to work on college applications or other items requiring technology.
  • The Counseling & Advising Office will be staffed by our registrar and other support staff members who will be available to assist with college application materials.
  • A film with educational value will be shown every two hours in the auditorium, beginning at 8 a.m. Three titles will be shown each day.
  • A classroom will be available for quiet reading.

Extracurricular Activities

  • The Fall Play will be performed as scheduled this weekend on Friday, Nov. 9, Saturday, Nov. 10 and Sunday, Nov. 11. 
  • All other extracurricular activities, practices and contests will not be held on the days of a work stoppage. If there are any exceptions made, we will communicate a change on a daily basis.

 

GENEVA MIDDLE SCHOOLS

The following information is for both Geneva Middle School North and Geneva Middle School South.

Busing: The buses will run their regular routes and maintain their normal schedule. It’s important to note that the buses will continue to drop students off and pick them up at either GMS North or GMS South as they have done all year.

Entrance: All middle school students dropped off at South will enter GMS South through the front entrance. All middle school students dropped off at North must enter GMS North through the front entrance. Together with staff supervisors, they will then walk over to South.

Materials to Bring, Clothing

Upon arrival at school on the first day of a strike, students will be able to access their lockers to gather these materials. We would then like the students to carry these materials with them in their backpacks. Additionally, students should plan on wearing comfortable clothes. Although we will not dress for PE, we will have some physical activities. The comfortable clothes should include:

  • Gym shoes
  • A spiral notebook
  • A writing tool
  • Calculator
  • Novel
  • Colored pencils/crayons
  • IPOD/MP3 Player if a parent is comfortable with sending to school. During the physical activity portion of the day, some students will have the option to use their IPOD.
  • Students will also be allowed to carry their cell phones with them in their back pack, but they should be turned off.

Activities Available at School

It is not our intention to try and provide a normal school day experience. Students will be in groups by grade level for most of the day. We will use a rotational stations approach where students will be engaged in a variety of activities including reading, math games, videos, teambuilding activities, virtual scavenger hunts, art activities, board games and physical activities.

Cafeteria

A limited menu of lunch items will be provided for purchase. Students can also bring their lunch.

Extracurricular Activities, School Events

 All extracurricular activities be cancelled during a work stoppage. They will resume when we return to our normal school day. Scheduled events that will be cancelled during a work stoppage include:

  • Veterans Day Ceremony (if the strike begins on Friday, Nov. 9)
  • Before- and after-school reading labs
  • Athletic and intramural activities
  • Before school music groups
  • South PTO Meeting on Nov. 12
  • Jazz Band Concert on Nov. 13
  • Stellar Students Ceremonies

How to Contact Students

In the event of a strike, if you need to contact the school regarding your child, please call themain office number of the middle school your child attends. However, please remember to call 630-463-3088 for all calls related to attendance.

 

MILL CREEK ELEMENTARY

Activities

Mill Creek Elementary School students who attend during a work stoppage will rotate between various activities throughout the school day, including math games, computer lab activities, writing/journaling, reading time, presentations from community resources, physical education, arts/crafts, and reading workshops. Each setting will be supervised by an administrator, support staff member or certified substitute teacher.

School Hours: Normal school hours will be held: 8 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. Arrival is 7:45 a.m. and bus dismissal at 2:15 p.m.

Cafeteria: A limited school-lunch menu will be offered for purchase, or students may bring a packed lunch. Students should also bring a snack.

Kid Zone: If your child attends Kid Zone, this program will operate during normal before and after school hours.

Busing: Buses will run as regularly scheduled with regular bus stops.  Buses will continue to use the bus turn-around area (Entrance  #1).

Entrance: Parents dropping off or picking up their children will use door # 7. To access door #7, parents will enter through our back parking lot off of Schoolhouse Lane. As always, supervision will be outside as students enter and exit the building through the front and back doors.

Start of Day: Students will begin each morning in the multi-purpose room (cafeteria) for attendance, lunch count and announcements.

Support Staff: The school nurse and secretaries will be in attendance.


FABYAN ELEMENTARY

Activities

Fabyan Elementary students who do attend will rotate between various activities throughout the school day, including math games, computer lab activities, writing/journaling, reading time, presentations fromcommunity resources, physical education, arts/crafts, and reading workshops. Each setting will be supervised by an administrator, support staff member or certified substitute teacher.

School Hours: Normal school hours will be held: 8 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. Arrival is 7:45 a.m. and bus dismissal at 2:15 p.m.

Cafeteria: A limited school lunch menu will be offered for purchase or students may bring a packed lunch. Students should also bring a snack.

Kid Zone: This program will operate during normal before and after school hours.

Busing: Buses will run as regularly scheduled with regular bus stops. Buses will continue to use the bus turn around area.

Arrival, Dismissal: Regular arrival and dismissal procedures will be followed to allow consistency.

As always, supervision will be outside as students enter and exit the building through the front doors. and

Drop-Off, Pick-Up: Parents will continue to drop off and/or pick up their children in our regular unloading and loading manner. Students will begin each morning in the gymnasium for attendance, lunch count, and announcements.

HEARTLAND ELEMENTARY

Activites

Heartland Elementary students in attendance during a strike will rotate between various activities throughout the school day. Time will be spent reading, engaged in physical activities, playing educational computer games, drawing, and other activities. Each setting will be supervised by an administrator, support staff member, substitute teacher, or volunteer.

Busing: Buses will run as regularly scheduled. Bus riders will drop off students in the bus turn-around area.

Entrance: Students will enter school through the Main Entrance (Door #1).

Drop-Off, Pick-Up: Parent drop off/pick up will also be in the bus turn-around. Students will enter through the Main Entrance (Door #1).

Start of Day: Students will begin each morning in the Gym for attendance, lunch count, collection of transportation notes, and announcements.

Cafeteria: A limited lunch menu will be served each day. Students may bring a sack lunch. Students may also bring a snack.

Kids' Zone: Kids' Zone will operate as normal before and after school hours.

School Hours: Normal school hours will be held.

School Nurse: The nurse will be in attendance.

 

  • Editor's Note: Additional information for Harrison Street School, Western Avenue School and Williamsburg Elementary School is provided in the links at the top of this article.

 

Want to stay up to date on the negotiations issue?

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Related Articles

 

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  • Geneva Teachers Express Frustration Over Stalled Negotiations
  • UPDATE: Geneva School Board Calls Special Meeting to Discuss Teacher Negotiations
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  • Patch Poll: How Much of An Increase Should Geneva Teachers Get?
  • Batavia Teachers Get Raises in New Two-Year Contract; Geneva Still Negotiating
  • Where Do You Stand on the Geneva Teachers' Union Negotiations?
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  • State Teachers Union Announces Geneva Talks at Impasse
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  • District 304: GEA's 'Final Offer' Calls for 18% Salary Hike in Final 3 Years Before Retirement
  • Teacher Talks Resume Friday; Here's the Timeline If an Agreement Isn't Reached
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  • School Board: Union's 'Rigid Stance' Kept Parties Apart for Months; GEA Responds
  • Patch Poll: Which Offer Is More Fair to Teachers and Taxpayers?
  • UPDATE—Geneva School Board: GEA Filed Intent to Strike While Sitting at Negotiations Table
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