While the country and the world respond to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to follow public health guidelines. The safety of our students and staff is our top priority – as is our commitment to continuing to provide a quality education experience for every one of our students.
Remote Learning Plan & COVID-19 FAQ
Find out more about our response to the pandemic
How is Ombudsman Chicago Responding to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak?
As of March 16, 2020, our physical school locations are closed for an extended period, but our staff and students are teaching and learning at all grade levels.
We have enacted remote learning, utilizing our online platforms and paper-packet coursework, for all Ombudsman Chicago students.
Visit the CPS Student Health and Wellness page for information on Chicago Public Schools District response to the outbreak, and district updates.
How does remote learning work at Ombudsman Chicago?
In response to public health guidelines, our Ombudsman teachers and staff have acted quickly to adapt the curriculum to facilitate remote learning for our students.
Here’s what we’re doing:
- Continued access to online platforms so students can continue to make progress;
- Providing hard copy packets to students who don’t have Internet or computer access, including home-delivery for students and families who don’t have access to transportation. During the first week of the closure, our team delivered more than 500 packets to students’ homes; we’ll continue home delivery throughout the mandatory closure.
- Making staff available by phone, email and scheduled office hours so students can receive ongoing support from staff;
- Working with individual students to continue to provide the personal attention and support to help them achieve their academic goals and address their social and emotional needs;
- Providing students opportunities to continue their post-secondary planning;
- Continuing to provide targeted supports for our diverse learners and ensuring the IEP process continues.
Ombudsman Chicago teachers, staff and leadership are here to support our students adjust to this transition. If students need any additional resources or accommodations throughout their remote learning experience, we encourage them to contact us.
Can students still receive free meals during the school closure period?
YES. We recognize that our schools provide healthy meals to many of our students, and that it’s vital to maintain this. In partnership with Chicago Public Schools, boxes of free food – enough for three days of breakfast and lunches at a time for every student in the household – are being provided.
All families will be able to pick up meals at their nearest CPS school beginning Tuesday, March 17, between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. daily. Lunchroom staff will prep, bag, and provide meals outside the school building. Visit the Chicago Public Schools CPS Meal Sites page to view all CPS locations with food distribution.
How will the current pandemic situation affect graduating seniors?
We realize this is especially important for seniors as they work toward graduation, so we’re doing all we can to help ensure seniors attain the credits they need to earn their diploma.
We understand seniors and their families have questions about plans for graduation ceremonies. At the minute, we plan to hold graduation as scheduled. However, we’ll continue to follow public health guidelines regarding large gatherings of people. It’s not possible to anticipate whether these guidelines will still be in place in June; if so, we’ll honor them to protect the health and safety of graduates, their families and friends, and our staff.
We encourage students to continue to check our Facebook page regularly for updates about graduation plans.
We’re here for our students during this unprecedented time and encourage them to reach out to us for help and support.