CHICAGO, Ill. (WAND) - Illinois school districts should start preparing for the possibility of using E-Learning this coming fall, Gov. J.B Pritzker said on Sunday.
During Sunday's daily COVID-19 press briefing, Pritzker said he wasn't sure if Illinois students and teachers would use E-Learning or be physically present in the classroom next school year.
“I would prepare for both because it is so unclear,” Pritzker said. “Without knowing the answer, E-Learning is an important thing for us to develop.
Last month, Pritzker ordered that all schools close because COVID-19, and a in April announced they would remain shut down for the remainder of the school year.
Pritzker said since the crisis began to take root in Illinois, he’s seen room for improvement in schools when it comes to E-Learning and recommended districts tap into available state funds to help build those programs.
“What we've learned in that short period of time is that many schools are not ready for E-learning, but should be,” Pritzker said. “The state actually has funds available to help school districts to work with school districts to help spin up E-Learning.”
Priztker even suggested that E-Learning methods may be used in certain ways even after the crisis.
“I would encourage administrations and teachers to work very hard on making sure that's available," he said. "Just in case and also because I think that in the future, we'll be using E-Learning more and more, even in the absence of a pandemic along with in-person learning.”
