Dear Perspectives families, 

We are so excited to open the doors of our buildings and welcome our students back to in-person learning on August 16, 2021!  This year, we will continue to have protocols in place to maximize the health and safety of all, including:

• Health screening prior to building admittance
• Requirement of masks for all staff and students, regardless of vaccination status
• Maintain a distance of three feet apart whenever possible

We will share more about our reopening protocols in the near future.  While most students will be returning in-person, we understand that some students will need to continue remote learning based on medical needs verified by their healthcare provider.  Below outlines the scope of our Perspectives Virtual Academy for students who meet the medically fragile requirements: 

Program Overview

Perspectives Virtual Academy will be a fully remote learning option that serves a limited number of students who qualify as medically fragile with documented health conditions or medical needs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This program will be staffed by teachers at our Math and Science Academy campus and grades/credits are transferable back to each students’ home campus.  In this program, students will receive their instruction in compliance with Illinois School Code 10-29.

Each in-person instructor at the Math and Science Academy will have a scheduled period dedicated to synchronous virtual instruction via Zoom.  All course materials will be completed via Schoology and Google Drive.  Attendance will be required for all medically fragile students.  Students’ schedules will also include asynchronous time to work independently on class tasks.  

Additionally, students will be able to transition back into in-person learning at their home campus at the quarter mark based on their evolving situations.  Seniors will continue to work with their College Counselor at their home campus and Diverse Learners will continue to work with their Case Manager at their home campus.

All students not enrolled in the Perspectives Virtual Academy will attend in person learning next year.  

Applications for Perspectives Virtual Academy will be approved through the Perspectives Student Supports Team.  A complete application should be emailed to nurse@pcsedu.org.

Eligibility and Application Process

Definition of Medically Fragile

Students who are Medically Fragile may display the following characteristics in addition to one of the defined Medically Fragile conditions below:

1. Are frequently absent from school, and their absences are directly related to their severe or life-threatening physical condition.
2. Qualify for special education in one of the existing categories of disability or are considered disabled under Section 504.
3. A Licensed physician/advanced practice registered nurse has provided documentation that an associated or accompanying chronic illness is so severe as to affect the student’s school attendance.
4. A medically fragile student is one whose illness and treatment frequently places him/her in extreme, precarious or life threatening circumstances.

In addition, he/she may be technology-dependent for life support systems, i.e., tracheotomy, gastrostomy, etc.

Medically Fragile Conditions

Category A (automatic eligibility)

• Brain tumor, unspecified
• Hodgkin’s Disease, unspecified
• Leukemia, lymphoid unspecified
• Sarcoma, Lymphoma and other unspecified Cancers
• Sickle Cell Anemia Disease,(excludes Sickle Cell Trait)
• Thalassemia
• Spina Bifida, unspecified region
• Tracheostomy, complications of Hemophilia, unspecified coagulation defects
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
• Students enrolled in the homebound program (permanent and
  intermittent)
• Immunocompromised states (weakened immune systems from genetic
  defects or medications)
• All Solid Organ Transplants
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Dis.
• Cystic Fibrosis
• Pulmonary Hypertension

Category B (eligible if attendance is below 75%/yearly)

• Asthma, unspecified
• Cerebral Palsy, unspecified
• Colitis, noninfectious, unspecified
• Crohn’s Disease (regional enteritis, unspecified site)
• Congenital Anomalies, unspecified
• Chronic Kidney Disease/End-Stage Renal Disease
• Heart Disease/Hypertension
• Down Syndrome
• Diabetes

All applications for our Virtual Academy are due no later than August 11, 2021.   You can find the application attached to this email.  If you have questions about this program please reach out to your school’s Principal, (contact information below).

IIT/Math & Science Academy: TyNeisha Banks, Principal – tbanks@pcseud.org

HS of Technology/Leadership: Eron Powell, Principal – epowell@pcsedu.org

Perspectives Middle Academy: Jasmine Morales, Principal – jmorales@pcsedu.org

Rodney D. Joslin Campus: Stephen Todd, Principal – stodd@pcsedu.org

Please know that this decision was made weighing and balancing many complex factors.  Perspectives will continue to monitor all public health data and all relevant safety factors as we move forward together in the hybrid model.  Please know that Perspectives remains committed to ensuring the health and safety of our students and staff and we will revisit our hybrid decision as safety considerations warrant.  

We are so grateful for the perseverance you have all demonstrated and for the compassion that is evident in every response to the family surveys. We thank you in advance for your flexibility as we continue to work together to make the best possible decision for our students, families and staff. This is a very fluid time with rapidly evolving developments. We will do our best to communicate effectively in what we know is a very difficult landscape for all of us to navigate.