Coming out of the Thanksgiving holiday, central Illinois school leaders continue to forge ahead in various ways keeping kids learning and engaged.

Nearly every district has been impacted by COVID in some fashion, and local leaders are all doing what is best for their students, families, teachers, and staff. Thankful for the local control provided by the State of Illinois during this pandemic, Central A&M Superintendent Dr. DeAnn Heck says that she really didn’t know what to expect coming into the school year.   

Dr. Heck calls it has a great semester under the worst possible circumstances and that the parents and teachers have really stepped up to make it so.

Having to adjust on the fly has not allowed school leaders to look ahead too far through the calendar and according to Dr. Heck, one of the biggest challenges her district has faced is the unknown.

The most veteran of school leaders and Dr. Heck would certainly be among those, have described this year as the most challenging. Administrators, teachers, students, and families have been asked to things of an extraordinary nature and she points out some are becoming exhausted.

Many have anticipated the Governor to step in and shut schools down but to this point, he has remained steadfast local districts will be able to continue to make their own decisions.