Royal organizers met with representatives of District Board #200 and high school administration Tuesday morning at 8 am to address the lack of equity and empathy regarding this semester’s grades. They agreed to “look into” if having an emergency board meeting to append A-F grading policy was logistically possible at this time. We believe that the administration and the board have the power to issue a resolution for a special COVID grading policy where all students receive credit for their current classes among other demands (below). 

We believe that the board and administration should have been proactive months ago to deter inequitable impact on OPRFHS students of color and those disproportionately impacted by this global crisis. We have been and are still experiencing a once-in-a-century viral pandemic that has impacted people of color the most. Moreover, the second pandemic of having our lives under attack on a daily basis as police continue to murder Black and Latinx people has compounded this trauma. Researchers agree that racial violence constitutes a pandemic against people of color yet institutions neglect to consider this violence a crisis.  We don’t agree with the high school’s decision to maintain an A through F grading scale. We have had family members pass away and have been severely affected by COVID. Many of our parents are essential workers which have had to put their life on the line so that society can continue functioning. Many of us have been sick ourselves. All of us have had to go through a year of online schooling and some form of online or hybrid schooling this semester.

Our organizers, who are all OPRFHS students, designed and administered a survey to capture the impact of e-learning policies on mental health. We received over 220 responses and asked the students questions about the e-learning policies including attendance and camera mandates. 73% of respondents said that e-learning policies have added more stress/pressure on their education.

There is no reason that students should fail any class during this double pandemic. Even in the best of times, failing grades do not teach us to work hard. They do not teach us about “real life”. Failure does not motivate. Prior to the pandemic, University of Chicago researcher Camille Farrington encouraged us to recognize “how detrimental it is for kids to fail and how much it impedes their likelihood to graduate”. That is true now more than ever. We are exhausted and disappointed that we have to ask for grace and empathy when we are trying our best to survive the impact on our mental health from the effects of COVID and the racial violence on our lives.

Per ISBE, section  (105 ILCS 5/10-20.9a) grading policies are the exclusive responsibilities of local districts. ISBE does not require any specific grading practice, policy, or philosophy, but they suggest that you may want to include any successful strategies or modifications implemented during remote learning as part of the planning and transition to in-person instruction and/or blended remote learning.

For these reasons we ask that the following recommendations be considered and implemented: 
1.No student shall receive a failing grade for Spring semester 2021

2.All students shall receive credit for their current classes.

3.Students should have the option to opt-out of grade-based assessment

4.All seniors should graduate despite their grades unless they choose to stay. In addition, we should provide seniors in need regardless if they are attending college with “Bridge Cash Scholarship Pandemic Assistance”

5.OPRFHS shall work with ROYAL as a student community partner. ROYAL shall be given the power to implement recommendations and hold OPRFHS accountable for learning through the COVID19 pandemic and the US racial violence pandemic.

6.Center and prioritize mental health and healing for the remainder of this semester and for Fall 2021, students must gain credit for taking part in mental health and healing activities

7.A/B schedule should be retained for in-person classes in Fall 2021

By signing this petition, you are joining the call for the school board of Oak Park-River Forest District 200 to issue a No-Fail policy/ issue Full Credit for the Spring 2021 Semester.