RIVERSIDE-BROOKFIELD Also serving North Riverside $1.00
Vol. 35, No. 33
August 12, 2020
Sports roundup High school sports are back, but some athletes parting ways PAGE 17
RBHS teachers union blasts remote learning plan School proposes modified hybrid to those unhappy with 3rd party solution By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter
The teachers union at Riverside-Brookfield High School is taking a strong stand against the use of a third-party provider for remote learning and has harshly criticized District 208 Superintendent Kevin Skinkis for his decision to use a company called Apex Learning to provide computerized instruction for those who choose 100-percent remote learning. A press release issued Friday by the executive board of the Riverside Brookfield Education Association (RBEA) said that the decision to use Apex was not made by the COVID-19 transition committee the school had established, but by Skinkis alone. “In no way, shape or form is Apex a proper remote learning option,” the RBEA press release stated. “Apex does not include human instruction or interaction. It is unacceptable to the RBEA that Dr. Skinkis provided Apex as the only option for families that chose remote learning. For Dr. Skinkis to simply ‘hand off ’ students and families who made the remote learning choice – many for serious health reasons—is disappointing and sad. The students in the community deserve better than that.” RBHS parent Peggy Rios, who works as a kindergarten teacher in Lombard, said that when she asked See REMOTE LEARNING on page 12
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Thousands lose power as derecho storm whips through villages PAGE 2 Forest Preserves frown on RBHS/zoo parking and field deal PAGE 16
This summer the gig’s in the driveway Many concerts cancelled, but music goes on in Hollywood
ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer
MUSIC MAKERS: Patrick Williams, left, and his wife, Kara Kesselring, both of Brookfield, trade their own Hollywood neighborhood driveway for a street in Oak Park, where they performed outdoors on Aug. 8 during a block party on Clarence Avenue. By HENRY WELDON Contributing Reporter
M
usic is one way to bring people closer together and yet remain six feet apart. In Brookfield, one musical couple who gigged regularly at bars and weddings across the Chicago area,
now just go as far as their front driveway. Kara Kesselring and Patrick Williams, residents of the village’s Hollywood section, have been hosting driveway concerts when the weather has cooperated since the COVID-19 pandemic began. “We’ve been doing these driveway concerts to connect with everyone in the community,” Kesselring said. “We’re even working on building a stage in our
yard for social distancing concerts. It’s nice to perform where our gear and equipment and house are.” Kesselring and Williams are both professional musicians who perform for a living. They’re accompanied by their 12-year-old daughter, Iris Williams, who also plays instruments and sings backup See CONCERTS on page 13
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