W E D N E S D A Y
June 17, 2020 Vol. 40, No. 47 ONE DOLLAR @oakpark @wednesdayjournal
JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest
Artbeat. Page 10
BLACK LIVES GROWS INTO WHITE SUBURBS
For special ed students, e-learning a unique challenge Support groups and advocacy help parents cope with daunting task
River Forest residents line protest route
By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter
By MICHAEL ROMAIN and IGOR STUDENKOV
In April, Gov. J.B. Pritzker warned school districts across Illinois that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they should anticipate and prepare for the possibility that virtual learning, or e-learning, could continue into the upcoming school year. For any parent, the prospect of a child spending yet another academic year out of the classroom is deeply unnerving. But for parents of students with special needs, the prospect is even more unsettling. “I feel like I replaced 11 people,” said Erika, who teaches at Oak Park and River Forest High School and is the parent of a special needs student who attends a District 97 elementary school, during an interview in late May. “I took over all those jobs. Some learning happens through video, but I have to be with him doing it all of the See SPECIAL ED on page 17
HOMEMADE ART
Staff Reporter and Contributing Reporter
ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer
On June 14, as nearly 1,000 demonstrators crossed the intersection of Desplaines and Randolph bound for Grant-White Elementary School, 147 Circle Ave., Forest Park, Kathryn Jandeska, 71, stood underneath the awning of Pioneer Taps & Liquors and thought about Kent State in 1970. That’s the year 13 unarmed students who attended the university were shot by members of the Ohio National Guard during a peace rally held to protest the federal government’s actions during the Vietnam War. Four of the students died. Jandeska said that she attended a “big university” at the time and marched in protest against both the war and the government’s violent response to the peaceful protesters. Sunday’s protest, however, was different, said Jandeska, who lives in River Forest. See MARCH on page 2
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