Dupage Policy Journal

After a school year like no other, Timothy Christian Schools Superintendent Matt Davidson says that the school has every intention of returning to normal in the upcoming school year.

“The sun is now setting on this historic school year, the most extraordinary year in our lifetime,” Davidson said in a video posted to the school’s website. “At every turn there’s been another fork in the road as we’ve battled through the pandemic. Yet, here we are. It’s by the grace of God and the power of his might that we’re here.”

For the upcoming school year, the school will have less ground than most to cover after finishing the 2020-2021 school year as one of the few large PreK-12 schools in Chicago to provide a fully in-person model over the entire school year.

As many other schools turned to hybrid models and remote learning, Timothy Christian began the school year in August 2020 with almost 90% of its students engaging in in-person learning and by the end of the school year in May that number had spiked to 97%.

Davidson concedes none of it has been easy.

“We’ve endured finger-pointing from those that oppose us and second-guessed our every decision,” he said. “It’s in Jesus’ name that we’ve pressed on. The Timothy community rallied and demonstrated an extraordinary level of cooperation to achieve our goals. The same level of dedication will be required of us again, and I have no doubt that each one of our families will meet that challenge.”

Davidson said the school’s administration, board of directors and Health Task Force have worked in concert to devise a plan for school year 2021-2022 aimed at keeping students safe.

“Our plan is based on consideration of our own internal data from the 2020-2021 school year, data and information from other schools, the expertise of our health task force, guidance from the CDC, IDPH, ISBE, and the local health department and other local entities, and a lot of prayer,” he said. “We ask for your unwavering and uncompromised cooperation.”

Davidson stresses parents will have a key voice in it all.

“It remains our conviction that a responsible and adaptable plan accompanied with opportunities for parental choice will yield the best results,” he said. “No different than any other year, we are ready and willing to pivot to lesser or stricter protocols if warranted. There are plenty of factors that could lead to adaptations in the plan. It seems unlikely that our plan will remain “as is” for the entire school year, or even the entire summer. Every successful organization maintains a posture of constant learning, growth, and flexibility.”