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Amid rising COVID-19 cases in McHenry County, Crystal Lake Elementary School District 47 and neighboring Prairie Grove School District 46 will remain in remote learning longer than previously announced.
Marengo-based Riley School District 18 also went to a remote learning model earlier this week.
In a letter to parents Thursday, District 46 Superintendent John Bute pointed to the positivity rates increasing within local ZIP codes in the last week as well as concerns about upcoming holidays for the decision to remain remote through mid-January.
District 47 announced Monday that it would not return to a hybrid learning model on Nov. 16, as it originally hoped, but will instead remain in remote learning.
District 47 returned to remote learning Nov. 2. The district plans to tell families what its plan is for the week of Nov. 30 will be by Nov. 23.
On Wednesday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported the highest number of hospitalizations since the pandemic began, with 523,840 cases of the virus and 10,434 deaths statewide.
As of Wednesday, McHenry County’s seven-day positivity rate average climbed to 20.3%, according to the IDPH.
“With the holiday season fast approaching, we know that immediate and extended families will be gathering and/or traveling as we head toward 2021,” Bute said in the letter.
Because of the expected exposures from holiday season gatherings and existing county and community spread, Bute said, District 46 will be in remote learning through Jan. 18.
“We acknowledge that the numbers in the state, region and county are not encouraging and we urge our families to continue to follow social distancing protocols and wear face coverings, especially in public locations,” Bute said in the letter.
Bute acknowledged that the news would not be seen as good by every family in his letter.
“However, we do have a responsibility to all students and staff and will continue to make decisions that we believe to be the greater good,” he said.
During this time, weekly food packs will be available for pick up from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the district’s food service entrance located off the circle drive.
District 47 Superintendent Kathy Hinz said in a parent update posted on the district’s website that a number of District 47 staff currently is in quarantine or isolation, affecting their ability to provide in-person instruction.
According to District 47’s COVID-19 dashboard, 14 staff members who normally provide in-person services were quarantined or symptomatic as of Nov. 2 along with 87 students.
“We realize this news will be met with mixed reactions from our families and we understand the disappointment and frustration some may feel,” Hinz said. “However, we take our responsibility for student and staff well-being seriously and will not resume in-person instruction until we are adequately prepared to do so through the lens of both the health metrics and staffing levels.”
According to District 47’s COVID-19 dashboard, to date, 22 staff members and 42 students doing in-person learning have tested positive for COVID-19, while one staff member and eleven students doing remote learning have tested positive.
The total number of in-person students who have had to quarantine or who have been symptomatic cases is 407 and 115 staff members. According to District 47’s website, no remote students have had to quarantine, while seven remote staff members have had to.
Riley School District 18, based in Marengo, moved to a full remote learning platform on Nov.9.
Superintendent Christine Conkling told families this remote period would last two weeks. Then, she said, the district will look at data to determine if it is a viable option for us to return at that time.
This decision came after District 18 had three more positive cases during the week of Nov.5, and an exposure outside of school hours creating an increase in students out for quarantine, Conkling said.
“We have not made this decision lightly,” she said. “Again, we must work in the best interest of all of our Riley community. We thank you for your continued support and hopefully this will be a short bump in the road for us, and we will be able to return to in-person instruction soon.”
Riley had been one of the only three districts in the county to give families a completely in-person school option at the beginning of the school year.
The others were Marengo Union Elementary School District 165 and Marengo High School District 154. On Thursday, District 165 Superintendent Lea Damisch announced that the district would be staying in-person.
As of Thursday, Damisch said in an update to parents, there have been 14 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among students in staff since school began.
She added that there have been zero cases of contact spread in schools.
“We continue to look at what is happening in the community and our parents have been excellent in communicating to the school when there has been a contact or a positive case in the home and the students then stay home and quarantine,” she said. “During that time, those students receive asynchronous learning as they are remoting into their classroom.”