Nippersink District 2, Richmond-Burton High School District 157 return to remote learning starting Monday until Dec. 7

Nippersink School District 2 and Richmond-Burton High School District 157 students will return to fully remote learning plans starting Monday until at least Dec. 7, according to an announcement posted Wednesday on both district’s websites.

The school systems serving Richmond, Spring Grove and other students in northeastern McHenry County moved to hybrid learning plans in October, with alternating cohorts of students attending classes in person two days a week while also in online coursework.

They remained in hybrid learning plans after the McHenry County Department of Health recommended schools consider transitioning into fully remote educational delivery because of rising local metrics of the viral caseload.

While the department made that recommendation based on countywide metrics, District 2 and District 157 officials also have been monitoring the metrics within the ZIP codes of its school boundaries.

“While our schools at this time remain safe, the data is telling us that in the near future we could see a significant increase in the numbers of students and staff testing positive or needing to be quarantined,” Superintendent Tom Lind said in the announcement.

The districts will continue to monitor all the metrics as well as other local factors to determine whether they can safely return to the hybrid learning platform, he said.

School system officials are planning to update parents and guardians Dec. 2 on whether school buildings will remain closed or if hybrid learning models can resume Dec. 7.