Plainfield District 202 to continue remote learning through end of semester

Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 said it will continue with entirely remote learning through at least the end of this semester as the number of novel coronavirus infections remains high.

The district said students will not come back into the classroom until the metrics for local COVID-19 spread improve, according to a news release.

District 202 began the semester with entirely remote learning and then began planning for a phased return to some in-person learning. But as the number of cases in the region and the state began to rise with the fall season, the district put a pause on its plans for students to return into the classroom.

The district already had some students in special needs programs resume in-person learning, but even those students had to revert back to remote learning as cases began to spike.

Next week, the district will send an “Educational Choice Form” to all of students' families to begin planning for scheduling, staffing and other logistics when children return next semester. The district stressed that there is no firm date yet for a return to in-person learning.

In Will County, the rolling average COVID-19 test positivity rate was 19.4% as of Nov. 20.

The District 202 administration has said they monitor five key metrics to decide on the plan for instruction: the county’s test positivity rate, guidance from public health officials, cleaning and disinfecting supplies, available personal protective equipment and its substitute teacher pool.