Nippersink District 2 joins Richmond-Burton High School in returning to full in-person learning April 6

The Nippersink School District 2 Board voted Wednesday evening to switch to full in-person learning starting April 6, a move that aligns the elementary and middle school district with Richmond-Burton High School District 157, Superintendent Tom Lind said.

Both districts – which share the same boundaries and serve families in Spring Grove and Richmond – had announced the return earlier this month in a note from Lind, their shared superintendent.

“Although we still have a long way to go before COVID-19 is no longer a daily concern, we remain cautiously optimistic with the recent news indicating COVID-19 case numbers continue to remain low at the state and local level,” Lind said in the March 12 note.

Lind noted that school staff received their second vaccination shots March 11, and full efficacy would take place two weeks later, just as the districts start their spring breaks.

He also pointed to revised guidance from the Illinois State Board of Education and Illinois Department of Public Health, which relaxed social distancing requirements for students and vaccinated staff and directed schools to return to in-person learning “as soon as practicable in every Illinois community.”

The switch to five days a week of in-person learning unanimously was approved by the District 2 board Wednesday and the District 157 board March 17, Lind said in an email.