D70 Elementary Schools Returning To In-Person Learning In April

LIBERTYVILLE, IL — Elementary school students in Libertyville's District 70 will return to in-person learning on April 12, the district's board of education decided this week.

In a letter to the community, the board said students in grades kindergarten through five will attend class in socially distanced classrooms and will remain in "pods" with their teacher for most of the day.

In the event a case of the virus is identified in the school, contact tracing and quarantines will likely only impact individual classrooms, the board said.

District 70 middle school students, meanwhile, will attend the district's "version 2.0" hybrid learning program with two days of in-person instruction and three days of live-streamed education, according to the letter.

During hybrid learning, middle school students will not be assigned to pods but will instead move freely throughout the day. The board said staying in hybrid learning reduces the likelihood of having to quarantine large groups of students.

Families with students in both middle and elementary schools have the choice to send their students to in-person or virtual classes, the board said.

During the Feb. 22 meeting, the board also decided to implement voluntary coronavirus testing for students and staff, something it says is "an important approach to D70’s layered mitigation strategy."

The board also approved the purchase of transparent desk shields and individual desks to help protect students from the spread of the virus. Shields will be used during lunch times, and desks will be used to replace tables in elementary classrooms.