Districts 203, 204 To Resume 5 Days Of In-Person Learning

NAPERVILLE, IL — Students in Naperville Community Unit School District 203 and Indian Prairie School District 204 will be able to attend classes in-person five days a week after they return from spring break in April.

District 204 announced the change Thursday in an email to parents, and District 203 made the announcement via a YouTube video featuring Superintendent Dan Bridges.

The news comes just days after the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) updated its guidance for in-person instruction. The new guidelines recommend a minimum of three feet of social distancing between masked students and fully vaccinated staff members.

Additionally, school capacity limits for in-person learning are now defined by "the space's ability to accommodate social distancing," according to ISBE.

For District 203, Bridges said early childhood students will attend school five days a week, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Elementary students will resume a "typical school year schedule" five days a week from 8:15 to 2:30. Students in grades six through eight will attend school five days a week from 8 a.m. to 2:50 p.m.

District 203 high school students will attend in-person classes five days a week from 7:35 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with no lunch break.

Bridges said, "Space continues to be an issue at the high school level, where our increased population of students creates a barrier to maintaining the required six feet of social distancing when eating."

Bridges added that the goal is to get high school students back to full-time, in-person instruction come fall.

Further details are expected at the March 15 District 203 Board of Education meeting.

In an email to parents, District 204 Superintendent Adrian Talley wrote, "Our plan is for elementary, middle, and high school students to move to five days of in-person instruction after spring break." Talley did not provide details whether students would attend classes full-time.

According to Talley, early childhood students who were remote learning were able to shift to in-person instruction as of March 15. Elementary school students who were on a waitlist for in-person instruction will also be able to begin in-person instruction. Additionally, students who were learning in-person at a different school due to space limitations can return to their original classroom, Talley wrote.

For middle and high school students, the district will decrease the number of "alternative learning spaces" in use and allow more students to return to their classrooms for instruction.

More details for District 204's plan are expected at the March 22 Board of Education meeting.

Both districts will continue to offer remote learning options for families who choose them. The changes are expected to take place April 7.

The mutual shift to more in-person learning comes amid increased pressure from parents for both districts to resume full-time, in-person instruction. Parents from Districts 203 and 204 will take part in a nine-district rally in Naperville Sunday to demand a return to full-time, in-person instruction.

Also on Patch:

Reopen Schools: Multi-District Rally Planned In Naperville

Naperville Central Teens Give Back To Community With New Business

Parents Urge District 203 To Return To Full, In-Person Learning