St. Charles Schools Revert To Remote Learning As COVID-19 Spikes

ST. CHARLES, IL — St. Charles Community Unit School District 303 is set to join the growing number of Illinois school districts reverting to full-time remote learning as coronavirus cases surge throughout the state.

Superintendent Jason Pearson and Board President Nicholas Manheim sent a letter Monday telling parents the district will move to full-time remote learning after Thanksgiving.

All students in the district will learn online from Nov. 30 through at least Dec. 18, the last day of class before the winter break, the officials said.

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District officials are hopeful of relaunching in-person classes at the start of the second semester in January.

The transition to remote learning is due to rising cases within the region and the district, Pearson and Manheim said. District 303 recorded 280 total cases Monday, more than twice as many as a week before, according to the district’s coronavirus dashboard.

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The district had 116 active cases Monday among staff members and students attending in-person classes or participating in school-sponsored activities.

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The Kane County Health Department on Tuesday recommended an “adaptive pause” for all schools as coronavirus cases quickly grow throughout the region. Kane County has recorded more than half of its 26,656 cases since the start of October and its positivity rate hit a high of 18.4 percent Friday, according to public health data.

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“Unfortunately, we have reached a tipping point with substantial community spread,” Pearson and Manheim said.

District 303 brought back some elementary and middle school students Aug. 19, while students at St. Charles North and East high schools returned to in-person learning Oct. 20.

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District 303 brought back some elementary and middle school students Aug. 19, while students at St. Charles North and East high schools were welcomed back to class Tuesday for the first since March.

Active Cases — Nov. 16
North High School - 29
East High School - 25
Wredling Middle School - 12
Thompson Middle School - 10
Davis Primary - 6
Wasco Elementary - 4
Richmond Intermediate - 4
Wild Rose Elementary - 4
Bell Graham Elementary - 4
Corron Elementary - 4
Munhall Elementary - 4
Norton Creek Elementary - 3
Lincoln Elementary - 3
Ferson Creek Elementary - 2

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