In-Person Classes To Restart Next Month In West Aurora D129

AURORA, IL — After bringing several groups of students back for in-person learning without issue amid the coronavirus pandemic, West Aurora District 129 officials are pushing forward with plans to welcome most students back next month.

Students in District 129’s Career and Technical Education program, transition programs and other alternative programs were brought back to school in September, with officials believing in-person learning would be most beneficial to those groups.

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The district now hopes to start reintegrating groups of students starting Nov. 2, coinciding with the beginning of the second quarter, Superintendent Jeff Craig said last week in a letter to parents.

“I have shared previously in messages and in public meetings that I firmly believe that the highest-quality education takes place when our students are with staff in an in-person environment,” Craig said. “As regional health metrics dictate, we are committed to finding a way back to in-person instruction, in a safe and responsible manner.”

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Under the district’s current plans, first- and sixth-grade students would return Nov. 2; pre-K students, kindergartners and seventh-graders would return Nov. 16; and students in second, third and eighth grades would return Nov. 30.

Students in fourth and fifth grade are set to return Dec. 7, according to the district’s plans.

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High school students in District 129 are expected to continue learning from home through the end of 2020.

Students in all grades were given the option to continue with remote learning through the end of the second quarter in January.

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While District 129 officials are looking to bring elementary and middle school students back starting next month, East Aurora District 131 is keeping all of its students away from the classroom at least through the end of the year.

District 131 Superintendent Jennifer Norrell recently confirmed the district was delaying its planned return to school due to a “prevailing high number” of coronavirus cases in the Aurora area.

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Public health officials in Kane County have recorded more than 950 positive tests since the start of October, taking the county's total case count to nearly 14,321, as of Monday.

West Aurora District 129’s main ZIP code, 60506, accounts for about 30 percent of all coronavirus cases in Aurora, with 1,833 since the start of the pandemic, according to statistics from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

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The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in the 60506 ZIP code was 8.71 on Sunday, the highest it’s been since Aug. 23, public health data shows.

At least 57 residents in that ZIP code have died after testing positive for the coronavirus, according to the state’s data.

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Kane County's seven-day rolling average of daily new cases reached 93.7 on Monday, the highest it's been in more than four months, public health data shows.