VVSD Delays Transition To Hybrid Learning Amid Coronavirus Surge

BOLINGBROOK, IL — The Valley View School District announced a change in its plan to bring back students to classrooms as Will County faces additional coronavirus mitigations once again. Superintendent Rachel Kinder announced in a video Wednesday that the district is enacting a two-week pause in its timeline to bring Prekindergarten through 5th grade hybrid program students back to school.

"Among the many skills we’ve all developed during this pandemic are flexibility and the understanding that even the most carefully considered plans are always subject to change," Kinder said in the video.

The Board of Education had unanimously approved the third stage of the Return Together 365U plan during its Thursday meeting. The plan would see a phased return of students to classrooms over the coming weeks and will result in a hybrid learning model of both in-school and remote instruction for most students. Remote learning continues as necessary based on family selection.

Early childhood students were supposed to begin going to school on Nov.2, Monday-Thursday, with Fridays reserved for asynchronous independent learning. Elementary students were also going to begin the same day and have in-person days assigned to them on the basis of their last names, according to the approved plan.

But now, transition to hybrid learning on-site will take place on Nov. 16. Early childhood students are now scheduled to return to four-day per week on site learning the week of Nov. 16 as well.
Prekindergarten to fifth grade students will remain with their current teacher for two additional weeks of full remote learning. Next week will be the normal remote learning schedule. The process of roster changes is paused and will be restarted prior to bridge week on Nov. 9, with communication to families regarding teacher adjustments to follow, Kinder said.

She said that the reasons behind this decision are:

• Region 7, Will County, and immediate community zip code data trends have recently emerged that show concerning movement; we need additional time to watch these metrics, have a firm understanding of the level of community transmission over a period of time, and reassess the plan to return larger populations of students. In this case, approximately 60 percent of the PK-5 student population (split into two groups for hybrid) are planning to return on site, in addition to staff.
• The district is at a critical point in planning for elementary transition to hybrid; pausing now would cause a lesser disruption to students and staff; pausing immediately after adjusting classes and during bridge week on-site will be extremely disruptive for students, families and staff.

"All communication that families have received regarding the school plans, transportation, and self-certification is still relevant for the future transition," Kinder said. "Students in our special programs who have already returned to school are not affected by this pause and will continue with classes as currently scheduled. Additional special programs and small groups of students that are scheduled to return in the next two weeks are also still on schedule for return at this time."

The return dates for middle and high school students are also unchanged at this time. The full timeline for transitions can be found on the website.

She said that based on the current data, the district's current health and safety precautions, and guidance from health officials, there is not a need to pause staff and small groups of students from being on-site at this time.

"Some may be wondering why we are moving forward, rather than delaying indefinitely. We all know that health and safety are the top priorities. At the same time, we also know that returning students to in-person instruction is also of critical importance. We will continue to set incremental benchmarks to reassess and be prepared to move forward whenever possible," Kinder said.