VVSD Transition To Hybrid Learning Delayed Again As Cases Surge

BOLINGBROOK, IL — As coronavirus numbers in Will County continue to move in the wrong direction, Superintendent Rachel Kinder said Friday that the Valley View School District will once again push back its transition to hybrid learning by two weeks.

"Currently, Region 7, Will County, and immediate community zip code data trends continue to increase and remain at a substantial level of community transmission for all Will County school metrics," she said. "As much as we are looking forward to welcoming back our youngest learners, we must extend the adaptive pause in the timeline of the Return Together 365U Plan for prekindergarten to fifth grade hybrid learners."

On Oct. 21, Kinder had said on a video that students would not be back in school before Nov. 9, which was already a deviation from the original plan of bringing back students on Nov. 2. As per the latest announcement, prekindergarten through fifth grade students who have selected hybrid learning will continue with full remote learning with their current teachers through at least Nov. 30.

Students in special programs, targeted groups of students, and STEP students who have already returned will continue to attend in-person. The timeline for the return of middle and high school students who have selected hybrid learning remains unchanged at this time.

"In addition to the metrics related to community transmission, we continue to monitor our internal data very closely," Kinder said. "We also continue to track and respond to all reported student and staff COVID positive cases as well as monitor quarantine numbers, from a health and staffing perspective."

District Administration will provide an update to the Board of Education on the status of the Return Together 365U Plan at the Nov. 16 meeting.