District 86 Plans More In-Person Learning Next Semester

HINSDALE, IL — Hinsdale High School District 86 is increasing in-person learning next semester, the superintendent announced Friday.

The district has been operating on an in-person schedule in which a quarter of students were allowed on campus at a time. But under next semester's plan, the district plans to increase that to half of students at a time, Superintendent Tammy Prentiss said in a mass email.

According to a survey in early December, 55 percent of families chose a blend of in-person and remote learning for their children. Another 34 percent selected starting out remote, with the option of shifting to hybrid, the district said. And 11 percent wanted their students remote for the rest of the school year.

The district apparently had no option in the survey for entirely in-person instruction.

In other results, 88 percent of families agreed or strongly agreed that teachers are working hard and care about the success of their students. Three-quarters of respondents agreed that remote learning was better in the fall semester than the previous spring semester.

The "results speak to how much our parents/guardians appreciate the job our faculty and staff have done in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic," the district said in the mass email.