Officials at Danville District 118 schools are aiming to allow more students to attend in-person in the coming weeks, but several factors need to be sorted through before that can happen.
In a letter to parents on Wednesday afternoon, superintendent Dr. Alicia Geddis noted that it is important for students to be able to learn in the classroom, but guidelines from the Illinois Department of Public Health are limiting if students in fifth grade through high school will be able to return to the classroom this semester.
Geddis says the maximum capacity for most classrooms as set by IDPH is 12 to 14 students at a time, and everyone must maintain six feet of distance in the hallways. Buses are limited to a maximum of 15 students at a time. If those policies can be followed, then she says one-third of students who want to attend in-person in the higher grades could do so sometime in the current third quarter.
Students through 4th grade are currently attending classes in a three-hour block in either the morning or afternoon. Parents were given a choice of in-person learning or fully remote. Older students who receive special education or English-language services are the ones with the option of attending in-person. Learning pods will also be set up for different groups of students.
Meanwhile, extra-curricular activities at Danville High School and North Ridge Middle School are resuming this week. Winter sports at both levels are currently playing again, and both schools’ music programs are currently offering what has been approved by the school board.
