East St. Louis schools aim for in-person learning next month

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) - East St. Louis public school students are slated to return to the classroom next month, nearly a year after the coronavirus pandemic shut down the district, officials announced Tuesday.

District 189 officials have tentatively scheduled pre-school and elementary school students to return to in-person learning on March 2. However, remote learning will remain an option for families. District officials say the return to the classroom for middle and high school students will be scheduled after assessing how the transition for younger students go.

There was no school for the district's approximately 5,200 students on Tuesday, so teachers could receive the first dose of the vaccination, according to District 189 spokesman Sydney Stigge-Kaufman. Because the second dose is supposed to be delivered 21 days after the first, the March 2 start date could be pushed back slightly, depending on when vaccines available for staff.

Nearly 600 District 189 teachers and staff members are scheduled to be vaccinated this week, according to officials.