Amid rising COVID-19 cases, District 204 to continue e-learning through Nov. 13

Indian Prairie Unit District 204 students will continue with a remote learning plan through at least Nov. 13 due to a recent surge in COVID-19 cases, Superintendent Adrian Talley announced Monday.

Serving about 27,400 students in the Aurora and Naperville areas, the district has been preparing to move from an e-learning format into a hybrid model starting next week. Several elementary school classrooms have been testing the new schedule through a pilot program the last few weeks, administrators said.

But state and county health departments have reported COVID-19 metrics are trending in the wrong direction, prompting several suburban school districts to either remain in or revert to remote learning.

"While we know that pausing our transition to hybrid is disappointing to the families that selected this option, we must continue to prioritize the health and safety of our students and staff," Talley said in a letter to families.

In-person opportunities will still be offered to students with special needs who receive services at school, he said.

More stringent COVID-19 restrictions were implemented Friday in DuPage, Will, Kane and Kankakee counties in an effort to mitigate the community transmission and lower the rate of positive test results. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, DuPage County recently registered a weekly infection rate of 152 cases per 100,000 people, while Will County reported 179 cases per 100,000 residents.

Based on data from the last two weeks, as well as projected metrics for the upcoming week, District 204 administrators decided to take action now to help families and employees plan ahead, Talley said. Officials are expected to monitor the data and provide an update Nov. 2.

"We cannot safely open our schools with community transmission levels where they are now," Talley said. "We are doing all we can to make our schools as safe as possible to help reduce community transmission."