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More Kane County schools moving to full in-person learning

Four more Kane County school districts will be moving to full-day, in-person learning five days a week for a majority of students after spring break.

Batavia Unit District 101, Geneva Unit District 304, Huntley Community School District 158 and Kaneland Unit District 302 are the latest in a line of suburban school districts making the switch based on revised guidance from state health and education authorities.

The state now allows students to be spaced 3 feet apart in classrooms from peers and teachers who are vaccinated.

In District 158, the change affects current hybrid/in-person students in sixth through 12th grades starting April 5. There will be no major changes to the learning model for elementary school students.

"The fully remote option will remain for those who have opted for it," District 158 Superintendent Scott Rowe wrote in a message to parents. "At this time, this 'full return' for secondary includes sufficient transportation capacity to service students who have been attending under the hybrid model."

Remote students who want to switch to in-person learning and are able to provide their own transportation will be allowed to do so starting April 5. Students who need transportation will remain in remote-learning mode until the district can accommodate them, officials said.

Elementary remote students who are on the waitlist to shift to in-person learning will begin the week of April 5 based on transportation availability. Some remote learners receiving services, such as occupational, physical and speech therapies, also will be invited to participate in walk-in therapy based on their progress, officials said.

Geneva students in kindergarten through 12th grades already learning in person will return to five-day, on-campus classes April 5. Online-only learning will remain an option for those who want it. Kaneland will begin five-day, in-person learning for students in kindergarten through eighth grade April 7, while high school students remain in hybrid/remote learning mode for the rest of the school year.

Batavia second- through 12th-graders already learning in person will return to daily full-time classes at their schools April 6. Families that chose in-person can request a switch to full remote for the remainder of the school year. Remote learners will remain in that mode.

"The kindergartners and first-graders are pros at this - they have already been attending school in person every day," district spokeswoman Holly Deitchman said.

Officials urge families to practice safe mitigation measures outside school and take extra precautions if traveling during spring break.

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