Most Illinois schools back to some in-person classes
Only 4% of school systems offering strictly remote
Nearly 13 months after COVID-19 abruptly shut schools across Illinois, almost all of the state’s 1.9 million public school students are back in the classroom and receiving some form of in-person instruction.
Almost all of Illinois’ roughly 850 school districts, or 96%, reported having students back in the classroom at least part time, while 46% of districts have resumed in-person learning full time. Just 4% of school systems are still offering only remote instruction, according to newly posted data on the Illinois State Board of Education website.
The soaring number of Illinois districts now offering some type of classroom instruction translates into about 1.4 million students statewide receiving a blend of remote and in-person learning. About 400,000 children are back in school full time and nearly 100,000 are in strictly remote classes.
In early February, about 1 million kindergarten through 12th-grade students in Illinois — including about 300,000 students in Chicago Public Schools alone — were still receiving all their lessons from home, according to ISBE data.
At that time, about another 725,000 students were receiving a hybrid of online and in-person lessons, while fewer than 185,000 pupils were back in class full time.
Since then, tens of thousands of CPS students have returned to classrooms mostly two days a week, though CPS high schools remain closed, and it’s not clear if the district will meet an April 19 target date to open them.
“Thanks to your efforts, and your care for your surrounding communities, Illinois is poised at the threshold of having in-person instruction available in all 852 school districts,” Illinois Superintendent of Education Carmen Ayala said in a Tuesday statement. “We look forward to reaching full in-person instruction statewide by phase five.”
Still, with rising COVID19 rates across the state in recent weeks prompting warnings from health department officials, the leader of the state’s largest teachers union on Thursday reiterated the educators’ stance that while in-person instructions is best for students, “safety should be the first priority of all school districts in Illinois.”
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, many school districts have worked with our local unions to create and put in place comprehensive safety plans,” Illinois Education President Kathi Griffin said.
“These plans should be using metrics, face coverings, social distancing, adequate and appropriate cleaning supplies and appropriate PPE for everyone in our schools, as guiding factors when determining whether or not to hold in-person instruction,” Griffin said. “It is also important for community members to adhere to health and safety precautions to avoid a community outbreak that would result in closing our schools.”