With Covid-19 cases in the area still going up, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Rockford school leaders are offering elementary school parents an option to switch from in-person learning to online learning full time. Students that show symptoms of the coronavirus will also be sent home with their siblings.
According to the Rockford school district, families were asked to commit to either online learning or in-person learning at the beginning of the school year. Now families are being given the option to make adjustments. Students that are doing in-person learning can now switch to online learning and vice versa.
Starting on Monday, November 2nd, elementary school families will have the ability to request a change in how their students will be going to school for the rest of the school year. The deadline for families to request a change for their students will be on Monday, November 9th.
As of Thursday, November 5th, there are over 12,000 cases of the coronavirus. This number has been increasing since the start of the school year, which has made some families feel unsafe by sending their children to in-person school. Some families feel that their children should be going to school in person or that their children do better in person rather than online. From November 2nd to November 9th students can change how they are going to school.
“Every student that has Covid-19 symptoms will be sent home along with their siblings to keep the schools safer,” said the Illinois Department of public health. The district also asked parents to monitor students for symptoms as cold and flu season approaches. They hope that allowing families to choose if they want to send their children to in-person learning or online learning and monitoring students for symptoms will keep the schools safer.