Valley View District 365U aims for in-person learning later this month

Valley View School District 365U will again attempt a gradual transition of resuming in-person learning starting later this month.

District Superintendent Rachel Kinder updated the Board of Education this week on the plan as Will County has seen decreases in COVID-19 transmission over the past two months.

Kinder said starting to bring in small numbers of students at a time over a few weeks allows the district to be “very intentional and measured” in implementing safety protocols and helping students adjust.

“We are being very gradual with a phased return at each level,” Kinder said during the meeting.

Most Valley View students have been attending class throughout this school year. Like many others, the district began the year with full remote learning as the number of COVID-19 cases began to rise in Will County late last summer.

Then last fall, the district began to transition small groups of special needs students back to in-person learning, but paused that progress as cases again began to spike around the state.

Valley View plans for a staggered transition to hybrid learning starting with multi-needs students in elementary and middle school grades and kindergarten and first graders next week.

Then on Jan. 25, grades 2, 3, 7 and high school seniors will begin a rotation of in-person learning.

Then in February, grades 4, 5, 8, 9 and later high school sophomores and juniors will begin with in-person learning.

Valley View has a more detailed timeline of the transition on its website vvsd.org.