EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — The East St. Louis School District will continue all-remote learning into the second quarter of the school year.
In a Facebook post, Superintendent Arthur R. Culver cited current COVID-19 case rates and concerns about a potential surge in cases this winter as reasons for continuing the online-only instruction into the second quarter, which begins Oct. 19.
"Considering the data as well as the health and safety of our teaching and learning community, the most responsible decision at this time is to remain in Remote Learning," Culver said.
Culver said the decision was made with the help of local health departments.
"We have continued to closely monitor COVID-19 positive case data for our serving zip codes and have consulted with the East Side Health District," Culver said in the post.
Culver said the district would be making some changes based on surveys of staff members and parents but did not provide specifics. He said teacher training over the summer and the start of fall improved remote teaching and led to longer face-to-face learning sessions for students.
"I am deeply grateful for the great work our teachers, students and parents are doing together to make remote learning successful," Culver said in the post.
In the post, Culver said 22 staff members have tested positive for the coronavirus since July 1.
The post also said the state of Illinois is working on sending rapid COVID-19 testing resources to assist schools in the reopening process, which Culver said would be "highly beneficial" for the district prior to students returning to in-person classes.
