By Josh Bootsma
LANSING, Ill. (January 7, 2022) – Last weekend, most Lansing students were preparing to return to in-person school after the holiday break. This weekend, students at all three of Lansing’s public school districts are preparing for an upcoming week of virtual learning.
Throughout last week, local districts announced transitions to remote learning, with High School District 215 announcing the change on Monday, Sunnybrook 171 announcing the transition on Tuesday, and District 158 following suit on Wednesday. All of Lansing’s public school students learned virtually on Friday, January 7.
Districts are using the phrase “adaptive pause” — the newest term in the ever-expanding COVID lexicon — to refer to the temporary transition to remote leaning.
All three districts cited health-related staff shortages as a primary cause for their decisions to pivot to virtual instruction.
A District 158 announcement on Wednesday said, “As of the date of this letter, over 7% of our staff have tested positive for COVID-19 and this number has been increasing on a daily basis. Approximately 25% of our students have also been called off due to illness, with many presenting cold-like symptoms reflective of [the Omicron variant of COVID].”
District 171 said, “Currently, the number of absent staff members exceeds our ability to successfully and effectively provide efficient classroom coverage. As a result, the district will provide e-learning instruction.”
Districts 215, 171, and 158 plan to return to in-person learning on Tuesday, January 18, after Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Neighboring High School District 205 will conduct learning virtually through January 21.
Related
- District 215 transitions to remote learning through January 14 due to COVID cases (January 4, 2022)
- District 205 plans for seven days of remote learning (January 6, 2022)
