QUINCY — Quincy School District officials have set a tentative date for the return of part-time on-campus instruction.

Superintendent John Boyd emphasized that the timeline is tentative and depends on the progress of the coronavirus outbreak in Quincy.

“The 14-day rolling average is going precipitously down, which is great,” Boyd said. “It’s due to our community taking care of business,” following the social distancing and mask guidelines.

Because the course of the outbreak could change, the timeline could change, Boyd said. But as long as the trend in coronavirus cases continues to decrease, some Quincy students would start back to school Nov. 10.

Parents also have the option of taking all instruction online. Parents will be contacted by administrators in the school their child attends to determine whether they want to return to school or stay online.

Classes will be in session Tuesday through Friday. District officials are considering two options, either splitting classes into morning and afternoon groups or kids going to school two days per week. Students would take online instruction on the days when they’re not in school.

Kindergarten through third grade would be the first to return to school, along with all students in life skills classes. Under the tentative plan, fourth- and fifth-graders would return to school Dec. 1.

Middle school and high school students would come back to school Feb. 1, at the start of the second semester.

Boyd said students in primary grades seem to experience the biggest challenges with the online instruction and seem to be least likely to spread the virus.

The Grant County Health District has recommended that school districts establish a waiting period of at least three weeks when bringing different groups of kids back to school.

Some Quincy students already are starting to return to school, including students who need in-person instruction and kids who need occupational or physical therapy. Students who are having trouble accessing the district’s online learning system, and kids who are struggling with online learning, also are returning to school part-time.

Returning students are required to follow social distancing and masking protocols, and they will be required to follow those protocols when on-campus instruction resumes.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].