Rachel Otwell Some Springfield Public Schools students returned to the classroom on Tuesday, for the first time in more than 300 days. Students across Illinois were sent home last March due to state COVID-19 mitigations. The District 186 board voted to implement its hybrid plan at a Jan. 4 meeting. Reportedly, about 44% of students had enrolled for the hybrid option for the second semester of the 2020-’21 school year. Schools that reopened to students include elementary through high school. Other students remain under the remote option, where they learn entirely from home. Mondays are for independent learning, while remote students log into classes via Zoom Tuesdays through Fridays. Under the hybrid plan, one group of students attends school in-person on Tuesdays and Thursdays while learning from home on other days of the week. The other group attends in-person on Wednesdays and Fridays. This semester, a new attendance check-in is being used for students in 6-12 grades.