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Superintendent Dr. Brian Wegley's Weekly Update - September 17, 2021

Superintendent Dr. Brian Wegley's Weekly Update - September 17, 2021

Dear District 30 Family,

We had a great week of learning! Thank you for your partnership as we continue to navigate this time together. As much as our highly vaccinated community continues to be cautious, COVID-19 cases can occur, especially as our local cases per 100K continue to be elevated. Thank you to all of our families for monitoring symptoms and keeping us informed about positive cases.

Included here are a few notes as we continue this journey together:

SHIELD Illinois COVID-19 Monitor Testing: This week, we began the state-funded voluntary saliva testing program using the SHIELD Illinois test, a PCR test developed by the University of Illinois. 

With local COVID-19 metrics returning to an increasing trend, we are thankful that SHIELD screening testing began on Wednesday, September 15, at Willowbrook and Maple. Thank you to our entire staff for their care and hard work in beginning this valuable testing for 97% of our unvaccinated students. Our students did a fantastic job, and testing identified no COVID-19 positive cases. We were also impressed with the care with which our testers handled testing. If positive cases are identified through this ongoing SHIELD screening testing, contract tracing will occur, and we will continue to send out notifications.

Wescott’s testing will begin on Monday, September 20. Testing will occur for unvaccinated individuals who have not opted out. Testing will get more efficient over time and is worth our effort as it helps us detect potential cases, clusters, and outbreaks before they become widespread. It will also inform our progress back to more normal operations.

Also, please note that participation in the SHIELD screening is required for unvaccinated students to engage in athletics. Our Test-to-Stay program will be available for unvaccinated students participating in SHIELD monitor testing. With Test-to-Stay, eligible close contacts can test 1, 3, 5, and 7 days after exposure to a COVID positive case. If an eligible student remains symptom-free and continues to test negative, the student will be able to stay in school without quarantining.

Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D. Parenting Support: Community Action Together for Children’s Health (CATCH) will partner with Northfield Township Schools to put on Parenting and Pivoting in a Pandemic (click on the contained link & a Zoom link will be sent out next Thursday) virtually with Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D., on Monday, September 20. Please join us for this valuable opportunity!

School Support: Please don’t hesitate to reach out for help through our teaching staff if and when the need arises. Remaining connected and accessing the many resources in our community is a strength. 

Thank you for your continued support, and have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Dr. Brian K. Wegley
Superintendent