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Superintendent Dr. Brian Wegley's Weekly Update - December 30, 2021

Superintendent Dr. Brian Wegley's Weekly Update - December 30, 2021

Dear District 30 Family,

On the verge of 2022, I wish you a Happy New Year! I hope that you have had a good and safe break. We have learned a lot together over the past 21 months. We are looking forward to our return to school on January 3 and are grateful to live in a community with high vaccination rates and will benefit from over 90% of our students participating in weekly SHIELD COVID-19 screenings that continue to be supported by the State of Illinois. 

Partnership

With the COVID-19 rates high, please remain vigilant and cautious, recognizing mitigation measures inside and outside of school and remaining home and seeking a COVID-19 test when any symptoms arise or exposures occur. Thank you in advance for your ongoing partnership as we return to school! We will continue to support education for students quarantined or isolated due to COVID-19 and will work together on COVID-19 issues on a case-by-case basis. If you have not already done so, please forward information about students impacted by quarantine or isolation over break to your school building’s nurse. We will begin support/broadcasting to quarantined and isolated students due to COVID-19 by Tuesday, January 4, 2022. Also, please remember to follow travel protocols that require a negative COVID-19 test three to five days after travel. 

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

High COVID-19 Rates: Our area COVID-19 metrics have risen sharply over the past few weeks, as reflected on our Northfield Township COVID-19 Elementary School Local Public Health Dashboard. With rates this high, the Illinois Department of Public Health has advised us to share the following:

Get vaccinated. Vaccines remain the best public health measure to protect people from COVID-19, slow transmission, and reduce the likelihood of new variants. 

Get boosted. Boosters are critical to combatting new COVID-19 variants. Therefore,  staff, families, and any students already eligible should get boosted.

Get tested. Current vaccines are expected to protect against severe illness, hospitalizations, and deaths due to infection with the Omicron variant. However, breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people are likely to occur. With other variants, like Delta, vaccines have remained effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalizations, and death. The recent emergence of the Omicron variant further emphasizes the importance of vaccination and boosters.

Operational Changes due to High COVID-19 Rates: With the high COVID-19 rates we are experiencing, athletics at Maple will be paused to keep our focus on in-person learning and complete a full round of SHIELD testing for at least the first week we return.

CDC Guidance on COVID-19 Isolation and Quarantine Periods: On Monday, the CDC updated guidance that reduces the time that an asymptomatic person who tests positive must isolate for five days. The Illinois Department of Public Health has directed schools to continue following our previous guidance. If school guidance aligns with the new CDC guidance, we will send out a notice.

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

Thank you for your continued support, and safely enjoy the rest of your break! 

Sincerely,

Dr. Brian K. Wegley
Superintendent