Superintendent Dr. Brian Wegley's Weekly Update - October 22, 2021

Superintendent Dr. Brian Wegley's Weekly Update - October 22, 2021

Dear District 30 Family,

We had another great week of school! Thank you to everyone who participated in or supported this fall’s Lew Blond Run! This event continues to unite us for this great cause! Thank you also to everyone who is donating to our Character Counts food drive. With the participation of a few neighboring districts, this event generates the largest annual food donation to the Northfield Township Food Pantry. Your generosity truly makes a difference for those in need, especially during this time.

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

COVID-19 Case Dashboard to Replace Case Notification Letters: District 30 has emailed out a COVID-19 Case Notification letter with each positive case this year and last year. Although COVID-19 cases continue to occur, we are all coexisting with COVID-19. Also, our operations are providing more normalcy, and we are successfully implementing our safety protocols that limit or eliminate close contacts in school. 

Any close contacts identified have been and will be contacted directly. We will also communicate directly with any classrooms that experience an outbreak. Note that the Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) now define a COVID-19 School Outbreak as three or more epidemiologically linked cases within a given classroom (e.g., three COVID-19 cases within one classroom that do not share an external link like being siblings, an unmasked playdate outside of school, or on the same athletic team). 

To reduce clutter in our mailboxes and maintain transparency, we believe that it is time to shift to meaningful dashboards, including:

These and the Northfield Township’s Elementary COVID-19 Dashboard will all be available from within the School Operations area of our website, accessible from the homepage of every school’s website. We will replace individual COVID-19 notification letters with our COVID-19 Case Dashboard beginning on Monday, October 25, 2021.

Vaccination Opportunities for Children Ages 5-11: We continue to work on vaccination opportunities for children ages 5-11, for which authorization is anticipated in early November. We expect to establish vaccination clinics and encourage all individuals who have access to the vaccine to get vaccinated. As 5-11 vaccination opportunities are finalized, we will communicate dates for child-friendly vaccination clinics.  

Halloween Safety: With 5 to 11 year-olds on the verge of vaccination opportunities, please continue to commit to our full in-person learning throughout Halloween. Outdoor activities remain the safest option with masking indoors and when social distancing can’t be maintained. 

October 21 Board Brief: Our Board of Education approved the 2022-23 School Calendar and supported this year’s Character Counts Proclamation! Click here to read more.   

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 have a great weekend!

Warmly,

Brian