Dear District 30 Family,
We are excited to kick off the 2021-22 School Year on September 2, with kindergarten and preschool beginning September 3. We hope that you had meaningful, well-deserved healing time over the summer! A highlight for my family was a brief trip to Door County and Mackinac Island in early July!
I ended last year reflecting on how every challenge holds gifts in its hands. Last year’s gifts included increased family time, growth of students’ independence, and all that this pandemic revealed about our community. We remained united and kept our students at the center of our committed work.
As we begin this year, we continue to face challenges and receive gifts. Our educators are called into this profession and know that we will make a difference every day. Our students will commit to another year of engaging and growing. Our parents’ partnership will continue to be essential as we flexibly navigate this time together.
We strive to create a community that craves learning, fosters resiliency, and cares deeply for every student in our care. We commit to the full in-person learning called for by the Illinois State Board of Education with mitigation practices in place, as we support our students and staff and strive for renewed learning momentum.
Our Area COVID-19 Metrics have risen throughout recent weeks and plateaued through part of this week. Our area is now in the Substantial/High Community Transmission range. We will reach the other side of this global pandemic together and look forward to marching toward the new normal as we progress through the year. However, we are not there yet.
We will continue to commit to each other’s safety and care for one another by getting vaccinated, staying home when we have symptoms consistent with Covid-19, socially distancing, and wearing masks indoors as long as local metrics dictate. We are grateful that over 90% of our community has at least one vaccine dose, with 84.6% of Northbrook and 77.5% of Glenview completely vaccinated. Over 99% of our staff and 82% of eligible students are also fully vaccinated.
Included here are a few notes as we continue this journey together:
2021-22 Opening of School Plans: FAQs have been added to our 2021-22 Return to School website that will continue to be updated as this year unfolds. A few highlights include:
Face Masks: Governor Pritzker mandated universal masking for all staff, students, and visitors indoors and on school transportation. We appreciate everyone’s commitment to this mandate that aligns with the guidance of the CDC, IDPH, and CCDPH.
Daily Health Screening and Symptoms: As we begin the year, parents/guardians must complete the self-certification process daily through Ruvna by 7:45 am for their child to attend school. This process takes less than one minute to complete.
Most importantly, if your child is experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19 that are new/unusual to them, please keep the individual home, notify your school’s health office, and contact his/her doctor.
SHIELD Illinois COVID-19 Monitor Testing: The district will participate in a state-funded voluntary saliva testing program using the SHIELD Illinois test, a PCR test developed by the University of Illinois with less than a 24-hour turnaround time. This week, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) informed us this monitoring testing might only be available for unvaccinated individuals. We will continue to plan for all students until we receive confirmation from IDPH. Testing will take place at school once per week. This program will take a few weeks until it is up and running and will help detect potential cases, clusters, and outbreaks before they become widespread.
Also, please note that participation in the SHIELD screening will be required for unvaccinated students to engage in athletics. We are also finalizing details on a Test-to-Stay program that we expect to be available for students who are participating in SHIELD monitor testing. With Test-to-Stay, eligible close contacts can test 1, 3, 5, and 7 days after exposure to a positive COVID. If an eligible student remains symptom-free and continues to test negative, the student will be able to stay in school without quarantining.
As was included in the ePacket, no action is required to participate, and all students are highly encouraged to do so. However, you may opt your student out of the program.
Elementary Capacity Project Successfully Wrapping Up: We are fortunate to have eight additional elementary classrooms, a new gym, and increased flexible space to serve our growing enrollment and maintain reasonable elementary class sizes.
August 19 Board Brief: Please click here to read the summary of our latest meeting.
Village COVID-19 Coordination Continues: The Glenview/Northbrook COVID-19 Task Force continues to unite all governmental agencies as we coordinate responses, share resources, and communicate important information. Please read the latest task force communication. We have met every two weeks throughout much of the summer and will continue to coordinate efforts throughout this global pandemic.
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.
We are missing our students and look forward to seeing them soon!
Sincerely,
Dr. Brian K. Wegley
Superintendent
