Dear District 30 Family,
We are excited to kick off the 2021-22 School Year next Thursday, with kindergarten and preschool beginning Friday! Thank you to our staff for their tremendous work preparing our classrooms and spaces to begin school and our administrative team, nurses, and staff for putting together our plans. We know that these plans will evolve throughout the year and look forward to seeing our students!
A significant factor in this year’s success will be our commitment to each other. 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.
Included here are a few notes as we continue this journey together:
2021-22 Opening of School Plans: FAQs continue to be updated on our 2021-22 Return to School website that will continue to be updated as this year unfolds. A few highlights include:
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. Please begin health screening on Wednesday, September 1, 2021, in preparation for the first days of class.
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.
CCDPH Travel Guidance: The Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) has updated its domestic travel guidance. Please remain informed on the CCDPH travel guidance as you will self-monitor. CCDPH is still using the City of Chicago map to determine travel hot spots (i.e., orange states). However, following travel to an orange state, unvaccinated individuals should get a COVID-19 test 3-5 days after travel AND quarantine for seven days. Unvaccinated individuals who have traveled and are not tested should stay home and self-quarantine for 10 days. Test results should be submitted to the school nurse before returning to school. Persons traveling domestically for less than 24 hours are exempt from this guidance. Vaccinated individuals do not require quarantine or testing.
10 Things You Can Do to Prepare for the School Year: Please take a few minutes to review our Return to School Website and the 10 Things You Can Do to Prepare for the School Year that appears at the bottom of the home page.
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) confirmed that this monitoring testing would only be available for unvaccinated individuals. 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 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.
As was included in the ePacket, no action is required for unvaccinated students to participate, and all unvaccinated students are highly encouraged to do so. However, you may opt your student out of the program.
Emergency Notification System Test: On the afternoon of Saturday, September 4, 2021, District 30 will be running a test of our emergency notification system. As part of this test, you should receive an email, phone call, and text message to the contact numbers and email addresses you have registered with the district. If you would like to revise a telephone number or email address for notification, please contact your school’s office to update this information.
Governor Mandates COVID-19 Vaccination for “School Personnel”: On Thursday, August 26, 2021, Governor Pritzker issued an executive order requiring all “school personnel” across Illinois to be vaccinated or participate in a weekly COVID-19 test. Over 99% of our staff are vaccinated. Please note that the executive order defines “school personnel” as any person who is “employed by, volunteers for, or is contracted to provide services for a School or school district serving students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, or is employed by an entity that is contracted to provide services to a school, school district, or students of a school.” We continue to encourage all eligible individuals to get vaccinated and will require volunteers in District 30 schools to be vaccinated.
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
