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Tomorrow, January 4 Resumes In-Person Learning; Extracurricular Activities and Athletics Remain on Adaptive Pause| Mañana 4 de enero se reanuda el aprendizaje en persona; Las actividades extracurriculares y los deportes permanecen en pausa adaptativa

Summary:

  • District 113 will resume in-person learning on Tuesday, January 4 
  • All extracurricular activities and athletics remain on adaptive pause, testing of all students in extracurricular activities and athletic regardless of vaccination status is still required
  • SHIELD testing results from January 3 may have a profound impact on operations and 
  • Results could come back as early as Tuesday but may not be back until sometime Wednesday
  • Beginning Wednesday, students in isolation or quarantine will be able to request a link to listen to a live audio feed from their teachers as well as participate in the Remote Synchronous Support Study Group
  • Apply to be a District 113 substitute teacher
  • Mitigations are more important than ever

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District 113 will resume in-person learning on Tuesday, January 4. Bell schedules and transportation schedules remain unchanged. 

 District 113 is able to cover the known number of staff absences through substitute teachers and by redeploying support staff as well as building and district administrators. The District 113 COVID Response Team and Health Services Office will finish processing tonight the contact tracing related to the high number of reported cases that came in yesterday. 

 Anyone interested in serving as a substitute teacher to shore up our supply of available substitutes should apply on our website.  

 Today, a total of 1,128 students and staff participated in SHIELD testing, compared to 117-185 tests on previous testing days. The results from today’s testing will likely have a profound impact on operations. The latest test positivity 7-day rolling average reported by the Illinois Department of Public Health on December 31 for our region was 16.2 percent. At that positivity rate, we could be looking at 182 positive cases–just from today's testing. We get SHIELD testing results when SHIELD sends them. Those results have come as early as Tuesday but sometimes as late as Wednesday. Anyone who tests positive gets a telephone call. 

 Information about D113 SHIELD testing can be found on the SHIELD tab on the D113 website.

 The synchronous learning option we created at the beginning of this school year was not designed for the number of students in isolation and quarantine and is inadequate. We are in the process of adapting to the numbers of student learning remotely by installing equipment in classrooms to improve the audio for students learning remotely. Beginning Wednesday, students in quarantine or isolation will be able to listen to a live broadcast of their class via Zoom or Google Meet. Students interested in attending their class via Zoom or Google Meet will need to give their teacher 24-hour notice to set up their classroom and Zoom or Google Meet link. 

 Please keep in mind that this experience will not be like remote learning or like hybrid learning last year. Because we are committed to in-person learning and isolation/quarantine status does not extend more than 10 days, teachers will not simultaneously teach students both in-person and remote as they did last school year. Teachers may not be able to engage with the student attending remotely, nor will the sound be necessarily clear since students and teachers do not have individual microphones. However, given the temporary quarantine status of considerable numbers of students, this may provide a temporary stop-gap measure as we continue to weather the effects of the pandemic.

In addition to the live audio option, students will also receive learning materials from their teachers and have tutoring support from our Remote Synchronous Support Group teachers every day after school while in quarantine. Each student’s counselor will provide details. 

As I wrote yesterday, due to an excessive number of positive cases on our athletic teams, all athletics are on adaptive pause beginning January 3. We anticipate that athletes and teams can begin practicing and competing once negative outside tests are provided or SHIELD tests have been taken and processed. 

Likewise, activities will also be on adaptive pause starting on January 3 until negative outside tests are provided or SHIELD tests have been taken and processed.

Mitigations are more important than ever. Keep distance whenever possible, wear an appropriate mask correctly and consistently, and stay home if you or your student feels sick. There are additional spaces at each school for students to eat lunch so they can have more space while they are eating, which can serve as another mitigation if students use those spaces and maintain distance while eating.

 

Bruce Law, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools