District 142 has had positive COVID-19 cases with students, staff, and our families. Our strict adherence to the guidelines have allowed for us to remain open despite this. Under the direction of the Cook County Department of Public Health, we communicate with them on every potential case and follow their recommendations. In the event we have a COVID-19 case that impacts a family, we will reach out personally, rather than send a letter or email. In the event we need to quarantine a class, or a school, or the District, in this case, we would send mass communications out via our SwiftK12 notification system. We work under the assumption that we have positive COVID-19 people here on a daily basis, and again, what allows us to keep schools open is that we follow the IDPH guidelines for masks, social distancing at 6 feet, limit student movement in our buildings, wash hands, sanitize, have room limits, and more. All of this has helped us slow the spread and keep our people healthy.
In a message sent early this week, we shared that the district will be moving to Phase 3 of our Return to Learn Reopening Plan at the start of Second Quarter, Monday, November 2, 2020. This will impact the current schedules of students in Grades 1-8. In Phase 3, Group A and Group B students will alternate In-Person attendance on Wednesday’s. The calendar reflecting the specific days of attendance is attached to this correspondence so that our families can plan ahead. The Ridge Early Childhood Center schedule will remain the same. Both Kerkstra and Foster Schools will see additional schedule adjustments to Hybrid At-Home learning days to account for the alternating Wednesday attendance. Communication regarding Grades 1-5 schedules will come directly from your child’s school, as it will be unique to each grade level and teacher. As a reminder, when In-Person Hybrid students are in the Remote portion of their week, their days will consist of their weekly specials, content learning with the reading and math specialists, and an end of day wrap of with their homeroom teacher.
In addition to the change to Phase 3, our Return to Learn Reopening Plan speaks to parents having the opportunity to change the way their students learn at the end of the first quarter, from In-Person Hybrid to Fully Remote or vice versa. What we know now in October that was not as apparent in August when the plan was written is that these changes will have an impact on our students’ teachers. If changing, most likely your child will have a different teacher. If too many people request changes, we may have to re-section all staff and reassign all teachers to account for this and cannot then guarantee that the teacher your child began the year with will be their teacher for second quarter. The relationships that have been developed in the first two months of school are very important and the thought of this being disrupted is troublesome. Therefore, we are discouraging parents from switching unless it is absolutely critical. In the event you would like to consider a change, please call your building principal to talk through the process and logistics of those changes. The window to make any changes will need to be completed by Friday, October 9 at 3:00pm. This hard deadline is necessary and will allow the district the time to make necessary changes to class lists and schedules prior to the start of the second quarter.
For your reference, the district created a Quarter 2 Phase 3 Calendar so families can easily see what days are Hybrid A and B days.
Thank you for trusting us with your children, we take this responsibility seriously and look forward to continuing to provide a premier education for our students.