This is supported by our Reopening Plan that has allowed us to provide hybrid in-person instruction since August. We are keenly aware of the seriousness of the pandemic and closely monitor data to ensure we are making informed decisions in relation to the health and safety of our entire school community. We choose to be both optimistic and realistic in our approach to educating students in the midst of a pandemic.
We recently surveyed parents and wanted to share these results, along with resources for our families both directly and indirectly related to COVID-19. With a good sampling of responses from each of our buildings and for each of our grade levels of students served, the following information was gathered:
Further -
- 46.9% of respondents reported they would like additional District communications
- 45.8% of respondents reported they would like additional information/mental health support for their children
- 22.9% of respondents reported they would like additional information/mental health support for themselves as adults
- 4.2% of respondents reported they would like additional information of financial assistance programs
- 7.3% of respondents reported they would like additional support for internet connectivity
- 12.5% of respondents reported they would like additional information/training on different district platforms
We will be in contact with families who provided identifiable information with their survey response in the very near future. In the event you need specific supports as identified above, please reach out directly to your building principal as they will be able to help with student mental health, internet connectivity, and support with district platforms. Additional technology resources are available on our District's website.
For your convenience, we have included a link for Violence Prevention and Support Resources offered through the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) in the event this support is needed. Furthermore, if there is a need to access meals for your children and family, please contact Eileen Spagnola, Operations Manager, at [email protected] for assistance and additional information.
We have heard that some families did not receive this week’s meal survey for December 7-11. Moving forward, meal surveys will be emailed each Wednesday morning at 7:00am to all District families. On the District’s website under Departments > Food Service we will include the survey links as well. The meal survey links are listed below.
- Ridge - https://forms.gle/DTyFvLb8DmVYvwh57
- Kerkstra, Foster and Hille - https://forms.gle/q4aJX7C3WrvcxbpZ9
Financial resources available are through the Illinois Department of Commerce, to help families struggling through the COVID-19 Pandemic. Visit their website at https://www2.illinois.gov/dceo/CommunityServices/HomeWeatherization/CommunityActionAgencies/Pages/helpIllinoisFamilies.aspx
We are also correlating the information supplied in the “Open Share” question so that each building within the District can help address the questions and needs that surfaced. We appreciate the many “thank you” comments from dozens of our families. The feedback was shared with our teachers and staff and this was both motivating and inspiring! We are also watching the number of students and staff who are a close contact or who may have tested positive for COVID-19 very carefully.
Please refer to our COVID-19 Resources tab located at www.d142.org for additional information. To date, we have not had any known transmissions in any of our schools, in large part due to the fact that our plan was based on science and that we adhere to our mitigation strategies (masks, distancing, sanitizing, room capacities, keeping groups of students separated from other groups, etc.)
Again, in the event your child is ill, please keep them home for the protection of our entire school community. In the event a child is sent home with a symptom, it is important that a return to school letter explicitly states that the symptom was not caused from COVID and an alternative diagnosis is required. This information will help families gather the needed information from their physicians and help students return to school when appropriate.
Earlier this week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended a reduction in quarantine and isolation times (from 14 and 10 days, to 10 and 7 days respectively). We must now wait for the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) to adopt these guidelines before a policy change in District 142 could be made. The District has created a weekly COVID Newsletter with relevant information, the newest one can be found here. Previous newsletters can be found at COVID-19 Resources.
Again, we are VERY THANKFUL for each family who altered their Thanksgiving plans to help ensure our schools could stay open. Every family who made this sacrifice was needed to help ensure we could keep our schools open and Phase Three of our Reopening plan going. There were also several comments recorded about pausing after Thanksgiving and Winter Break. We are watching this carefully to determine what is the best course of action moving forward for District 142 staff and students.
Thank you for partnering with Forest Ridge School District 142 in service to our students, families, and community.