Health Update 5.0+
Dear Akiba-Schechter Community,

In light of the increasingly concerning COVID-19 news throughout our communities, we understand that a required return to remote learning may be around the corner. Yesterday, the Illinois Department of Public Health urged people to stay home for the next three weeks to help, among other things, schools like ours remain open. Today, Mayor Lightfoot issued a Stay-at-Home Advisory (effective Monday morning) strongly advising us to avoid having guests in our homes and to avoid travel.

We are more grateful than ever for each day we get to be in-person at Akiba-Schechter, and we know that it is your commitment to our Social Covenant that makes this all possible. With an eye on the current trends and upcoming holidays, we think the most important thing for our Akiba staff and families to do at this time is to recommit to our Covenant.

Please make every effort to attend either one of these two Town Halls next week to hear updated information and to publicly recommit your family to our Social Covenant.


Health Update 4.1:
We are very pleased to report that all of the Akiba students and staff referred to in the Health Update 4.0 (sent on Sunday) have tested negative for COVID-19. These results allow our 7th/8th grade cohorts to return to school tomorrow, while the specific households affected wait out the remainder of their 14-day quarantine. 

Health Update 5.0:
Unfortunately, last night we learned that the parent of a 5th/6th grader has tested positive for COVID-19. So far the parent’s symptoms are flu-like and manageable, and we know you join us in praying for a full recovery. Our student and the other family members are asymptomatic at this time. Our student was last at school on Friday, November 6, and following our protocols will be home now until after Thanksgiving. If the student begins to show symptoms or receives a positive test result, we will communicate that information to you. Thank you for joining us in wishing the parent a refuah shleimah, a full recovery, and the rest of the family a peaceful quarantine. 

Our Health Committee has reviewed the details of this situation, and we feel that at this time there is no reason for heightened concern about transmission within the 5th/6th grade. We will continue to update you as needed. 

As always, if you have medical questions, please contact your doctor. Of course, Akiba-Schechter respects the medical and privacy rights of our families and staff, and we will not share any more information than is ethical, legal, and otherwise appropriate. If you would like to discuss our protocols, please feel free to contact one of us or another member of our Health Committee. 

Thank you to all who have offered support to our quarantining Akiba families; we are proud and grateful to be a part of such a caring community. 

Yours, 
Miriam Kass
Principal

Carla Goldberg
Early Childhood Director