On January 10, I issued a Community Update to announce that District 23 is now following the recently revised guidance from the CDC, IDPH, Cook County DPH, and the State Board of Education. You can access the announcement here.

In short, the exclusion period for positive cases, regardless of vaccination status and for identified close contacts was reduced to a minimum of 5 days.

Additionally, the Test to Stay Protocol has been modified to require at least 2 tests within 7 days with the last test taken on days 5, 6 or 7. To align with this guidance, the district is now attempting to test on Days 1,3, and 5 where possible, with the understanding that testing on day 1 isn't always possible, and part of the window may fall on weekends. Depending on these factors, D23 children in Test-to-Stay will be tested either 2 or 3 times per protocol - this aligns with the "at least two tests" in the IDPH requirements.

Regarding Test-to-Stay requirements for vaccinated children, Page 2 of the guidance states "Persons who have completed COVID-19 primary vaccine series, and recommended vaccine doses, including boosters for individuals 18 years of age and older and additional primary shots for some immunocompromised people who have been exposed to a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19 are not considered close contacts and may remain in school, do not need to be excluded, but may consider testing at least five days after exposure"

As this states, vaccinated children are not considered close contacts and do not need to enroll in the Test-to-Stay program. However, the district recommends tests five days after exposure for vaccinated children that were in contact with known cases, and offers to perform that testing through the Shield program.

If you would like to enroll your child into the SHIELD Screening Program, please register via this link. You do not need to re-enroll if you have already completed the form.

If you are already enrolled and would like to continue participation for your vaccinated child, you may indicate that completing this brief form. A significant number of vaccinated children in the district are continuing to be tested through the SHIELD program.

Children aged 5-11 can receive their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at the NCH Vaccine Clinic at: 3060 Salt Creek Lane, Arlington Heights, 60004.

Appointments are available on Tuesdays from 3:30 p.m. – 6 p.m. and can be scheduled through MyChart or by calling 847-618-0242. 

Please direct any questions to the NWH Covid-19 Vaccine scheduling team at: 847-618-0242.

The Board reviewed and adopted calendar updates for the current school year and the next. The updated calendars can be found HERE.

Parent Teacher Conferences will return to 2 designated evenings starting with this February 10th and 17th.

Next Fall we will be in school for Columbus/Indigenous Peoples' Day, but will be closed on both Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

We have also moved both Winter and Spring Break by one week to align with the District 214 calendar.

Administration provided a proposed rationale and process for investigating options for Expanded Early Learning in District 23.

We know that access to Early Childhood programming and offering Full Day Kindergarten have been long standing needs and goals in our Community.

The Board has authorized Administration to continue investigating the space, program, and funding needs to reach this goal. A link to the presentation can be found HERE.

The Board approved the contracts for Library furniture enhancements this Spring and HVAC work to be completed this summer at MacArthur.

The Board also signed an agreement to allow the City of Prospect Heights to access property at Eisenhower to install a drainage system intended on reducing flooding in nearby areas.

The State of Illinois assists schools in gathering data about our performance on a wide range of components. Staff, students and parents are encouraged to participate in the 5Essentials survey each year. Your feedback provides insights into our work toward Strategic Goals and is very helpful in our reflection, evaluation, and planning. The survey window is open now through March 11 and should be completed for each school with which you are associated.

Please click the button below to complete the survey.

Ongoing communication between home and school is an important part of student growth. We have established February 10 and 17 as Parent Teacher Conferences for this Winter/Spring. Parents may request an in person or virtual meeting and will receive information from their child's teacher(s) soon.

Please do not hesitate, however, to reach out to your child's teacher if you have questions or concerns. As partners in your child's education, we hope you feel comfortable connecting any time.