Community Consolidated School District 89 Superintendent Dr. Emily Tammaru presented the COVID-19 mitigation plan for the 2022-23 school year at Monday’s Board of Education meeting. The plan continues most of the practices that were in place at the end of the 2021-22 school year.
All five CCSD 89 schools will continue to have increased ventilation, frequent cleaning, and multiple hand sanitization stations throughout the buildings. Masks will continue to be optional for all students and staff. Guests will be welcome in the buildings. All extracurricular activities will take place as usual.
Students and staff members who test positive for COVID-19 during the school year will need to isolate at home for five days after testing positive. (The day a person develops symptoms or tests positive is considered ‘day zero’.) Remote teachers will be available to meet with students in isolation for COVID-19.
After being home for five days, a student can return to school if their symptoms are improving and they are fever-free for 24 hours. Students who return must wear a mask on days 6 through 10, or remain home the full 10 days. A negative test is not required to return to school.
Lunch will return to pre-pandemic patterns in the coming school year. There will be one lunch hour at elementary schools. Free meals will only be available to students who qualify under the free-and-reduced lunch program.
Schools will no longer email a weekly update of the number of COVID-19 cases. COVID-19 cases will be tracked internally, in the same manner that school nurses track other infectious diseases such as measles or the flu. Families will only be notified if there is a classroom outbreak or if their student was a close contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19.
The district will continue to monitor COVID-19 conditions and follow Illinois Department of Public Health and CDC requirements.
