Hello Parents & Students of Grace Lutheran School,
With the recent release of guidance from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), the Task Force at Grace Lutheran School is working on decisions and recommendations for returning to school in August. Our priority is in-person learning while also providing quality learning for students who can’t attend school due to exposure, illness, or safety concerns. At the same time, the health and safety of everyone in our building is of utmost importance. Our priorities are in line with the ISBE and the American Academy of Pediatrics who both strongly encourage in-person instruction for children.
The ISBE guidelines on social distancing state that schools should “develop procedures to ensure 6-foot physical distance from other persons as much as possible. If possible, rearrange desks so that there is a 6-foot distance in all directions between desks and face desks in the same direction.” With this in mind, the Administration, together with the Task Force and Elementary Education Committee (EEC) are looking at creative solutions for facility usage to keep student work spaces as socially distant as possible.
At the same time, we are taking steps to make our classrooms live streamed to our students. This will allow students who are sick or in quarantine to continue to receive live instruction from their teacher. This will also allow parents who do not feel comfortable sending their students back into our building in August to have their children learn from their teacher in real time from home.
Plans are also being made in case we need to go to remote learning again. Based on feedback from parents and teachers, we have collaborated to refine strategies and come up with innovative ways to provide quality instruction if we are not able to be in-person.
There are many details to be worked out over the next several weeks. Look for another notice three weeks from now that will include many details on the procedures we will have in place for the coming year. In the meantime, here are a few requirements we know will exist.
1 Temperature screening and self-certification that individuals are free of COVID-19 symptoms will be required of all persons entering the building every day.
2.Face Coverings are required for all individuals older than 2 years of age.
3.Increased practice of hand hygiene including entering/exiting the classroom.
4.Rigorous daily cleaning protocols.
School is set to resume in just under 8 weeks. This provides adequate time for planning, but also leaves open a lot of time for guidance from state authorities to change. We will keep you informed as plans are developed.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to email them to
gracehelp@graceriverforest.org
. A member of the Task Force will reply as quickly as possible.
Serving Grace,
Bill Koehne, Principal
