Dear District 86 Community,

During the board of education meeting on Sept. 10, we shared that we are currently working on the development and implementation of a phased-in approach for returning to in-person instruction. We have already taken several key steps toward achieving this important goal, including resuming athletics in accordance with the guidelines established by the Illinois High School Association and Illinois Department of Public Health, offering in-person opportunities and experiences for many of our clubs and activities, and scheduling the administration of the SAT to our current seniors on Sept. 23 and 24.

It is our hope that we will be able to bring some of our special education students into our buildings for instruction, interventions and support starting the week of Sept. 21. From there, we will work toward resuming in-person learning for up to 25% of our student population beginning the week of Oct. 5. If we are able to achieve these milestones, we will pursue bringing additional cohorts of students on campus in the weeks that follow. With that said, please know that keeping our students, staff, families and community members healthy and safe will remain the driving force for the decisions we make.

In order for a phased-in approach to be successful, it is imperative that everyone (students, staff and parents/guardians) adheres to the local, state and national guidelines about wearing masks, engaging in social distancing, limiting mass gatherings and practicing good hand hygiene. During the past couple of months, our area has seen an overall increase in several of the key metrics that correspond with the DuPage County Health Department’s Return to School Framework, including the number of new cases per 100,000 people, the weekly case count trend among people under the age of 20 and the positivity rate (the percentage of all COVID-19 tests performed that are positive). With this in mind, we ask our families to please partner with us and local health officials to ensure that our students are taking the necessary steps and precautions to limit the spread of COVID-19.

We will continue working on the plans for our phased-in approach in the days that follow, and will keep the community apprised of our efforts. We will also provide another detailed update about our plans during the board meeting on Sept. 24. In the meantime, you can access the update from the Sept. 10 board meeting by visiting https://bit.ly/33eKKpL.

Thank you very much for your time and attention to this message, and for your continued patience and support as we navigate this complex and challenging situation.

Sincerely,

Tammy Prentiss

Superintendent