To Our District 67 Families and Staff:
As chairperson of the District 67 COVID-19 Metrics Advisory Council, I am writing with a community update on behalf of the group.
Background
During the Board of Education meeting on November 17, 2020, Superintendent Simeck recommended the formation of a District 67 COVID-19 Metrics Advisory Council. The Advisory Council was established to review important metrics that could be used to help guide decision-making regarding movement between in-person, hybrid, and remote learning during the pandemic. Specifically, the Superintendent’s charge to the Advisory Council included the following:
- Review pertinent available data regarding movement between more or less restrictive instructional models (fully remote, hybrid, and fully in-person learning)
- Consider whether to expand or utilize currently existing metrics. Currently available metrics include the District's own data as reflected on its dashboard, data on the Lake County dashboard, and on the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) dashboard.
- Suggest how this information should be shared with the public on an ongoing basis.
- Render a recommendation to the Superintendent and Board of Education for consideration.
The COVID-19 Metrics Advisory Council
The District solicited volunteers for the Metrics Advisory Council and selected a diverse group of community members and staff that represent a wide range of expertise in the field of education, data science, and public health. Members include Jeff Folker, Carl Kirar, Dr. Scott Morcott, Priya Patel, Dr. Kelly Ray, Dr. Lauren Himmel, Luke Livingston, Erin McCune, Dr. Diane Rener, Narong Therdwikrant, Dr. Maureen Lee, John Zilka, Megan Engelberg, and myself.
The Metrics Advisory Council has met on three separate occasions including November 18, November 24, and December 3. The Council will meet again on December 9 to finalize recommendations that will be reviewed at the District 67 Board of Education Meeting on December 15.
Next Steps
The updated metrics, refined through collaboration with our school community, are intended to guide us more clearly in and out of in-person, hybrid, and remote learning during the pandemic. In the future, these updates will be reflected as appropriate on the District 67 COVID-19 dashboard available on The Map.
We are grateful for the generous investment of time, thought, and expertise made by the members of the District 67 COVID-19 Metrics Advisory Council and look forward to sharing the results of their work on December 15.
Sincerely,
