Starting March 22, Community Consolidated School District 89 will increase the number of hours elementary and middle school students can be in the buildings. CCSD 89 will also continue to allow students to learn remotely with the same teachers they have been working with this school year.
In-person elementary students will be able to learn in the school building from 8:50 a.m. to 1:05 p.m. Monday through Friday. Students would leave before lunch and finish the school day from home. Remote students would follow the same school schedule.
In-person middle school students will be able to learn in the buildings for a full school day (7:50 a.m. to 2:35 p.m.) Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Students would keep the same schedule they currently use. Wednesday would remain an all-remote day so students could meet with teachers individually and in small groups. Remote students will continue to participate via live video.
Both these changes were presented to the Board of Education at its regular meeting on Monday, February 22.
The elementary and middle school schedules will remain in place for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year. A change form will be emailed to all families on Friday, February 26. Any family that would like to change their student’s learning format (to in-person or to remote) can fill out the form. After March 22, students will remain as in-person or remote learners for the rest of the 2020-21 school year, unless they need to temporarily quarantine or isolate for health reasons.
At this time, there are about 1,400 students learning in school buildings and more than 700 students learning fully from home.
Positive health metrics
The district has decided to expand in-person learning because of several positive long-term health trends. Infection rates have been steadily decreasing. Local rates have also been falling and the district’s saliva screening has shown few cases.
Additionally, vaccines are becoming more widely available and many CCSD 89 staff members have had the opportunity to begin the vaccination process. A large percentage of staff members will have completed the vaccination sequence by March 22.
Changes to social distancing
In the new elementary and middle school schedules, some students will be in classrooms where desks are less than six feet apart. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations released February 12 advise school districts to keep six feet of distance to the greatest extent possible if other mitigation (masks, sanitizing, etc.) is in place.
Additionally, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends desks may be less than six feet apart if the school is using other layers of mitigation, including mandatory masks; hand and respiratory hygiene; contact tracing; surveillance testing; and good air ventilation.
With the current in-person and remote student populations, about 80 percent of classes would be able to have six feet between desks. Additional information about classroom conditions will be included in Friday's email from the district.
Some in-person middle school students may learn in overflow rooms (such as the library) to reduce class sizes. Students would watch their class via Zoom, and participate in the same manner as remote students. No student will be in the overflow room two periods in a row.
Middle school students will have lunch at school. Elementary students will get a brief snack break outside during the day.
Students will continue to wear masks, bring self-certification tickets, and regularly wash hands. The district will continue to thoroughly sanitize schools and buses throughout the day with a focus on high-touch areas. Families are encouraged to continue following heath recommendations outside of school as well.
Students or staff members who are positive for COVID-19; anyone who is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms; and anyone who has been in contact with a person who was positive for COVID-19 will continue to be temporarily excluded from school, based on the Illinois Department of Public Health guidelines. Families should continue to report these situations to their school nurse.
Post-spring-break surveillance screening
CCSD 89 does not anticipate the need for an adaptive pause after spring break (March 29-April 2). However, all elementary and middle-school students will participate in saliva screening on the Monday after break.
Because middle-school students eat lunch and mix student groups throughout the day, they will continue to participate in the saliva screening weekly for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year. Elementary classrooms selected at random will also participate in saliva surveillance screening.
Staff that has completed vaccination will no longer participate in the saliva screening after March 22.
