2/26/21 Enews from CCSD93

Dear Friend of CCSD93,

Messages From

Superintendent Hill:

On Friday, February 12, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updated guidance on the operation of schools during COVID-19.

Throughout the pandemic, CCSD93 has remained committed to following guidance from public health organizations, including the CDC, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), and the DuPage County Health Department (DCHD) for the health and safety for all.

We have worked to rigorously implement the mitigation strategy recommendations of these public health organizations, including mandating masks, ensuring 6 feet of physical distancing, screening students prior to the school day, frequent hand washing/sanitizing, increasing cleaning methods, working with the health department to perform contact tracing in combination with isolation and quarantine, and significantly reducing the opportunity for those within our buildings to be without masks by eliminating lunch opportunities.

The most recent CDC guidance reaffirms these recommendations. It also makes clear that “to ensure physical distancing, schools should establish policies and implement structural interventions to promote physical distance of at least 6 feet between people'' while their communities are in the substantial or high transmission level, which CCSD93 is currently within. The following table from the CDC is a particularly concise summation of recommendations based on community transmission level.

It is important to note that currently the CDC and DCHD have different thresholds for data points for the transmission levels. DuPage County is currently in the substantial community transmission level according to the DCHD but would be categorized in the high transmission level by the CDC. We will continue to work with DCHD to fully understand and appropriately account for these discrepancies as we plan learning opportunities moving forward.

Exploring Potential Increased In-Person Learning Opportunities

We continue to explore opportunities for increasing the amount of in-person learning time our Hybrid Learning students experience each school week. As we enter the 3rd trimester next week, our schools will see between 51% and 74% of students participating in Hybrid Learning, depending on the school, with up to 21 combined Hybrid Learning Group A and Group B students in some classes. No school would be able to accommodate all of its Hybrid students learning at 6 feet of physical distance simultaneously, according to our classroom occupancy study that was performed prior to the start of this school year and is shown here.

When the community transmission level reaches moderate or low transmission, CDC guidance transitions to stating that “physical distancing of 6 feet or more to the greatest extent possible” should be implemented, which creates greater opportunities for CCSD93 to potentially provide in-person learning. Next week, all families will receive a survey that will seek your opinions, especially for adjustments CCSD93 may enact when our community reaches moderate or low community transmission level. Please watch for the survey.

In the meantime, CCSD93 continues to make strides to create conditions for increased in-person learning. We have worked with Glenbard District 87 and its other sender districts to roll out vaccination opportunities for our most vulnerable and potentially exposed staff members through a partnership with Jewel-Osco. As part of this partnership, we were able to work with the DCHD to ensure a portion of the vaccines were made available to the most vulnerable and potentially exposed among DuPage County community members as well. We continue to work to secure additional vaccination opportunities for the rest of our staff and will strive to ensure vaccinations are made available to our community at large.

I invite you to click the first link above for the complete February 12, 2021 CDC school operation guidance and visit www.ccsd93.com/COVID19Dashboard to view CCSD93’s current DCHD community transmission level designation as well as additional local data.

Students Transitioning to Hybrid Learning for 3rd Trimester Start In Person Next Week

Families with students starting Hybrid Learning for the 3rd trimester will begin in person learning next week. We’re excited to welcome these students back! If your child is among them, you should have received placement information on Tuesday and busing information on Thursday of this week. Please be sure to follow the instructions included in those messages, and ensure your child adheres to these health and safety requirements.

Please Continue to Practice Safety

While we continue to see a return to normalcy begin to take shape, please continue to stay vigilant in practicing the three W's of wearing a mask, watching your distance, and washing your hands frequently to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and contributing to conditions conducive to in-person learning.

Please read the following articles for the latest from CCSD93 and more.

Sincerely,

Dr. David H. Hill

Superintendent of Schools

CCSD93

Cloverdale Students Raise $14,700

for American Heart Association!

Cloverdale Elementary School held its annual Kids Heart Challenge event for the American Heart Association virtually last week and were able to raise a whopping $14,700 for life saving heart health research! Congratulations Coyotes!

Save the Date: Kindergarten Registration 3/15

CCSD93 Kindergarten Registration will be held online at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, March 15 at www.ccsd93.com/kindergarten. Save the date if you live in CCSD93’s boundaries and have a child who will be 5 years old on or before September 1, 2021! You'll learn about kindergarten in CCSD93 through a video from your child's principal, learn about a follow up Zoom opportunity, and be asked to submit basic information to begin the registration process.

Please FORWARD this email on to anyone you know who has an incoming kindergartener. If you're unable to attend in real time, you will be able to access the information and resources after the fact.

Each CCSD93 school will host Spring Student-Led Conferences on two separate afternoons/evenings between late February and mid March. Conferences will again be held virtually via Zoom. Visit www.ccsd93.com/ptc today to schedule your conferences!

In Need of Food? Attend 2/20 Event!

Stop by Camera Park in Glendale Heights between 9:00 a.m. and noon tomorrow, Saturday, February 20, if you are in need of food!

8th Graders Invited to Purchase MacBooks

Families of 8th grade students are invited to purchase their 8th grader’s MacBook. One-time payments and four-month payment plans are available. This offer is only available for 8th graders.

Visit www.ccsd93.com/8thGradeMac for more.

Para español, haga clic aquí: www.ccsd93.com/grado8mac.

No School 2/26 for Institute Day

As a reminder, there will be no school on Friday, February 26 as our staff members participate in a day of professional development for Institute Day.

Visit our website

High-quality communication is one of CCSD93's goals. We welcome your feedback. Please call 630.539.3001 or email us with your comments or suggestions. Tell us what kind of news you'd like to read more about.