Message from Superintendent Herrmann

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July 9, 2021

D128 Staff, Parents and Guardians:

I hope you are able to enjoy some of today’s beautiful, sunny weather. As anticipated, the CDC made its much-awaited announcement today regarding updated guidance for the opening of schools in the 2021-22 school year. The CDC announcement was followed by similar announcements by the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of EducationVisit this link for the article in today’s Daily Herald

The updated school guidance, based on the latest scientific information about COVID-19, now aligns with guidance for fully vaccinated people, which allows activities to resume for fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask except where required by federal, state, and local rules and regulations.

Major elements of today’s updated guidance include:

  • Masks should be worn indoors by all individuals (age 2 and older) who are not fully vaccinated.
  • CDC recommends schools maintain at least 3 feet of physical distance between students within classrooms, combined with indoor mask wearing by people who are not fully vaccinated, to reduce transmission risk.  When it is not possible to maintain a physical distance of at least 3 feet, such as when schools cannot fully re-open while maintaining these distances, it is especially important to layer multiple other prevention strategies, such as indoor masking.
  • Screening testing, ventilation, handwashing and respiratory etiquette, staying home when sick and getting tested, contact tracing in combination with quarantine and isolation, and cleaning and disinfection are also important layers of prevention to keep schools safe.
  • Many schools serve children under the age of 12 who are not eligible for vaccination at this time.  Therefore, this guidance emphasizes implementing layered prevention strategies (masking, distancing, testing) to protect people who are not fully vaccinated.

The CDC recommends that schools and communities continue to monitor community transmission of COVID-19, vaccination coverage, screening testing, and outbreaks to guide decisions about the level of layered prevention strategies being implemented.

Illinois State Superintendent of Education Carmen Ayala announced the following proclamation:

"Beginning with the 2021-22 school year, all schools must resume fully in-person learning for all student attendance days, provided that, pursuant to 105 ILCS 5/10-30 and 105 ILCS 5/34-18.66, remote instruction be made available for students who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine or who are not eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, only while they are under quarantine consistent with guidance or requirements from a local public health department or the Illinois Department of Public Health." 

We are reviewing all of the information and will communicate with families when additional information is available.

As has been the case throughout the pandemic, D128 will continue to follow the CDC/IDPH/ISBE guidance.

 

Denise Herrmann, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Community High School District 128