Return to Learn, Reconnect, and Re-Engage Plan for 2021-22

Return to Learn, Reconnect, and Re-Engage Plan CCSD15's 2021-22 ROADMAP

DISTRICT 15 MISSION:

The mission of Community Consolidated School District 15 is to PRODUCE WORLD-CLASS LEARNERS by building a CONNECTED LEARNING COMMUNITY. LAST UPDATED: AUGUST 17, 2021

August 2021 Dear District 15 Parents and Guardians, District 15 is looking forward to welcoming students and staff back for the 2021-22 school year. I thank you in advance for your support as we navigate yet another unique school year together.

Just as we demonstrated last year, we remain highly dedicated to safely educating every student every day -- all 12,000 of them from early childhood through eighth grade. While we had hoped to start the year with COVID-19 in our rearview mirror, it is clear that we aren't there, yet.

"This year, more than ever, District 15 is dedicated to safely educating every student every day -- all 12,000 of them from early childhood through eighth grade."

-Dr. Laurie Heinz, Superintendent of Schools

I want to assure you that District 15 remains committed to the development of the whole child.

We will continue to use responsive teaching practices and ensure that our students learn in a safe and dynamic environment, stay academically and socially-emotionally engaged, and feel supported and challenged as learners while we also monitor safety amidst the ongoing pandemic.

To that end, District 15 administrators have spent the summer reviewing updated guidance to ensure we are prepared to safely return to school on August 18, 2021. We have outlined our District's 2021 Return to Learn, Reconnect, and Re-Engage Plan within this publication. Please know that elements of this plan may shift in response to COVID-19 conditions. As we did last year, we will update you as adjustments are made.

Please review the document and visit our COVID-19 website to find answers to frequently asked questions and other resources related to COVID-19 and our schools.

If we work together, we will ensure a safe and successful year for our students.

Your Partner in Education,

Dr. Laurie Heinz Superintendent of Schools

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Our Safe 6

The What & The Why District 15 continues to follow guidance from six leading local and national health and education organizations (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Cook County Department of Public Health (CCPH), Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the National Association of School Nurses (NASN).

Reconnect & Re-Engage Focusing On Our Students

District 15 has received or is slated to receive federal funding through three different federal actions ($1.6 million from 2020 Federal Relief for COVID 19: CARES Act, $5.9 million from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief II (ESSER II), and almost $13.3 million from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) ESSER). This funding has been used to help offset some of the additional expenditures made due to COVID thus far including many of the items outlined on these pages.

Reconnect & Re-Engage Focusing On Our Students

"The District 15 Health Services Team continues to be committed to the health and safety of our students as we return to school."

-Karen Flor, Health Services Coordinator

Additional Layered Mitigation Hand Hygiene Frequent handwashing or sanitizing will be encouraged throughout the school day.

Staff will reinforce handwashing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and/or the safe use of hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.

Cleaning/Disinfecting Classroom spaces will be disinfected daily.

Professional-grade sanitizing sprayers will continue to be used within our schools and facilities.

School buses will be disinfected daily.

Bathrooms will be cleaned more frequently.

Special Area Subjects Band practice and music classes will be offered with safety modifications as needed such as instrument covers and masks.

Special Education Considerations 504 Plans or IEPs may be revised, on an individual basis, to include additional health and safety requirements.

Physician verification of face covering accommodations will be addressed by each students' IEP or 504 Plan teams.

Transportation According to the CDC & IDPH, everyone on a bus is required to wear a face covering properly.

Paid transportation will be limited and only offered if space permits.

Buses will be disinfected daily.

Windows will be open when possible to promote increased ventilation/fresh air.

Students/parents must self-certify children are COVID-19 symptom and fever-free prior to arrival at the bus stop.

Protocols for Responding to Individuals with COVID-19 Symptoms or Positive Test Students who present with COVID-19 symptoms will be supervised in a protected health space until a parent or guardian is able to pick them up.

Staff who present with COVID-19 symptoms will be sent home.

A close contact is defined as a person who is within 6 feet of an infected person for more than 15 minutes in a 24 hour period.

In the K–12 indoor classroom setting, the close contact definition excludes students who were within 3 to 6 feet of an infected student if both the infected student and the exposed student(s) correctly and consistently wore wellfitting masks the entire time.

Unvaccinated individuals who have been in close contact with a person testing positive for COVID-19 must quarantine for 14 days.

Fully vaccinated persons who remain asymptomatic are excluded from quarantine.

ONLY individuals who are required to quarantine due to close contact will transition to concurrent learning.

District 15 will be contact tracing to the greatest extent possible and will notify affected families in a timely manner.

Due to the Delta Variant being 3 times more contagious and the majority of our students being back to in-person learning, parents and guardians should expect and plan for a high level of students needing to quarantine especially as we first return.

#MoreThanEver

Cafeteria Lunch areas could include cafeterias, classrooms, outdoor areas, or other locations.

Hands will be washed before and after eating.

Tables/desks will be cleaned after eating.

#ProudToBe15