Update - Adjusted Schedule Next Week; New CDC Guidance

Dear District 99 Students and Families:

We have several updates to share with you:

• We will continue with in-person learning next week. NOTE: There is a special schedule for the week of February 22. There is no school for students on Friday due to the County Institute Day; we will follow this special schedule. Please note the different Monday schedule.
• Last Friday, the Centers for Disease Control provided new guidance, and expanded the metrics to be used to open schools:
  • As long as at least 10% of our students participate in saliva screenings, we can avoid needing to return to fully remote learning based solely on metrics. 
    • NOTE: This assumes there is no outbreak in the school, contact tracing can be done and we can staff the school appropriately. We are confident that we can continue to staff school, now that 77% of our staff has been vaccinated with at least the first dose.
  • The CDC advocates that screenings be voluntary. As a result (with the exception of behind-the-wheel instruction), saliva screenings will now be optional for in-person students. Even though screenings are now optional, given that student participation ensures our ability to offer in person learning, we highly encourage students to continue to participate. If you made a change in your learning model based on saliva screenings and would like to change your learning model - now that screenings are optional, please contact your student’s counselor. 
    • NOTE: Next week, we ask that in-person students in Group A supply their sample on Tuesday, and Group B and T99 provide their sample on Thursday.  
  • When community metrics improve, we will be able to increase opportunities for in-person learning. School will not look exactly as it did before COVID, due to safety protocols we must continue to follow. We will create a new model and share it with you before spring break and at that time you will have another opportunity to adjust your selection of your learning model.

A presentation about these changes will be shared with the Board of Education on Monday, February 22. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. and will be held in person at South High; attendance is limited to 30 guests. As is our new practice for Board meetings, this meeting will be streamed live at www.youtube.com/csd99media. Comments for the public record may be submitted using this form, which opens at 8 a.m. on Monday. You may also email the Board at any time at BoardMembers@csd99.org. 

As always, we seek to follow the guidance from the CDC as well as our local and state health departments as it changes. Thank you for your continued patience, flexibility and understanding as we continue to seek to return students to in-person learning safely. 

District 99