Good Evening,
After a week of school has been completed I felt this would be a good time to focus on some answers to questions that have come to our attention in regards to Covid, Quarantine, Shield Testing and TEST To Stay.
To begin, all districts in the State of Illinois have guidelines to follow when we discover that a positive student or staff member has been in close contact with other students. In general, as long as students/staff are wearing their masks and are not inside of 3ft for any 15 minute time period, no close contact has been made. A vaccinated person has even less risk of being recognized as a close contact. If it is determined a student has been in close contact with a positive case and has met all mitigation measures, we can offer “Test to Stay”. “Test to Stay” gives us the opportunity to test on days 1,3,5 and 7 following a close contact and if those tests continue to be negative the student/staff stay in school. If a student is not following mitigations and has a close contact that student must be quarantined according to guidance. So, you might ask “How do we know if a person has been in close contact with a positive case?” The simple answer is that we talk with the positive student/staff, their teachers and those who they may have been in contact with to ensure we are catching everyone who might have been compromised. From that point we talk with the students/Staff and their families and determine the best course of action, which is hopefully “Test to Stay”.
One source of confusion this year is the difference between “Shield testing” and the “Test to Stay” Program. The Shield Program is a weekly saliva based test that parents and staff may opt into if regular testing is an option you are in agreement with. Everyone should have received a form to opt into the Shield testing program late last week and those are due back to the schools this Friday. All Shield testing will be conducted by University of Illinois associates. We plan to begin the saliva testing program on Sept 9, 2021. If you would like access to the test to stay program please look to the District website, Supts Blog or at this link for the appropriate Shield opt in form.
The “Test to Stay "program is also a local testing program, but unlike the Shield Testing program, our nursing staff administers the rapid Binax test and can get results in about 15 minutes. We are fortunate to have three trained nurses to help us complete this testing so that we can keep students in school rather than automatic quarantine. The “Test to Stay” Program is a nasal swab test and like the “Shield” Test requires permission from the family. In fact, we will ask that you express your desire for your child to take part in the “Test to Stay” Program to Two different staff members so that no mistakes are made.
All of these programs are designed to keep staff and students in school learning and safe for full days, five days a week. Having said that, this has been a challenging week for our staff, with a fair amount of positive cases, quarantine and students in the “Test to Stay” Protocol. We continue to ask that you monitor your children’s health and if they are symptomatic please keep them home from school and ask to have them tested if you are uncertain what course of action to take. Every time a student is sent to school with obvious symptoms our staff is forced to step into action and begin the process of determining who needs to be quarantined and tested. All of which could have been prevented with just a little awareness of your students health.
Let's work together to keep everyone safe and in school. Thank you
Covid Quarantine guidelines.
After a week of school has been completed I felt this would be a good time to focus on some answers to questions that have come to our attention in regards to Covid, Quarantine, Shield Testing and TEST To Stay.
To begin, all districts in the State of Illinois have guidelines to follow when we discover that a positive student or staff member has been in close contact with other students. In general, as long as students/staff are wearing their masks and are not inside of 3ft for any 15 minute time period, no close contact has been made. A vaccinated person has even less risk of being recognized as a close contact. If it is determined a student has been in close contact with a positive case and has met all mitigation measures, we can offer “Test to Stay”. “Test to Stay” gives us the opportunity to test on days 1,3,5 and 7 following a close contact and if those tests continue to be negative the student/staff stay in school. If a student is not following mitigations and has a close contact that student must be quarantined according to guidance. So, you might ask “How do we know if a person has been in close contact with a positive case?” The simple answer is that we talk with the positive student/staff, their teachers and those who they may have been in contact with to ensure we are catching everyone who might have been compromised. From that point we talk with the students/Staff and their families and determine the best course of action, which is hopefully “Test to Stay”.
One source of confusion this year is the difference between “Shield testing” and the “Test to Stay” Program. The Shield Program is a weekly saliva based test that parents and staff may opt into if regular testing is an option you are in agreement with. Everyone should have received a form to opt into the Shield testing program late last week and those are due back to the schools this Friday. All Shield testing will be conducted by University of Illinois associates. We plan to begin the saliva testing program on Sept 9, 2021. If you would like access to the test to stay program please look to the District website, Supts Blog or at this link for the appropriate Shield opt in form.
The “Test to Stay "program is also a local testing program, but unlike the Shield Testing program, our nursing staff administers the rapid Binax test and can get results in about 15 minutes. We are fortunate to have three trained nurses to help us complete this testing so that we can keep students in school rather than automatic quarantine. The “Test to Stay” Program is a nasal swab test and like the “Shield” Test requires permission from the family. In fact, we will ask that you express your desire for your child to take part in the “Test to Stay” Program to Two different staff members so that no mistakes are made.
All of these programs are designed to keep staff and students in school learning and safe for full days, five days a week. Having said that, this has been a challenging week for our staff, with a fair amount of positive cases, quarantine and students in the “Test to Stay” Protocol. We continue to ask that you monitor your children’s health and if they are symptomatic please keep them home from school and ask to have them tested if you are uncertain what course of action to take. Every time a student is sent to school with obvious symptoms our staff is forced to step into action and begin the process of determining who needs to be quarantined and tested. All of which could have been prevented with just a little awareness of your students health.
Let's work together to keep everyone safe and in school. Thank you
Covid Quarantine guidelines.