Aug 16, 2022

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released updated streamlined COVID-19 guidance for schools, which the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) have fully adopted. For your convenience, you can review the CDC’s updated Operational Guidance for K-12 Schools and Early Care and Education Programs to Support Safe In-Person Learning and related CDC FAQ. Here is a summary of key revisions to the guidance to continue to keep students, staff, and families safe: 

• Removes the recommendation to quarantine for close contacts, which removes the need to contact trace
• No longer recommends routine screening tests in K-12 schools
• Removes the recommendation for separating students into cohorts
• Eliminates the recommendation to Test-to-Stay after potential exposure 

Schools are encouraged to follow daily operational strategies to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other diseases, such as: keeping students and staff at home who are ill; maintaining clean, disinfected facilities; proper hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette; and improved ventilation systems. For more information, please visit the Centers for Disease Control website. 

Aug 11, 2022

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) have fully adopted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Operational Guidance for K-12 Schools and Early Care and Education Programs to Support Safe In-Person Learning and related CDC FAQ.  Also updated are the “Interim Guidance on Testing for COVID-19 in Community Settings and Schools” and “Decision Tree for Evaluating Symptomatic Individuals from Pre-K, K-12 Schools and Day Care Programs” documents. All updated documents can be accessed below:  

• IDPH & ISBE Joint Summary of CDC’s Operational Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in Schools  
• Interim Guidance on Testing for COVID-19 in Community Settings and Schools  
• Decision Tree for Evaluating Symptomatic Individuals from Pre-K, K-12 Schools and Day Care Programs 

District 123 will be implementing updated guidance relative to COVID-19 during the upcoming school year and monitoring any changes that may take place.  The updated guidance is very similar to the guidance we followed at the conclusion of the 2021-2022 school year and during our recent Summer School session.  Distrtict 123 will not continue with SHIELD testing this school year, as the availability of COVID-19 testing within our community is highly accessible to students and staff who are interested.

Feb 18, 2022

A letter was sent on Feb 18, 2022 from Superintendent Paul Enderle regarding a recent appellate court ruling. Based on the court ruling, elements of the Health & Safety Plan described below are amended to reflect the following changes beginning Feb 22, 2022:

• District 123 will recommend, but not require, students and staff to wear a mask at school.
• Masks are still required on District transportation, per federal mandate.
• District 123 will not require “close contacts” to stay home from school. As always, individuals who are not feeling well are urged to stay home.
• District 123 will not require unvaccinated District staff to submit to weekly testing.
• District 123 will respectfully request that all families, students, and staff respect one another’s mask choices.

Letter from the Superintendent: Changes to COVID-19 Mitigations (Feb 18, 2022)

Jan 14, 2022

A letter was sent on Jan 14, 2022 from Superintendent Paul Enderle regarding updated guidance from the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Updated School Guidance (Jan 14, 2022)

Jan 3, 2022

A letter was sent on Jan 3, 2022 from Superintendent Paul Enderle regarding students returning after the winter break.

Letter from the Superintendent (Jan 3, 2022)

Jan 2022 Return to School FAQ

Aug 5, 2021

Preliminary Pandemic Health and Safety Plan – 2021-2022

With the most recent school guidance released from the CDC, as well as IDPH and ISBE, School District 123 has developed a Pandemic Health and Safety Plan for the 2021-2022 school year.  Throughout the pandemic it has been demonstrated that school systems who implement layered prevention strategies have been able to safely open for in-person instruction and remain open.  As community transmission rates remain at safe levels, keeping our school open will remain a priority.  The plan provides for the safe delivery of in-person instruction in District 123 schools through the integration of key prevention and control components which include:

• Consistent implementation of layered prevention strategies to reduce COVID-19 transmission in schools
• Consideration of community transmission indicators to reflect levels of community risk
• A phased prevention approach based on levels of community transmission

This plan emphasizes the implementation of layered prevention strategies (e.g., using multiple prevention strategies together) to protect students, teachers, staff, and other members of their households, as well as the regular monitoring of community transmission.  District 123 has selected a series of recommended prevention strategies to safely guide our learning environments through COVID-19 precautions as levels of community transmission of COVID-19 may fluctuate over time.  Guiding this plan is the CDC’s Science Brief on Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in K–12 Schools which summarizes the latest evidence on COVID-19 transmission among children and adolescents and what is known about preventing transmission in schools.

District 123 will continue to monitor the levels of local community transmission and school district conditions when implementing prevention strategies.  Prevention strategies will be intensified if community transmission worsens (i.e., moving from low to moderate to substantial to high community transmission). Intensifying prevention may also involve imposing additional restrictions on band, sports and extracurricular activities to protect the delivery of in-person learning.  To make decisions about preventive actions, School District 123 will take the following information into account:

• The numbers of COVID-19 cases among students, teachers, and staff, and number of people in quarantine
• Compliance with prevention strategies
• Local community transmission rates
• Updates and new information from public health agencies and/or governmental entities

It is important to note that the transmission levels may change over time and will be reassessed every 7-14 days to maintain situational awareness and inform future decision-making.  A phased prevention plan is meant to supplement, not replace any federal, state, or local health and safety laws, rules, and regulations with which schools must comply. The implementation of this guidance will be done in collaboration with regulatory agencies and state, and local public health departments, and in compliance with state and local policies and practices.

The table below provides a base operational plan to keep our schools open and operating that emphasizes a continuum of layered prevention at all levels of community transmission. Prevention strategies may change over time in response to the conditions around the pandemic, as well as new guidance from federal, state, and/or local authorities.  School District 123 maintains the right and responsibility to adjust and communicate specific response plans with additional layered prevention strategies deemed appropriate for higher transmission rates as conditions may change.  Present preventative measures include, but are not limited to the following:

COVID-19 Community Spread Conditional Metrics:

The following metrics will be used to determine the level of community spread.  The tables following also lists possible prevention strategies that may be used within all Oak Lawn-Hometown District 123 schools.The numbers of COVID-19 cases among students, teachers, and staff, and number of people in quarantine

• Compliance with prevention strategies
• Oak Lawn and Hometown community transmission rates
• Updates and new information from public health agencies and/or governmental entities
• View District 123 Conditional Metrics Dashboard

All District 123 schools will implement 5 key universal prevention strategies throughout all levels of community spread. 

• Required use of correct face coverings in all buildings and required use of face coverings for all individuals riding school buses.
• Regular monitoring and proper communication of local transmission rates
• Enhanced cleaning, disinfection, and ventilation
• Hand-washing hygiene and respiratory etiquette
• Contact tracing in combination with isolation and quarantine

Based on current pandemic conditions and guidance from public health authorities, we are asking our school community to:

• Properly wear face coverings while indoors in all District 123 schools and on all District 123 school buses.
• Return to in-person learning, including regularly scheduled extracurricular programs.
• Take the advice of health experts to be vaccinated against COVID-19, if eligible.
• Wear a face covering inside District 123 school buildings. The CDC and IDPH advise that individuals should wear masks indoors. We require that all individuals in school buildings wear masks. Given the current COVID-19 metrics in our community, masks are not a requirement at this time. The requirements for face coverings could change if our area or schools experience an increase in cases or the guidance from governmental or public health authorities change.
• Stay home if you have signs of any infectious illness and see a doctor as soon as possible.
• Maintain at least 3 feet of physical distance as much as possible within classroom and school settings.
• Follow all other important layers of prevention that School District 123 will implement, such as COVID-19 screening and testing, hand-washing and respiratory etiquette, contact tracing, quarantine and isolation protocols, enhanced cleaning and disinfection procedures, as well as the use of cohorting and regular temperature checks.
• Opt into the District’s forthcoming COVID-19 testing program that will allow for the regular monitoring of transmission levels directly within our school buildings. 

As the school year begins, we will commit to regularly monitoring conditions and making timely communications to the community.  In School District 123 we believe in staying connected to our community and prioritize regular two-way communication.  We will keep the community informed in a timely fashion if transmission levels shift or public health authorities issue new or update guidance that impact our plan.  Many of the data metrics we use will involve rolling 7 day averages which will help us reassess and monitor trends on a regular basis, allowing us time to be responsive to the fluid nature of the virus and provide the community advance notice of any changes at least a week in advance.  As we embark upon the school year the community is invited to share questions or request specific information using the email address WeGotThis@d123.org or contacting us directly at 708-423-0150.  We are here to support our entire community in making this school year both safe and successful for everyone.