Mandatory Saliva Screening Process
Beginning on Monday, April 26th, we are modifying the process for dropping off saliva samples. Here are the changes that you need to be aware of:
Students will drop off samples in their classroom when the teacher takes attendance at the start of the school day. Samples will be placed in a plastic bin which will then be collected by the office.
This affords one additional check point for making certain that we know who has submitted a sample and who has not. Once the samples arrive in the office, the Certified Nurse Aide scans them as part of the process of preparing them to go to the lab.
Large drop off bins will no longer be available and all sample collections will occur in the classroom. At Hadley, this is in the students’ first period class.
Students need to submit their sample at their home school.
If a parent/guardian is dropping off a sample for any reason, please bring the sample to the school office.
This will minimize any confusion about whether a sample was turned in or not. On the rare occasion that a parent finds a sample after their child has gone to school, the parent must bring the sample to the school office.
Quarantine Information
Even though we are now able to socially distance at 3 feet (6 feet during lunch), the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the DuPage County Health Department (DCHD) continue to define a close contact as anyone who was within 6 feet of a confirmed case of COVID-19, with or without a mask, for a cumulative 15 minutes or more over a 24 hour period during the infectious period. Close contacts are also still required by the IDPH and DCHD to quarantine 14 days. Unfortunately, with the full in-person model and these quarantine guidelines in place, we will have more students out on quarantine than when we were in the blended model at 6 feet. This is not unique to District 41. Many school districts are experiencing the same increase in quarantine numbers. District 41 is engaged in conversations with other school districts and actively advocating with state and county officials on this issue.
We will continue to keep the community informed as more information becomes available. For now, we will continue our process and will work to support all of our students who are quarantined.
Click Here for the District 41 COVID-19 Dashboard (updated on Mondays).
Planning for Next Year
As we always do during the spring months, schools are beginning to prepare for the next school year. We are fully expecting that the 3ft social distancing will continue to be in place come next school year. We also know that a full remote learning option will likely be available, but it will be based on a set of medical criteria. Remote learning will not be open to all students next year.
Next week we will be sending out a few more details about next year and will ask you for some information related to your plans for your children. I know that it seems early to ask you to let us know if you feel your child will fit the full remote learning criteria, but it is important for us to have an idea in order to adequately staff our programs. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Thank you!
Dr. K
Dr. Melissa Kaczkowski
Superintendent - Glen Ellyn School District 41
Glen Ellyn School District 41
Email: webmaster@d41.org
Website: www.d41.org
Location: 793 North Main Street, Glen Ellyn, IL, USA
Phone: 630.790.6400
Facebook: facebook.com/glenellynd41
Twitter: @glenellynd41