The metrics listed below will be used by the District Leadership Team to make a determination regarding reopening schools for in-person learning or, once open, needing to resume district-wide remote learning due to a resurgence of the COVID-19 virus.

Our metrics remain aligned to the positivity threshold signifying transition to Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Phase 3 mitigation measures.The District will consider the status of these metrics as it relates to Region 10 - Suburban Cook County.

State Directed Mitigation* Test positivity rate (rolling 7-day average) of 12% or greater in Region 10  If Region 10 enters Phase 3 mitigation due to substantial community spread, this will also require an adaptive pause and district-wide pivot back to remote learning

District Level Mitigation ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:  Attendance-area zip codes (rolling 7-day average) of 12% or greater Advisement by the Evanston Health and Human Services Department and/or Skokie Health Department to suspend in-person learning for any public health-related reason Inability to sustain staffing directly associated with classrooms Inadequate access to PPE and cleaning materials Inability to sustain evolving health protocols and guidance

*As identified in the State of Illinois Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response Plan - Actions to Combat a Resurgence of COVID-19.

District 65 staff and parents will be asked to support the Evanston and Skokie Health Departments with contact tracing. If a staff member lives outside of this community, District 65 will support their local health department with contact tracing efforts.

Contact tracing is a process of notifying anyone who has been identified as having close contact with a positive case. It is imperative that close contacts quarantine for a 14 day period of time in order to limit the potential spread of COVID-19. The district expects all stakeholders to be supportive and respective of this process.

The IDPH exclusion tree states if my child is asymptomatic, they can return from quarantine in ten days, why do I have to wait the full 14 days?

Answer: The IDPH exclusion tree also clearly states that local health departments must authorize early release from quarantine. Both of our local health departments are using the safer full 14 day quarantine.

My child tested negative for COVID-19, isn’t this enough to return to school?

Answer: You can not test out of quarantine. It is possible to test negative on day ten but still become ill and be contagious with COVID-19 the next day.

Why bother to get tested if my student has to wait out the quarantine period anyway?

Answer: Your student may be positive but asymptomatic. Your family will want to know if your child is positive so you can take the appropriate precautions.

I don’t understand if my student is considered a close contact and needs to quarantine why does the whole family not need to quarantine?

Answer: Contacts of contacts do not need to quarantine. Your student may not have contacted COVID-19.

I have been told to wait a bit before testing, why?  

Answer: Depending on case burden and available resources, close contacts should be tested immediately after identification as a contact, and if negative, could be tested again about 5-7 days after last exposure or immediately if symptoms develop during quarantine. The average duration of incubation is from 5 to 7 days but can be as long as 14 days. If you have COVID-19 but get tested too soon, your test result could come back negative, even though you have been infected.

If I have questions who can I contact?

Answer: Bernie Judd, Director of Health Services (she/ella)

Evanston/Skokie District 65

(847)-859-8121(office)

juddb@district65.net

The following two charts provide Decision Tree information for Pre-K-12 schools from the Illinois Department of Public Health.  If you are unable to view this document or for printable versions, please visit the IDPH website.

We Asked 175 Pediatric Disease Experts if It Was Safe Enough to Open School
New York Times
February 11, 2021

Operating Schools - Guiding principles and strategies to protect students, teachers, staff, and community
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
February 5, 2021

CDC head: Vaccinating teachers 'not a prerequisite' for safe school reopening
The Hill
February 3, 2021

Covid-19: CDC Says It’s Safe to Reopen Schools, With Precautions
New York Times
January 29, 2021

COVID-19 Cases and Transmission in 17 K–12 Schools — Wood County, Wisconsin, August 31–November 29, 2020
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
January 29, 2021

Duke Study: When Schools Take COVID Safety Measures, Viral Transmissions for In-Person Schooling Are Lower Than in Community
Duke Today
January 27, 2021

Data and Policy to Guide Opening Schools Safely to Limit the Spread of SARS-CoV-2 Infection
JAMA Network
January 26, 2021

Study of Rural Schools Suggests Class Can Continue Even Where Coronavirus Infection Rates Are High
U.S. News
January 26, 2021

More than One in Four Latino and Black Households with Children Are Experiencing Three or More Hardships during COVID-19
Child Trends
January 13, 2021

Study: In-school transmission of SARS-CoV-2 rare in schools implementing safety measures
AAP News
January 8, 2021

The AAP continues to strongly advocate that all policy considerations for school COVID-19 plans should start with a goal of having students physically present in school
Pediatrics
2021

Interim Guidance on Supporting the Emotional and Behavioral Health Needs of Children, Adolescents, and Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic
American Academy of Pediatrics
Last updated January 5, 2021

COVID-19 Guidance for Safe Schools
American Academy of Pediatrics
Last updated January 5, 2021

COVID-19 in children and the role of school settings in transmission - first update
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
December 23, 2020

12 Principles for Safer School
ABC Science Collaborative
December 1, 2020

Surveillance of COVID-19 school outbreaks, Germany, March to August 2020
Eurosurveillance
September 24, 2020

SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission in educational settings: cross-sectional analysis of clusters and outbreaks in England
Public Health England
August 12, 2020

Stepwise school opening online and off-line and an impact on the epidemiology of COVID-19 in the pediatric population
medRxiv
August 4, 2020

Considerations for Academic Assessments and Interventions Upon the Return to School
National Associations of School Psychologists
2020

School Reopening Priorities and Guidance during the COVID-19 Pandemic
School Social Work Association of America
2020