As you know, spring break is March 29th-April 6th. Traditionally, spring break is a time for family getaways. However, travel increases the chances of spreading and getting COVID-19.

That’s why the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and our local and state public health authorities strongly recommend avoiding all non-essential travel.

However, if you must travel over spring break, you will find useful information about how to travel more safely on the CDC’s Travel Page. The Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) has issued the following guidance for anyone coming into suburban Cook County from designated states with a significant degree of community-wide spread of COVID-19.

Anyone traveling from a state on the orange list on this webpage is directed to:

• Obtain a negative COVID-19 test result no more than 72 hours prior to arrival in suburban Cook County; OR
• Quarantine for a 10-day period (or for the duration of their time in suburban Cook County, whichever is shorter); OR
• Be fully vaccinated, maintain strict masking and physical distancing, and not have any COVID-19 symptoms. Fully vaccinated is defined as two weeks after the second dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine or two weeks after one dose of a single-dose vaccine.

These are recommendations from CCDPH, not formal quarantine orders for travelers (unless testing positive). However, the Illinois Department of Public Health is encouraging school districts to request testing and quarantine from any students returning from travel.

To provide the safest environment for our staff and students, we would request that your family is tested and quarantined upon returning from spring break travel.

Please contact your student’s school to create a plan for your student during quarantine. Otherwise, we look forward to seeing both our hybrid learning and remote learning students when classes resume on Wednesday, April 7th. (Schools are closed on Tuesday, April 6th, because it is a local election day—don’t forget to vote!)

We’ve received a few questions about COVID-19 rules for school bus transportation. District 153 continues to follow the current guidelines from the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of Education:

• Parents are encouraged to transport their children, if possible, to reduce the number of bus passengers.
• Bus capacity is limited to 50 persons, including the driver and supervisor(s). We try to limit the number of students on each bus to allow social distancing to the greatest extent possible. However, on some routes, students may need to sit next to each other. Siblings will sit together.
• Students have assigned seats. Assigned seating is helpful if contact tracing becomes necessary (i.e. when people are within 6 feet of someone for 15 minutes who has tested positive).
• Masks must always be worn on the school bus.
• No food or drink may be consumed on the school bus.
• Buses are cleaned between routes. Buses are sanitized after the last route of the day.
• Students must social distance while waiting at the bus stop.

Despite pleas from educators—including us at District 153, the U.S. Department of Education has announced that it will not grant waivers to states from this year’s standardized testing requirements. (Last year’s testing was eliminated due to the pandemic.)

Therefore, all Illinois school districts are required to offer 3rd-8th grade students the opportunity to take the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR). In addition, 5th and 8th-grade students must be offered the opportunity to take the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA). Although online, these tests cannot be taken remotely from home. Students must take the tests at school.

The Illinois State Board of Education is allowing school districts to offer testing on Saturdays. To protect the precious instructional time we have left this school year, District 153 has decided to offer these tests on three consecutive Saturdays at the James Hart Campus. District 153 encourages students to participate in testing. However, it is up to parents and guardians to decide what is in the best interest of their student(s).

Please RSVP for your student by SPRING BREAK

In order to plan for the administration of these tests, we need parents/guardians to fill out the appropriate RSVP forms below by March 29th. If you decide to have your student take the IAR, you have a few options:

· Take both the math and ELA sections on the same Saturday

· Take the math and ELA sections on different Saturdays

· Take only the math section

· Take only the ELA section

Once we have RSVPs, we will be able to determine needs for transportation, lunch, testing accommodations, and other concerns. If demand warrants, make-up testing dates may be determined.

IAR Testing (offered to to students in 6th, 7th and 8th grade) [IAR RSVP Form]

Saturday, April 17th

8:30-11:30am - Math

12:00-3:00 PM - ELA

Saturday, April 24th

8:30 AM-11:30 AM - ELA

12:00-3:00 PM - Math

ISA Testing (offered only to students in 8th grade) [ISA RSVP Form]

Saturday, May 1st

8:30-11:30am

Parent Portal Information