Good morning D103 families,

We would like to inform you that there has been a change in the d103 school calendar.

• No School Tuesday, Nov. 3: The Illinois State Board of Education announced schools are required to be closed this Election Day.
  
• No School Friday, Nov. 13. This day was formerly an early release day but has been changed to a full nonattendance day for students for remote planning for teachers.
• No School Monday, Nov. 23. This day was formerly an early release day but has been changed to a full nonattendance day for students for remote planning for teachers.
• No School Nov. 24-27. These days are nonattendance days for the Thanksgiving break.

Please visit the District 103 school calendar, for updates on other holidays and teacher institute days when school is not in session.

D1013 Learning Update: Dr. Scott Warren, D103 superintendent, provided an overview of returning to in-person learning based on Lake County and school zip code metrics. Our current positivity rate is 8.4% in Region 9, which includes Lake and McHenry Counties. Our rate rate per 100,000 is above 14 for Lake County, which is what resulted in an adaptive pause for D103 schools to revert to remote learning. In looking at rates by zip code, D103s zip code COVID incidence rates are much lower than the county rate.

Parent Questionnaire: A questionnaire will go out to families in mid-November. The questionnaire will ask families to select one of the three options:

1. My child will attend school remotely through the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year.

2. My child will attend school in-person through the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year.

3. I would like my K-5 child to remain with their teacher, to the greatest extent possible, regardless of the learning model for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year.

In the first two options, parents are making the decision with the understanding that their child may not have the same teacher in which they started the school year due to possible staffing changes. Additionally, under the in-person model, parents selecting this option are doing so with the understanding that the learning model could be anywhere from two days a week to five days a week of in-person learning. Families with children in grades 6-8 may have teacher and schedule changes regardless of the option they choose.

Planning for January:

• Mid-November: Survey parents regarding learning preferences with the hybrid and in-person models fully explained

• Mid- to Late-November: District administrators determine the hybrid learning model to use (two days, three days, five days in-person learning).

• Mid-December: Re-assign staff to positions, if necessary

• Mid-January: Finalize learning schedules for students

• Mid-January: Finalize transportation routes

• January 19, 2021: New learning schedules begin for all students

Vision to Open Schools:

In an effort to open our schools once again, Dr. Warren provided a Vision to help make this possible:

• Remote learning for all students until at least Nov. 4.

• Maintain and improve mitigation efforts in schools. Overall school districts are not seeing widespread Covid-19 cases, metrics are more granular, mitigation efforts work (masks, hand washing, six-feet distancing, cleaning, ventilation).

• Continue to work closely with the Lake County Health Department and community officials.

• Prioritize D103 zip code Covid-19 metrics while monitoring county metrics to guide schools for in-person learning.

• Identify activities that need to be avoided if CDC and IDPH guidance cannot be followed - i.e. parties, sleepovers, sports events, dining out, social gatherings, etc.

• Have parents sign a pledge stating their family agrees to follow the CDC and IDPH guidance to keep their children and all others as healthy as possible.

Remote Planning Day: D103 Administrative Team recommended converting two Early Release Days in November into full days of non-attendance. These days would be Nov. 13 and Nov. 23, which the district would use as professional development days for staff.

Remote Lunch Program: The national Summer Food Service Program, offered by the USDA, funds D103’s free lunch program. D103 is reimbursed for all meals taken by students. D103 is serving about 4,500 meals weekly to about 900 families through the remote and in-person lunch program.

Tent Update: Due to the high costs of renting/purchasing tents, the administrative team recommended against purchasing or renting tents.

2020 Tax Levy: Patrick Palbicke, Assistant Superintendent for Business, informed the Board that the total estimated property tax levy for 2020 is $31.7 million. The estimated levy uses a 2.3% consumer price index increase along with estimates for new construction and properties being added to the tax rolls. The levy increase is similar to last year. Final levy approval is set for the Nov. 10 Board meeting.

Illinois School Report Card: Due to the Covid-19 outbreak and school closures in March 2020, much of the information is incomplete on the Illinois School Report Card. The report card will be available to the public Oct. 30.

The next regular Board meeting will occur on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. The notice and agenda can be found on the District 103 Board meeting webpage.

Help the DW Wright Way Club collect non-perishable canned food items for the Vernon Township Food Pantry. Please drop off items outside the DW main office. Check out the Wright Way Club's flyer for specific items needed.

Bernie's Book Bank and Barnes & Noble at Mellody Farms have partnered for a

One Day Book Drive. Please bring your new and gently used children's books to donate in the trunk of your car for a touch-free drop off from 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, Barnes & Noble, 901 N. Milwaukee Ave, Vernon Hills.

The PTO now offers Spirit Wear year round. Check out hoodies, long sleeve tees, sweatpants and more.

D103 families are invited to participate in the Exceptional Learners Collaborative breakfast and lunch program open daily from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Pick up meals at the ELC site, 990 Corporate Woods Parkway, Vernon Hills. The collaborative is also seeking the following food pantry items:

• paper bags
• hamburger helper
• canned chicken/tuna
• Pasta
• Pasta sauce
• canned pasta (chef boyardee)
• cereal
• canned veggies
• rice
• soup
• oatmeal
• dried beans
• canned fruit

For questions, please reach out to the ELC Director Kristen Bordonaro at kbordonaro@elced.org.

Calendar