2020 was a “memorable” year to say the least. I am not one to dwell on the negative but instead, I like to look for opportunities. As we begin 2021, I am focused on the resilience and dedication exhibited by our students, staff, AND our parents over the past nine months! Schools have never been asked to partner with parents in the learning process in the way we have during this pandemic. I want each of our parents to know just how much I appreciate everything YOU have done to help our students continue learning during this pandemic.

Generous Giving Again in D92! The PFA Giving Tree is a beloved annual tradition in D92 and in light of the challenges presented by COVID this year, our PFA and dedicated D92 community came through once again! I would like to publicly give a big THANK YOU for all donations given to the PFA Giving Tree. Donations were provided from the D92 Faculty Members and Families, The D92 Board of Education, Brownie Troop 75524, the D92 Athletic Association and St. Bernard Parish in Homer Glen. A very special thanks to PFA leadership for ALL of their efforts to make this year’s Giving Tree possible. Their work during a busy time of year made the holidays very special for so many students and their families! Thank you D92!

Return to hybrid in-person learning: I want to confirm that students will be returning to hybrid learning on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. Buses will be running on Jan. 19 and we will follow most of the same procedures that were in place for hybrid learning in the fall. This includes the daily self-certification and temperature checks at school. Additional information is provided later in this newsletter.

Safety continues to be our primary focus in D92. This newsletter also includes several articles about how to attend school safely during a pandemic. I encourage you to check them out.

I hope you and your family continue to be safe and healthy ~ and please remember that masks and social distancing are the keys to keeping our schools open during this pandemic!

We are all in this together!

Sincerely,

Tim Arnold, Ph.D.

Superintendent

The administration and union leaders developed a plan to present to the Board of Education for returning to hybrid in-person learning this semester. As a result, we are prepared to have students return to hybrid in-person learning on Tuesday, January 19, 2021. Students who previously chose full remote learning for the entire school year will continue in that learning model.

Safe in-person learning: Our goal continues to be to maximize the number of days we can safely provide in-person learning for students and staff. Our plan to return to hybrid learning reflects the input (surveys in November) of students, staff, and parents, as well as our increased understanding of how to safely deal with COVID-19. We will continue to adjust our safety protocols as instructed by the IDPH and the Will County Health Department.

Adaptive Pauses: Based on the advice of the Will County Health Department, we will use the metrics that matter the most to us - the number of students and staff in District 92 who are either positive for COVID-19 or who are under quarantine – to determine the safety of in-person learning. A sample of the updated metrics is provided in the link below. Note that most of the data involve D92 students and staff, as opposed to county-wide metrics.

COVID Metrics: Click here to view the most up to date COVID metrics for D92. It should be noted that the Superintendent and nurses are tracking the metrics daily, but we are reporting on a weekly basis for the prior week.

Relying only on county-wide or community-wide COVID metrics does not provide a complete picture of what is actually happening in D92. The union has agreed that we need to get staff and students back in school and then closely monitor our D92 specific COVID numbers. We agree that we will use targeted adaptive pauses (14 calendar days) for grade levels and/or schools based on a 10% threshold of students being quarantined. The focus of our decision-making will be on what is actually happening with our students and staff in D92.

The next regular monthly Board of Education meeting will be on Tuesday, Jan. 19 at 7:00 p.m. and will also be held virtually.

If you missed our previous Parent University, the title of the presentation was, “A Parents' Guide to Keeping Our Students Safe on Their Devices” and may be viewed in the Parent Resource section of the D92 website.