Dear Families,

Between Monday, November 30 and Friday, December 18, students in all District 303 schools and programs will be learning in remote environments. Our staff members and administrators worked tirelessly over the summer and fall to enhance remote learning to ensure that students have access to positive, meaningful learning experiences. You will notice that remote learning is different from what your child may have experienced in the spring. We encourage parents to provide students with a consistent working environment where they have access to technology and other learning materials. If your child will be absent from a remote learning day, please email the teacher and call the school office prior to the start of the school day.

Below you will find information about expectations, schedules, and specials during remote learning.

Student, Family, and Teacher Expectations

1. Elementary school hours will be between 8:00 a.m. and 1:40 p.m. Students are expected to be available and ready to learn during those hours, whether the learning is synchronous or asynchronous
2. As with in-person learning, students are expected to complete assigned work by the deadlines set by the teachers
3. We ask that parents allow students to work independently or in collaboration with their teacher and classmates as much as possible
4. Teachers will provide a weekly schedule that provides synchronous and asynchronous learning times.

Specials and Lunch

1. Students in grades 1-5 will have a 30-minute daily special (art, music, physical education and LRC). The remote special schedule will be the same as the in-person schedule, with lessons being both synchronous and asynchronous. The special teacher will share the schedule with the students.
2. Kindergarten students will continue to access 15-30 minutes of asynchronous specials each day.
3. Students will have a 40-minute lunch break on the same schedule as they had during in-person learning. Student lunch times are based on grade level so your children may have different lunch times.

Instructional Technology Support for Families Explanation

Families can find support for all of their technology needs on our Instructional Support for Families website. This website can be found on our district.d303.org page D303 Technical Support Resources. See below for some of the resources:

1. If you need IT support, technical assistance, device exchange, etc. please click on IT Direct Support.
2. For Chromebook troubleshooting, click on Using D303’s Chromebook.
3. For information on Seesaw, Google Classroom, and/or Schoology, click on the Learning Platforms support.
4. For information on our video conferencing platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet, and Schoology Conferences, click on Video Conferencing Tools.
5. For support on any of the tools the teacher may use in the classroom, click on Digital Tools for Instruction.

Please see the Instructional Delivery Models document on the District website for sample schedules and expectations of all members of the learning community. We appreciate your partnership.

Sincerely,

Gina Shaw

Davis Principal

Lisa Simoncelli-Bulak

Richmond Principal

Our compact outlines the responsibilities of parents and students in this learning partnership with our school staff. Please click on this link to view our compact for this school year.

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Book checkout at the Davis LRC will continue during our adaptive pause of in person learning! Students may check out up to 3 books during this time. Please see this video for instructions on how to put a book on hold in our library system. All books are cleaned and quarantined upon return.

Book requests must be made by noon on Tuesday. Book pick up will be on Thursdays & Fridays. Books will be placed in the vestibule at the main entrance to the building. Book shelves have been placed under the window inside the vestibule. Please return your current books when picking up your new library books.

1. Use the buzzer. When an office member answers, say that you would like to pick up your new library books. You will be buzzed in.
2. Make sure your mask is ON.
3. Find the books you put on hold - each book has a bookmark with the student's name written on it.
4. Take your books and exit the vestibule.
5. Enjoy reading your new books.
6. Return books to the return bin at the front entrance.

If your child was absent from school this week and did not get a chance to get their supplies/materials needed for remote learning you can attend our curbside pick-up on Monday, November 30th between 7:15 a.m. - 8:15 a.m. Please only send a person to pick up who is healthy and quarantine free. If there is a situation where someone from your household is quarantined and unable to pick up your child's materials, please call us (331) 228-2881 to make arrangements.

We have rescheduled Picture Make-Up day to Thursday, January 28th. More information to follow closer to the date.

If your child was absent from school this week and did not get a chance to get their supplies/materials needed for remote learning there are two options. You can contact Irma at (331) 228-2275 to schedule a pick up by appointment only M-W of next week OR you can attend our curbside pick-up on Monday, November 30th between 7:15 a.m. - 8:15 a.m. Please only send a person to pick up who is healthy and quarantine free. If there is a situation where someone from your household is quarantined and unable to pick up your child's materials, please call us (331) 228-2800 to make arrangements.

If your child was absent the last two weeks and unable to take CogAt testing, we will offer make-ups when we resume in person learning.

Book checkout at the Richmond LRC will continue during our adaptive pause of in person learning! Students may check out up to 3 books during this time. Please see this video for
for instructions on how to put a book on hold in our library system. All books are cleaned and quarantined upon return.

Book requests must be made by noon on Tuesday. Book pick up will be on Thursdays & Fridays (7:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.). Books will be placed in the vestibule at the main entrance to the building. Book shelves have been placed under the window inside the vestibule.

1. Use the buzzer, when an office member answers say that you would like to pick up your new library books. You will be buzzed in. Make sure your mask is ON.
2. Return books to the BLUE bin.
3. Find the books you put on hold - each book has a bookmark with the student's name.
4. Take your books and exit the vestibule.
5. Enjoy reading your new books.

Video of directions can be viewed HERE.

➔ Book requests must be made by noon on Tuesday. Book pick up times will be on Thursdays & Fridays (7:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.).

We have rescheduled Picture Make-Up day to Thursday, January 28th. More information to follow closer to the date.

The Illinois Department of Public Health has the following advisory regarding travel safety at this time. Travel increases your chances of getting infected and spreading COVID 19. When you must travel, away from your local community, keep informed about the current COVID-19 status of a potential destination and keep your family safe by avoiding travel to places of higher risk. Travel restrictions can change, so please recheck the site as needed

When you do travel, practice the 3 W’s every time you are away from home and in close proximity to other groups of people. Wear a face covering. Wash your hands with soap and water. Watch your physical distance, staying at least 6 feet from others.

COVID Information:

Kane County Health Department COVID line (630) 208-3801

https://www.kanehealth.com/

https://www.dph.illinois.gov/covid19

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html

Isolation and Quarantine:

COVID-19 Illness and Quarantine Guidelines

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/quarantine.html

State Announces Community-Based Testing Sites Now Open to All: Expanded Criteria Will Allow Anyone to Get Tested, Regardless of Symptoms​

Sites

Testing at the Aurora Premium Outlets site

ENDED September 30, 2020

The free drive-through COVID-19 testing site at the Chicago Premium Outlets in Aurora has relocated to 2450 N. Farnsworth Ave. in Aurora, less than half a mile from the Chicago Premium Outlets.

The drive-through and walk-up testing site is open 7 days a week from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Testing is free and available to all regardless of age, COVID-19 symptoms, or insurance status. A parent or guardian must be present and able to provide consent for individuals under the age of 18.

Tests are taken on a FIRST COME-FIRST SERVE BASIS. Facility will close by 4 p.m. or when testing capacity is reached for the day, whichever comes first. ​Individuals being tested at the Aurora site will receive a call from 1-888-297-7208 within four and seven calendar days regarding the results of their test.

Other Testing Sites:

An updated list of community-based and mobile testing sites can be found at Test-Illinois.com and on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @testillinois. Additional testing options are available in Kane County. For more information about all available testing sites in Kane County, visit the IDPH website at https://dph.illinois.gov/covid19/covid-19-testing-sites.​

Greater Elgin Family Care Center

VNA Health Care - Aurora & Elgin

http://dph.illinois.gov/testing​

https://www.cvs.com/minuteclinic/covid-19-testing

Testing for COVID-19 should only be conducted by approved state or local laboratories​

The Kane County Health Department DOES NOT provide test results.

COVID-19 tests are NOT done at the Kane County Health

Dear District 303 Families,

Since the beginning of the school year, District 303 has been committed to providing our students with meaningful educational experiences. We are pleased with the way that we were able to safely bring students and staff members into our buildings while also engaging our remote learners.

Recently, the Kane County Health Department released information about the uptick in COVID-19 cases in our community. Their concern stems from the 16.7% positivity rate countywide across all age groups and also the growth in the number of youth cases to a total of 628 new positive cases reported to the county for the week ending November 7. In District 303, we have also experienced a rise in cases among both our students and staff members that mirrors what is happening in our community.

Over the course of the year, we have reminded families that the three learning modalities we developed were designed so that we could seamlessly move between them anytime during the 2020-2021 school year, if necessary. Unfortunately, we have reached a tipping point with substantial community spread.

In an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our schools and our community, the Kane County Health Department has asked all schools in Kane County to take an adaptive pause and move to full remote learning for a two-week period. At tonight’s Learning and Teaching Committee meeting, members of the School Board made the decision to increase the adaptive pause to include the three weeks between Thanksgiving and the beginning of winter break. Therefore, all students in District 303 will participate in full remote instruction from November 30 through December 18.

During this time, students will continue with their assigned classroom teachers. Specific time schedules will be shared by classroom teachers at the elementary level and principals at the middle school and high school levels later this week. Meal service will be provided, and we will share schedules and locations by November 25. If your family needs assistance with technology, please use this link to access our IT Department help desk.

It is essential that we all work together to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our communities with the same determination that has allowed us to successfully open our schools this fall. We all must follow the necessary CDC guidelines that have worked to provide a safe environment in our schools: wear a mask, maintain social distance, and wash your hands.

Our goal is to begin in person instruction, for families who chose that model, at the beginning of the second semester following the winter break. We are moving ahead with the planning process using the modality families selected last week. We appreciate the confidence you have placed in us, and your continued partnership in support of your children’s education that will enable us to get through this together.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jason Pearson

Superintendent

Mr. Nicholas P. Manheim

School Board President