2020-2021 School Reopening Information

Minooka CCSD 201 Students and Families,

At last night's Board of Education meeting we were pleased to announce that through both new and temporary staffing increases we have secured enough drivers to be able to meet our target date of March 1st for our return to 5 days a week of in-person instruction for our hybrid students. All students that have selected in-person learning will attend school Monday through Friday for four hours a day. We will monitor the schools over the next month to ensure that the safety mitigations we have in place continue to prevent any viral spread within our buildings.

Families can expect follow up communication later this week from their schools on any building specific information as well as updated transportation information.

As always, we thank you all for your patience and your partnership over the past year, and we will look forward to your patience going forward. The increased number of students on our buses and in our schools will inevitably lead to more quarantines and lots of contact tracing by our staff. Please help us keep the kids in school by keeping your students home if they have or are exhibiting any symptoms. 

We are excited to take this next step, and it will not be our last. We will get through this together.

Kristopher P. Monn, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Minooka CCSD 201

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Minooka 201 Students, Parents and Families,

As you are aware, our staff have been working hard to prepare our district and buildings for our in-person students to be able to return to in-person instruction for five days each week no later than March 1st.  The key variables in getting us ready for that were our facilities (classroom setup and HVAC equipment), increased vaccinations of district staff and adequate staffing in our transportation department. We do not yet have a firm date for this return for reasons we will describe in this communication. To keep our community informed, below is a brief update on each of those areas.

Facilities:

• Most furniture has been returned to classrooms to allow for the increased number of students. Remaining issues are minor adjustments due to a change in in-person/remote numbers within classrooms.
• Installation of the GPS air purification equipment has already begun. Delivery of the remaining equipment is expected today (2/11) and our Buildings and Grounds Department expects substantial completion by the end of next week.

Vaccines:

• By the end of today we will have gotten the first dose to approximately 300 of our staff that want the COVID-19 vaccine. At the current pace from Grundy County and the surrounding areas all interested staff should be able to receive a first dose by March 1st, though changes in availability could extend this date. We are very grateful to our local health departments and the volunteers that dedicated their time to help disseminate the vaccines in our communities.

That brings us to the trouble variable that is not yet solved - Transportation:

•  As a Community Consolidated School District, Minooka 201 is legally required to provide transportation to all K-8 students that live outside of 1.5 miles from their attendance center. Our district like many other transportation providers saw a decrease in staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we have not had any influx of new bus drivers since. 
• While we have remained able to transport all students during the A/B split due to the decreased number of students, the current limit of no more than 50 people on a bus (49 students plus 1 driver) with double the amount of students has left us short of the necessary number of drivers. 
• We have also contacted every third party transportation provider in the region to contract the outstanding routes, and none of them have any available staff. 
• We will immediately be offering sign on bonuses for incoming drivers, especially those with an existing CDL. Drivers that need a CDL require weeks of training before they can take the required state tests. If new drivers have a CDL, they can begin driving a bus within days, not weeks.
  • To do everything we can to attract drivers with CDL's, new drivers will get $1,000 if they drive for the remainder of this school year, and those with existing CDL's will receive an additional $1,000 for joining our team.

My last two communications have included a plea for parents to consider driving their students to school if they are able. The number of kids on our buses coupled with a shortage of drivers is the last barrier to Minooka 201 getting our schools open five days a week. We again ask you to consider personal transportation wherever able, including neighborhood carpools. No family will lose access to transportation going forward by driving their student(s) now. If we can partner to lower the number of students while we continue to ramp up staffing, more routes can be added in the future as drivers join our team. If any family would consider switching to personal transportation, please contact your school office.

As always, thank you for your patience and your partnership. We will get through this together!

 

Kristopher P. Monn, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Minooka CCSD 201

Follow us:

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Facebook @Minooka CCSD 201

Minooka CCSD  201 Students and Families,

All along this COVID-19 journey, we have reiterated the goal of getting our students back into the classrooms as much as possible. Our hybrid plan has allowed us to begin in-person instruction safely while more data was obtained and our region could finally begin a vaccination program to help move us towards herd immunity in the future.

Now that education staff have been moved up into Phase 1B of the vaccination program, we have an opportunity to make some adjustments to our plan to increase the amount of in-person learning we can deliver in our buildings. At this month's Board of Education meeting, the Board directed the administration to implement a return to 5 days per week of in-person instruction that maintains the current four hour schedule no later than March 1, 2021. If the conditions are right to make this move prior to March 1st we will consider doing so. We continue to have the long-term goal of getting back to full school days before the end of the school year, but this first step will more than double the amount of in-person time we are able to offer our families.

Over the next few weeks, we will begin returning some furniture into our classrooms to prepare for the increased number of students. One of the major changes to this direction is that we know we will not be able to maintain 6ft distancing between students in many of our classrooms. Facemasks will remain mandatory for the entire time students and staff are in our buildings and buses, and new air purification equipment will be installed and deployed throughout our buildings to further reduce the chance of spread in our buildings.

We will also be adjusting our bus routes when we implement this change to account for the increased number of students and the lack of bus drivers our region is experiencing during this pandemic. Increased students on our buses will make it very difficult to socially distance while on the bus, so we again ask that all families that have the capability of providing their own transportation to and from school do so to help us limit the numbers and potential quarantines from close contact on our buses.

To allow for our schools and transportation department to plan appropriately for this next phase of our Return to School Plan, we are asking that all families again log in to PowerSchool and choose between in-person learning as described above or remaining in a full remote instruction. Please make your selection no later than Wednesday, February 3rd. Follow up communication will provide instructions on how to make this selection.

We will get through this together everyone. Stay safe, and stay strong.

Kristopher P. Monn, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Minooka CCSD 201

Follow us:

Twitter @Minooka201, #201Inspires

Facebook @Minooka CCSD 201

Minooka 201 Students and Families,

All of our staff at Minooka CCSD 201 are excited to welcome back our in-person learners to our Hybrid Learning Model on January 19, 2021!  As always, we appreciate the partnership and collaboration with our families and communities as we have had to adapt and adjust to the fluid health metrics we have seen this school year.

As we prepare for our students to return next week, we want to remind all of our students and families that we all need to continue to do our part to help keep in-person instruction possible in a safe learning environment. Please continue to follow the recommended health mitigations and slow the spread of COVID-19 in our communities and schools:

• Use of Face Coverings - required while in our buildings
• Maintain Social Distancing - our classrooms and buildings have taken steps to allow for 6 ft of distance wherever possible
• Stay home if any COVID-19 symptoms exist - Parents must continue to certify that their students are symptom-free each morning before sending them to school and/or the school bus. 

Later today our families should expect a communication from our Minooka 201 Health Services Staff with more detailed information about monitoring symptoms. 

Finally, we would like to remind families to consider personally transporting your students whenever possible to help our buses spread out the students as much as possible. Many of our quarantine situations in the fall were because of close contacts not at school but on the school bus. All students eligible for transportation will continue to have access, but the more students that can get to and from school in smaller groups will aid our efforts going forward.

As before, we are extremely grateful for the continued efforts of everyone in our community that have helped us navigate through this school year. Our schools are ready to see our students once more. Welcome back Minooka 201!

Sincerely,

 

Kristopher P. Monn, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Minooka CCSD 201

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Students, Parents and Families of Minooka CCSD 201,

Today the Board of Education held an emergency meeting at 1 PM to discuss recent changes and clarifications to the guidance from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) regarding the required procedures involved with reopening school for in person instruction. At that meeting it was announced that Minooka CCSD 201 will begin the 2020-2021 School Year with Remote Instruction for all students through the first quarter of our school year. The most recent interpretation of the required protocols have made it completely unsustainable and untenable for our schools to safely open and remain effectively staffed. Monday August 24th and Tuesday August 25th will be Remote Instruction Planning Days, with the first day of Remote Learning for students on Wednesday, August 26th.

It cannot be overstated how disappointing this decision is for our Minooka 201 team to make to our families. The amount of time, effort and planning that our schools and departments have gone through over the past months makes this decision all the more devastating for our teams. We have established new safety protocols and procedures, procured additional cleaning equipment, increased cleaning schedules and had hundreds of staff collaborating on how to make in person instruction safe and effective.

After the Illinois Department of Public Health released its Frequently Asked Questions  on August 12th our district like many others had some severe concerns with the requirements they mandated. We continued to have conversations and dialogue with local health officials to discuss our plans and procedures and believed we could safely open and function within that framework. This week we have received updated answers from our local officials that have made it clear that they would defer to all of the IDPH guidance, and that is the reason we have come to this decision today. Here are some of the areas that would make the continued operation of schools unmanageable:

• Quarantining for Symptoms - Our planning and protocols had assumed that any student or staff member that exhibited any symptom would be sent home and need to quarantine. The new guidance requires not only the individual to quarantine, but also the entire household. We would be pulling asymptomatic students and staff members throughout the day and sending them home for 14 days or until they provided a negative COVID test or provided a doctor's note explaining that the symptom was not COVID related. The number of students we would be removing each day could be staggering, and if staff are being sent home we would not be able to safely staff our buildings.
• Definition of "close contact" - Prior to this new guidance, a "close contact" of a positive case was anyone that was within 6 feet of the individual for more than 15 minutes at a time. Our discussion within the past week had included this in our planning. The new requirements indicate that a "close contact" is anyone that was within 6 feet or less for more than 15 minutes cumulatively throughout any 24 hour period going back 48 hours from the positive test (asymptomatic) or onset of symptoms (symptomatic). That is an unrealistic requirement within our schools and could be dozens of individuals in our hallways and classrooms.
• Definition of "outbreak" -  The new guidance defines an "outbreak" in a school as being two cases within 14 days within the epidemiological center, which in most cases is the classroom. However this could expand to a school bus or the entire building if the students are exposed to more than one room. In the event of an outbreak the Local Health Department could shut down the entire building.

As stated above, these requirements do not make it possible for our school buildings to be able to effectively manage the tracing and isolation requirements and still effectively instruct our students in person. Each school will be communicating with families to outline the remote instruction routines and resources that the students will be engaging with. This was not how we wanted to start the year, but our staff have always risen to the occasion and will provide the students with a robust remote learning experience.

Finally, we understand that the timing of this decision will cause some families issues with securing daycare for their students. We do have an ongoing partnership with the Greater Joliet YMCA to provide families with a daycare option in our schools. Click here for more information.

We will reevaluate our learning option throughout August and September to assess whether in person learning can resume in the second quarter. As before, please email any questions to BacktoSchool@min201.org and the appropriate staff member will respond.

Sincerely,

 

Kristopher P. Monn, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Minooka CCSD 201

Follow us:

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Facebook @Minooka CCSD 201

Minooka CCSD 201 Students and Families,

Over the past weeks we have developed a Framework to Return to School for 2020-2021 during the ongoing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that was shared with our staff and Board of Education this week. Based on the results of last month's parent survey that indicated 43% of respondents would prefer a full time Remote Instruction option, we have developed a hybrid model that allows families to choose either:

1. In-person instruction in our school buildings using social distancing measures and face masks while in the building
2. Full time Remote Instruction

First, we want to stress that this is our current framework and future data and planning can and will make further adjustments as necessary. Our framework for In-Person Instruction allows all students that wish to return to school to do so using safety protocols issued by the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Public Health. Our initial framework included early release days with lunches served in the classrooms, but after continued feedback from staff and ongoing dialogue over safety protocols, we have modified our framework to remove the student lunch component while in our buildings.

In Person Instruction during Phase 4 of the COVID-19 Restore Illinois plan:

• Each day will be a 4 hour attendance day with 1 hour of remote instruction after the students return home.
• Lunches will be handed to students as they leave the building or school bus to eat off site.
• Social distancing will be used as much as possible:
  • All families must self-certify that the students are symptom free prior to sending them to the school or school bus.
  • Facemasks will be required in all buildings and on all buses at all times when not drinking.
  • Student movement throughout the buildings will be limited when possible.
  • Student desks will be spread out as much as possible. It is not likely that all desks will be 6 ft apart, but all learning spaces will have desks facing the same direction and all unnecessary furniture removed to allow for as much distance as possible.
  • Shared and larger spaces will be avoided to the extent possible.
  • Increased cleaning of restrooms and surfaces will be employed.

For families that do not wish to send their students back into our facilities, a Full Time Remote Instruction option will be available:

• Remote Instruction will focus on the core subjects - limited access to fine arts, PE will be available.
• Students must log 5 hours of instruction/activity each day.
• Lessons will be delivered by Minooka 201 teachers using both via live interactive lessons and through online platforms.
• Grading will mirror that of traditional In-Person Instruction, with graded assignments, feedback and report cards issued.
• All Remote Students eligible for additional services (Special Education, ELL Services, Speech, etc) will retain full access to those services during Remote Instruction.
• Families selecting Remote Instruction must commit for the entire academic period (quarter, trimester for Kindergarten). Switching from Remote Instruction to In Person Instruction in the middle of the quarter will not be allowed.

A visual comparison of these options can be found in our Minooka CCSD 201 Return to School Summary . There are still many details being worked out in our schools and departments. Many parents are sending in excellent questions that our teams still need time to work through. All of our schools will be complying with the Starting the School Year Joint Guidance issued on June 23, 2020 by the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Public Health. A great many of the questions on protocols when an individual is diagnosed or seems symptomatic can be found in this document. On Monday, July 20th we will be sending out communication for how families can indicate their preference for instruction for the start of the 2020-2021 school year. We would ask that families make their selection by Friday, July 24th.

We all understand the difficulties of both keeping our students and staff safe and still supporting their educational and social well being. We believe this Framework offers our families a balanced choice for the type of instructional model that is best for their students as we remain in Phase 4 of our recovery plan. It is also important to note that should Illinois move our region back to Phase 3 due to an increased threat of the COVID-19 virus in our area, Minooka CCSD 201 would revert back to full Remote Instruction for all students until such time as our local metrics improve. In the event that we can move to Phase 5 - Full Reopening, we would expect to transition back to full time In-Person Instruction.

We appreciate your patience and support as we all continue to work on behalf of the students, families and communities that make up Minooka CCSD 201. Stay safe everyone. We will get through this together.

Kristopher P. Monn, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Minooka CCSD 201

Follow us:

Twitter @Minooka201, #201Inspires

Facebook @Minooka CCSD 201

Greetings Minooka 201 Students, Families and Community,

We wanted to send a brief message to our families to update everyone on the plans for the 2020-2021 school year and when additional information will be available.

As Illinois prepares to enter Phase 4 of the reopening plan, we expect final Phase 4 guidance from the Illinois State Board of Education to be released later this week to provide clarity on what schools should look like in the fall. During the ISBE meeting last week it was stated that schools would be expected to use personal protective equipment (face coverings) and use social distancing measures. Such measures would limit the number of students we could have in our buildings and classrooms, and that means we have been exploring options for traditional in-person instruction, remote instruction and a hybrid model that would blend the two. Last week the Governor signed the education omnibus bill into law, which among other changes created a new category of attendance day called a Blended Remote Learning Day, where portions of our students attend school while others learn through remote instruction.

Over the next month we will be bringing in staff, teachers and other stakeholders to help develop and finalize plans and answers for the 2020-2021 school year. To gather initial feedback from our community on our options for the fall, we have developed a brief poll for families to share their thoughts - Minooka CCSD 201 Poll - Reopening for 2020-2021 School Year. As our plan becomes clearer we will provide additional opportunities for our parents and families to provide input and feedback. Families should expect further information to be released in early July.

The last quarter of the 2019-2020 school year was an incredibly new and emotional time for everyone in our district. We have learned many things about collaboration, partnerships and community support during this time. The 2020-2021 school year will look different than previous years, and we will continue to collaborate and partner with our communities and families to support our students. We will get through this - together. Stay safe everyone.

Kristopher P. Monn, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Minooka CCSD 201

Follow us:

Twitter @Minooka201, #201Inspires

Facebook @Minooka CCSD 201