Happy 2021 From District 112!
December 29, 2020
“Without a struggle, there can be no progress.” – Fredrick Douglass
Dear North Shore School District 112 Staff, Families, & Community,
First I want to wish you each and all a Happy and Healthy New Year. From my perspective, 2021 will be fantastic, and I am excited about the opportunities ahead of us!
Our remote learning program resumes next week, on January 4, 2021. A question on everyone’s mind is “when are we going to pivot back to Hybrid?”. With this letter, I share with you some of the plans that are going on behind the scenes. A more detailed set of answers will be shared at the Board meeting on January 12. I ask for your continued faith in our leadership and patience. Like other school districts in the region, we do not believe that a return to school on a large scale should begin until after families who have traveled over the break have a chance to be quarantined for two weeks to be sure the impact of their travel does not lead to a spike in COVID-19 cases in our area.
One simple answer about when we will pivot back to Hybrid is based upon current metrics and guidance from the Lake County Health Department (LCHD) when the incidence rate drops to 14 or less. On Nov. 15, for example, one month into the adaptive pause into remote learning, the rate was 83.1/100K, yesterday the data from Dec. 25, was 32.1/100K - this marks a significant drop - which is good! So if the trend continues, and the rate drops like this, by mid to late January it’s possible that the current plan and current metrics will call for a pivot back regardless of our other efforts and plans.
Throughout this experience, we have called upon multiple stakeholders to provide input, ask questions, engage in dialogue, and help shape the execution of our plans and planning processes. We have also relied on the public health experts at the Lake County Health Department (LCHD) for guidance and public health impact. It’s possible that the metrics alone might not depict the entirety of risk mitigation and a stratification of risk on campus in the District’s schools. For example, the CDC Continuum of Risk (shared below) outlines different levels of risk in terms of schools operating virtually to in-person:
In general, the risk of COVID-19 spread in schools increases across the continuum of virtual, hybrid, to in-person learning with the risk moderated for hybrid and in-person learning based upon the range of mitigation strategies put in place and the extent they are conscientiously followed. While not exhaustive, this stratification attempts to characterize the risks of spread among students, teachers, and staff across this continuum Retrieved from the CDC Websites
In looking more closely at the lowest risk and some risk from the CDC information, District 112 has invested millions of dollars in risk mitigation in place to support returning to the Hybrid Learning Model, possibly even with the current levels of community transmission. This risk stratification is under review with the Lake County Superintendents and the LCHD for possibly County-wide adoption. My own notes are in the brackets for emphasis.
Lowest risk: [CURRENT LEARNING MODEL IN NSSD112, VIRTUAL LEARNING]
Students and teachers engage in virtual-only classes, activities, and events
Some risk: [RESUMPTION OF HYBRID LEARNING MODEL PRIOR TO 14/100K]
Hybrid Learning Model: Some students participate in virtual learning and other students participate in in-person learning [ALL STUDENTS LEARN AT LEAST HALF OF THE TIME VIRTUALLY AND STUDENTS WHO OPT-IN TO HYBRID LEARN IN PERSON FOR HALF OF THE DAY, ROUGHLY 85%]
Small, in-person classes, activities, and events [SAME PLAN AS WAS IN PLACE 9/3-10/20]
Cohorting, alternating schedules, and staggered schedules are applied rigorously [NO CHANGES TO THE SCHEDULING]
No mixing of groups of students and teachers throughout/across school days [PK-5 THIS IS FULLY IN PLACE, AT THE 6-8 LEVEL THERE IS MIXING]
Students and teachers do not share objects [THIS IS PART OF OUR PLAN AS WE INVESTED IN MATERIALS]
Students, teachers, and staff follow all steps to protect themselves and others at all times including proper use of face masks, social distancing, hand hygiene [CONTINUED VIGILANCE AND ADHERENCE TO OUR PROTOCOLS]
Regularly scheduled (i.e., at least daily or between uses) cleaning and disinfection of frequently touched areas implemented with fidelity [DISTRICT 112 HAS INVESTED IN ENHANCED CLEANING PERSONNEL AS WELL AS INDOOR AIR QUALITY MITIGATION EFFORTS AT ALL CAMPUSES]
THIS LINK FROM CDC SHOWS THIS INFORMATION GRAPHICALLY
When we started this journey into COVID-19 and the global pandemic, we did not know a lot. One of the greatest challenges to opening schools to in-person learning in COVID-19 in the first place was the fast-changing guidance, conflicting literature, and the shifting understanding of risks and risk mitigation. Over the past nine months, a great deal of information has been learned especially in consideration of risk mitigation & risk stratification.
As we prepare for 2021, we are proud to share:
A cohort of children will be transported via First Student buses and fed via Organic Life food service and supervised via the Oak Terrace and District administrative teams starting Jan. 4th. An initial pod of 10 children will start and this is part of a larger group of children who have been severely impacted by the Pandemic.
In-person schooling for a group of PreK students enrolled in a self-contained special education program at Green Bay is planning a return as soon as saliva-based screening testing is implemented.
The administration is working with Shield/U of I for saliva screening tests on small, medium, and large scale usage for students, staff, and potential families.
Individual special education evaluations have been ongoing since the pivot, they will continue with individual students and related staff providing services.
Roughly 150 staff have been working on campus during the remote learning pivot, and staff will continue to have options as to where they work during remote learning.
Risk Stratification & Risk Mitigation are under review and it is possible that the D112 investments in risk mitigation may allow for a pivot to Hybrid sooner than the metrics alone.
We will work to mitigate the learning impacts of the Pandemic over the next year.
In closing, on Jan. 4, all learning under the Remote Learning Model will resume. We will provide you with a full and complete update at the regular Board meeting on Jan. 12, which can be accessed live at https://www.nssd112.org/domain/695. For updates on reopening and links to archived communications visit https://www.nssd112.org/domain/1243
With regards,
Mike
Dr. Michael Lubelfeld
Superintendent of Schools