Superintendent Update: 1/14/22

from USD116 Superintendent Dr. Ivory-Tatum

To view past superintendent updates, please click here. To view weekly updates online, please visit our District Updates archive on our website.

Greetings Urbana Families,

As our community prepares to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., his words speak to me now more than ever, “True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.” I applaud our USD116 family for continuing to do the hard work and have hard conversations, not just about the pandemic, but more so about the social injustices we seek to correct. We are all working so hard to combat the losses our students are experiencing following 15-months of remote learning. We have not lost sight of the goal to maintain “peace” and strive for equity and justice in everything we do as a District. I would also like to take another opportunity to recognize and congratulate our “Living the Dream” scholarship recipients from UHS: Kiana Amindavar, Jamaica Dyer, Ziniera Edwards, Rema Salem, Jonathan Sanchez-Huanca, and Kevin Alvarado (alternate). We are Proud of U.

Illinois has adopted the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) updated guidance regarding COVID-19 prevention in K-12 schools. Based on that guidance and the state’s executive orders, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) have updated the public health requirements for schools and provided this updated guidance. ISBE’s guidelines emphasize that “the majority of students need full-time in-person access to their teachers and the support network at school to stay engaged, to learn effectively, and to maintain social-emotional wellness. IDPH issued this guidance in an effort “to allow students across Illinois to safely and fully return to the in-person learning conditions that they need to thrive.”

Please read on for more information related to the recent changes in guidance. I recognize that this message is lengthy, but I want to make sure you are well informed about District news and updated protocols.

IDPH and ISBE Adopt the CDC’s shortened guidelines

We will continue to work with local public health officials to implement the CDC’s recommendation for shortened quarantine and isolation. We ask families to be patient with our nurses and administrators working through these ongoing changes. Students and staff who are confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 must be excluded from school and may not return until asymptomatic, fever-free without fever-reducing medication, and diarrhea/vomiting ceased for 24 hours and at least after 5 calendar days have passed from the date of the positive test or the onset of symptoms. In summary:

Students and staff: who test positive for COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, should isolate for 5 days after the onset of symptoms. To calculate the 5-day isolation period, day 0 is the first day of symptoms.
Students and staff: who test positive for COVID-19 and have no symptoms can be released from isolation after 5 days. To calculate the 5-day isolation period, day 0 is the test date.
After 5 days, students and staff who test positive must also do the following:

- Continue to wear a well-fitted mask around others (including at home) for 5 additional days after release from isolation. If unable to wear a mask when around others, the student or staff will be asked to continue to isolate for a total of 10 days. Schools have the authority to ask students or staff to complete the full quarantine or isolation period if they have a history of NOT appropriately wearing their masks.
- Avoid being around students or staff who are immunocompromised or at high risk for severe disease.
- If masks need to be removed (e.g., for lunch), ensure 6 feet of physical distancing until 10 days after symptom onset or a positive test. Schools have designated lunch spaces for students returning from the shortened quarantine.
- Students and staff who return from a shortened quarantine and isolation will be expected to wear a KN95 mask in school for days 6-10 (the District will provide the mask).

Changes in Test to Stay Protocols - **Updated Info**

Per ISBE, for close contacts identified within the school setting during the school day, “Test to Stay (TTS) is the preferred method because it keeps children in school and includes testing that will identify new positives quickly.” Most recently, the District has been testing for TTS on days 1, 3, 5, and 7. We will now align with this recommendation and shift to testing for TTS twice.

Students and staff that quarantine or isolate for 5 days do not have to participate in Test to Stay upon their return to school. Students and staff that are deemed close contacts but do not have to quarantine will need to Test to Stay in school twice a week within a 7-day period. This will begin the week of January 24 because we are currently experiencing a shortage of rapid tests and need to prioritize our remaining tests for symptomatic students and staff.

Household Exposures and Siblings

For household exposures involving siblings, the school nurse will assess the extent of quarantine or isolation needed:

If the positive student in the household is not isolating, the sibling can return on Day 11
If the positive student is isolating, the sibling can return on Day 6 after last exposure, provided they can mask at all times at school or social distance when not masking at lunch.

Meals for Families impacted by COVID - **Updated Info**

We are excited to announce that we are offering meals to our students who cannot attend school in person due to COVID reasons. We currently have students isolating or quarantining at home who would otherwise be eating breakfast and lunch at school. Please email jschmit@usd116.org or call 217-384-3501 to reserve meals for pickup. This meal pickup service is available for any students from classrooms, grade levels, or schools that are not learning in person. Families will need to share their child’s name and school for verification purposes. Please see the flyers for more info:

Fully Vaccinated Close Contacts - **Updated Info**

The CDC and IDPH have changed the definition of fully vaccinated; for anyone 18-year olds and older, being considered fully vaccinated now includes a booster dose. This means staff that are eligible for the booster but have not received it are no longer considered fully vaccinated. Students aged 5-17 do not need to have boosters to be considered "fully vaccinated."

I also need to inform you that due to a limited number of rapid tests currently on hand in the District and a shortage of tests in the state, as of Tuesday, January 18, we will need to prioritize our COVID testing for the next week. We are reserving our remaining rapid tests to test symptomatic students and staff ONLY in the buildings. We will pause surveillance and drive-thru testing until our next test shipment arrives. SHIELD testing will continue as normal. If your students or family members are experiencing any COVID-like symptoms, I encourage you to take advantage of the many available community testing sites before you return to school.

Stay safe, healthy, and well,

Dr. Ivory-Tatum,
Superintendent

UHS Senior selected for National African American Recognition Award

A UHS Senior has been selected as a College Board National Recognition Program awardee.

Willem Alleyne received the National African American Recognition Award. This is a big accomplishment during a demanding period of their high school career.

UHS Students Selected For 2022 ILMEA All-State Conference

Three UHS students have been selected to participate in the ILMEA All-State Festival.

In November, several UHS music students were selected and participated in the ILMEA (Illinois Music Education Association) District III Jazz and Concert Festivals. Their participation in these festivals was determined by a virtual audition completed in October.

Upon the completion of the ILMEA District III Jazz and Concert Festivals, the highest ranking students were selected to participate in the ILMEA All-State Festival.

Participation at the state level consists of students from all nine ILMEA Districts throughout the state. The following UHS students have been selected to participate at the 2022 ILMEA All-State Convention:

Owen Robinson (Senior) – Horn (Honors Orchestra)
Ioelle Lee (Sophomore) – Oboe (Honors Orchestra)

The following UHS student has been selected to participate at the 2022 ILMEA All-State Convention in Composition:

Aaron Rosenstein (Junior, not pictured)

The ILMEA All-State Festival is in Peoria January 26-29, 2022.

https://usd116.org/2022-ilmea-all-state-conference/

January is National Mentoring Month

January is National Mentoring Month. We thank all of U who are already mentors! If you are interested in becoming a mentor, or learning more, there are two upcoming training dates.

Read more about what our current mentors say about the program and how you can get involved: https://usd116.org/mentor-month/

Mask wearing

Families, we need your help reminding students to keep their masks on, over their nose and mouth, while at school and on the MTD and yellow buses. This helps keep our school community safe and helps keep us IN-PERSON! We appreciate your continued support!