COVID-19 Health Information

As a reminder, all families are required to monitor their children for symptoms of COVID-19. Symptoms should be reported to the school nurse as soon as possible, including if they occur over a weekend or school holiday (even if they have resolved).  

Reporting symptoms allows the district to provide you with guidance about whether your child is eligible to return to school or if they need to secure a COVID test.  Strictly adhering to this protocol helps us to keep everyone healthy and safe.  

We also ask that you immediately report any positive COVID tests within your household. This allows us to better protect the entire District 69 community.

Our health team does their best to get back as soon as possible. If you email our health line over the weekend, please expect a response by Sunday evening. 

We ask that you err on the side of caution when sending your child to school.  If you think your child may be sick, please do not send them to school. If your child has reported any symptoms of illness, even if they have resolved, please do not send them to school until they have been cleared by the school nurse. \

Covid-19 Symptoms:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to your the school nurse.

 

The District will be utilizing two different types of tests:
The PCR test, SHIELD Illinois, is a saliva-based screening test that can help identify pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals, allowing them to isolate and reduce the spread of COVID-19. 

• Testing will occur once per week at each building during the school day
• A third-party collection team, Visit Healthcare, will collect, transport, process and report results to the school district
• Reporting is through a HIPAA-compliant medical records system, Point and Click
• Results are generally available 24 hours after collection
• Positive test results are reported to the school, family and Skokie Health Department
• Families have the option to access a patient portal to view their child’s test results
• Testing is tentatively scheduled to begin at the end of September and be conducted weekly throughout the school year

SHIELD FAQs
What is SHIELD testing?
SHIELD is an innovative, saliva-based test created by the University of Illinois. You can read more about it at www.shieldillinois.com.

How often will testing occur?
Testing will occur once per week as recommended by IDPH. This will be the same day each week (excluding special circumstances) which will allow for greater schedule consistency for students. We will evaluate how our testing protocol is going and may determine at some point that more or less frequent testing is needed.

Where/when is the testing?
All testing will take place at our schools. Classes will have assigned times on their testing day. All testing will take place during the school day.

Who is doing the testing?
Testing teams are hired by SHIELD Illinois to supervise the testing implementation and ensure proper steps are being followed.

Why does the testing take place at school? Why not do it at home?
Testing must take place in school due to clinical laboratory (CLIA) protocols and to ensure that test takers are not eating or drinking prior to testing.

How long do students have to wait after eating or drinking to test?
SHIELD Illinois requires students to wait one hour after eating and forty minutes after drinking.

Do I have to pay for the SHIELD test?
It is free for students and staff. The state of Illinois is funding the testing program.

When are results available?
Samples are transported by the third party vendor to the lab. Results will generally be available within 24-48 hours.

How will I get my child's results?
If the test is negative, you will not hear from the school district.
If the test is positive, a COVID Response team member will email and call the parent/guardian on Sunday evening.

Who receives the results of my child’s test?
The school district receives test results.  IDPH automatically receives notice of a positive case.

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The iHealth nasal swab test will be used to diagnose children who are exhibiting COVID-19 related symptoms while in school.  The iHealth rapid test helps to rule out COVID in symptomatic students and can reduce the need to exclude students from school.  

• Test results will be ready 15 minutes after collection 
• School nurses are trained in the collection and interpretation of results
• Families will be notified before the nurse administers the test
• Results will be reported to the student’s family
• District 69 is also required to report all tests to IDPH via a secure portal, SimpleReport

The District encourages all students to participate in the testing program.  However, families may opt-out by completing the opt-out form.  Families who wish to opt-out of both types of tests must complete two forms.  Families are reminded that by opting out of testing, their child will not test on a weekly basis.

Click here to access the SHIELD Illinois Opt-Out Form
Click here to access the BinaxNOW Opt-Out Form 

Forms can be submitted to your child’s school office or emailed to HealthInfo@Skokie69.net.  You need to complete one form for each child.   

 

IDPH and the Skokie Health Dept have adopted the CDC’s Operational Guidance for K-12 Schools and Early Care and Education Programs to Support Safe In-Person Learning. For more information on the current Isolation and Quarantine recommendations, please click here.

From the November 16, 2021 Board of Education meeting School-District Updates:

Staff COVID Response Stipend: The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Grants (ESSERs I, II and III) funds have been granted to address the impact of COVID-19 on schools. In total, these grants will fund $6,198,028 of costs associated with the pandemic, supporting students, and stabilizing staffing over four fiscal years (FY21, 22, FY 23, and FY24). The ESSER funds have been and are being directed toward purposes such as:
● Increased supervisory staffing to support social distancing, bus attendance, lunch
and recess protocols,
● Increased paraprofessional staff to provide academic intervention services to K-5 students,
● Established district-led out of school time programming to support the social-emotional needs of students impacted by the pandemic
● Expanded summer programming to address learning loss
● Purchase of supplies, materials, and technology devices
● Purchase of PPE, cleaning supplies, additional furniture to accommodate single
person usage, and payment for storage facilities to remove excess furniture
● Transportation services for in-person appointments during remote learning
● Capital expenditures related to indoor air quality assessment, HVAC testing/balancing and capital upgrades to HVAC equipment

Additionally, the administration is recommending that a portion of ESSER III funds be allocated to a one-time non-compounding COVID response stipend payment of $1,000 to each employee as part of an effort to stabilize staffing. Similarly, earlier this fall, the State of Illinois provided a one-time $1000 stipend to non-public school childcare workers throughout the state that was designed to stem high turnover, ease the staffing crunch, and stabilize the field. The COVID Response Stipend allows the Board to recognize and reward our staff for consistently going above and beyond over the past two years, and recognizes the impact of ongoing staffing shortages on the entire system.

A resolution is included in the consent agenda, and if approved by the Board, the one-time grant funded payment will be deposited in staff accounts on November 23rd just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.

There are seven staff members who are a part of the retirement incentive program and are ineligible for the COVID stipend. The administration is recommending that each of the staff members in the retirement program be granted 2 personal days for use in any school year between now and the date of retirement, in lieu of the stipend.