On Monday, Governor JB Pritzker announced COVID-19 resurgence mitigations for Region 10, which includes suburban Cook County, effective Wednesday, October 28. These mitigations are a result of the sustained increases in both the positivity rate and COVID-19 hospitalizations over the past 10 days. The region has also been moved from a designation of Blue to Orange, which indicates that there are warning signs of increased COVID-19 risk in the county. At the same time, the Village of Oak Park has seen significant growth in COVID-19 rates over the past week. As of today, the seven-day rolling average for test positivity in Region 10 is 8%, and the 14-day rolling average for the number of new cases per 100,000 Oak Park is currently 224.6. Both of these numbers exceed the thresholds outlined in our guiding metrics.
After careful consideration, District 97 has decided to begin an “adaptive pause” and institute full remote learning for all on-site classes beginning Wednesday, October 28. This pause will remain in effect for at least 14 calendar days, with students and staff tentatively scheduled to return on Wednesday, November 11. As a reminder, there is no school on Tuesday, November 3, which is a state holiday (Election Day).
This adaptive pause is only applicable to on-site District 97 programs for specialized populations. This mitigation does not impact child care providers that are currently operating out of designated school sites.
This decision was not made lightly. We fully understand the importance of in-person learning and support for your students, and we regret the challenges this situation may create for many of our families. Unfortunately, COVID-19 cases are climbing quickly in Oak Park and Cook County as a whole, and our region now meets the criteria for substantial community transmission. Under these circumstances, school districts may utilize an “adaptive pause” strategy, as outlined by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), in order to prevent disease transmission and keep the community healthy.
We are eager to return to in-person learning as soon as we can when our metrics improve. We will be monitoring the IDPH website and the Northwestern University COVID-19 dashboard daily, and will be in close communication with families over the next two weeks. If families have any questions regarding their child’s remote learning schedule, they should reach out to your child’s student services coordinator:
- Beye, Irving, Longfellow: Mann: Laura Reeves ([email protected])
- Hatch, Holmes, Lincoln, Whittier: Lauren Trout ([email protected])
- Brooks, Julian: Stacey Robertson ([email protected])
We are grateful for our families' continued support, flexibility and patience as we navigate this pandemic together.
Sincerely,
Donna Middleton
Senior Director of Student Services