D300 classes to go all remote the week after Thanksgiving

All District 300 students will attend classes remotely the week after Thanksgiving, as school officials try to mitigate against any COVID-19 cases that arise from family holiday gatherings.

Teachers and staff, however, will be on duty in the schools and administrative center.

Holding students apart will keep asymptomatic people away from each other during most of the COVID-19 incubation period, said Superintendent Matt Hickam.

"We're certainly not going to catch everybody," he added. "But this will be a ittle bit of a buffer."

Hickam send an email to all District 300 families on Friday, saying he knows some families will use the Thanksgiving holiday for traditional get-togethers.

"Given the nature of this time coupled with the spread of the coronavirus we are experiencing in our community, District 300 will be utilizing remote learning for all students for the week of Nov. 30 through Dec. 4," he wrote.

"We will look to resume our existing plan on Monday, Dec. 7."

District 300's current schedule has K-8 students in class four days a week, while high school students are on an A/B plan that has them in school two days a week.

Hickam said a big part of District 300's success in keeping the schools open is that the district's families are doing a "really good job" of keeping kids home when they are sick or when they have been exposed to someone positive with COVID-19.

He is counting on families to be just as vigilant post-Thanksgiving.

Students who have to stay home for COVID-19 mitigation are automatically enrolled in the district's all-remote learning program.

Hickam said that last week, District 300 had 263 students on all-remote learning. Around half of them were there temporarily, he added.

Hickam said two things could cause the post-Thanksgiving remote learning to be extended: Too many teachers out sick or isolating because of close contact with a COVID-19 carrier; or huge numbers of students reporting illness or close contact.

Right now, he's hoping for the best.

"The health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff is our highest priority and we recognize the uncertainty and concern regarding COVID-19," Hickam wrote to parents.

"We are following guidance from the Illinois Department of Public Health, the CDC, as well as our local health department for best practices and procedures to protect everyone's health."