Oak Lawn District 123 Students Prepare For In-Person Return

Oak Lawn IL

04 January, 2022

11:33 AM

Description

OAK LAWN, IL — Students in Oak Lawn-Hometown District 123 will return to the classroom Thursday for continued in-person learning despite a recent jump in positive cases of the coronavirus around Cook County and the rest of the country. While the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention recently said that quarantine and isolation times for people testing positive for COVID-19 can now be reduced, District 123 Superintendent Paul Enderle wrote in a letter to parents on Monday that the district will hold firm on the guidelines it has used throughout the school year. On Sunday, the Illinois Department of Public Health and local health departments received notice from Gov. J.B. Pritzker that schools need to continue to follow their current protocols for isolation and quarantine. All other COVID-19 mitigation will remain the same, Enderle wrote in the letter. "While the pandemic continues to challenge all of us on a daily basis, we remain confident that better days are ahead," Enderle said. "School District 123 will continue to prioritize in-person instruction in accordance with guidance from the Illinois Department of Public Health. Please continue to remain vigilant with our COVID-19 protocols so that our children can remain within District 123 classrooms where we know they are served best." In previous correspondence with district parents, Enderle wrote that returning students do not need to take a test for COVID-19 before returning unless they are unvaccinated and have been in contact with a person known to have tested positive. In that case, students are required to quarantine for 10 days from the time of exposure. Students, regardless of vaccination status, must stay home if they are displaying COVID-19 symptoms and must isolate for 10 days. Unvaccinated students who traveled to a state in Illinois' "orange zone" must be tested and should stay home for seven days after they return. The correspondence said that students can and should attend on the first day of school unless they have tested positive, they have symptoms of COVID-19 or are required to quarantine in compliance with CDPH's travel advisory.