Dear Palos 118 Families,

This week, the FDA authorized the use of the Pfizer vaccine for children as young as 12. The CDC is now urging parents to vaccinate their children. At this time, there is no mandate that children be vaccinated for COVID-19 prior to attending school next August. It is up to each individual family to decide whether or not to vaccinate children. I would like to point out from a school operations perspective that the more vaccinated students attending in-person learning next year at Palos South, the more "normal" school will be for our students. Most notably, vaccinated middle school students can reduce the number of class quarantines and lost days of instruction. Fewer quarantines will lessen the burden placed on families when students are required to learn from home.

Vaccinated students will create safer environments for programming such as band, physical education, and athletics where higher rates of transmission have been documented. Returning to traditional passing periods where students have the opportunity to socialize more with their peers is more likely if students are vaccinated. I urge parents to consider the impact vaccinations can have on improving our students' school experience next year when considering whether or not to vaccinate. The school district is working with other area school districts to investigate the possibility of hosting vaccination clinics at area schools for parents interested in participating. You can find information regarding available vaccinations through Cook County by clicking here (English version) (Spanish translation).

Just yesterday, the CDC announced new recommendations regarding the use of masks by fully vaccinated people. Please note that local school districts are required to follow IDPH guidelines, which typically lag days to weeks behind CDC updates. Because we have not received any update from IDPH, our mask requirements for vaccinated individuals must remain in place. We will review our safety protocols after we receive further guidance from IDPH.

At the May 18th Board of Education Meeting, a summary of our current plans for the 2021-2022 school year will be presented to the Board. It is our intent to return to a regular school schedule with any required IDPH safety measures in place at the time school resumes in August. If you are interested in hearing about the plan, the meeting will be live-streamed on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m.

With five weeks to go in the school year, let's continue to work together to keep quarantines low. Please remember to:

Keep symptomatic students at home;
Keep students at home if they have had close contact with a confirmed positive individual;
Keep students at home if they have had close contact with someone awaiting a COVID-19 test result.

If you have any doubt about whether to keep your child home, please contact the building principal and/or school nurse. They will work with you to determine if it is safe for your child to attend school.

This week's metrics:

A return to Phase 3 of the Governor's Restore Illinois Plan
Suburban Cook County remains in Phase 4, which allows schools to conduct in-person instruction. The Governor has announced his intent to move to Phase 5 on or around June 11. Source: Governor's Office

Outbreaks of confirmed COVID-19 cases in schools
We are unaware of any reported outbreaks in area schools. Source: ISC-4 and media reports.

Confirmed Community Spread
Test Positivity is "minimal." New Cases per 100,000 is "substantial." New Cases are "minimal." Youth Case Increase is "minimal." The 7-day rolling positivity rate is <=8%. The 14-day rolling positivity rate is <=8%. Source: IDPH and Northwestern University

Directive from IDPH, CCDPH, ISBE, or the Governor's Office
No additional directives were issued this week.

District 118 Staffing
If you are interested in becoming a substitute teacher, visit the employment page of our website to see if you qualify and to fill out an online application.

COVID Dashboard Statistics
You can view our updated COVID Dashboard by visiting www.palos118.org.

Have a great weekend.

Sincerely,

Dr. Anthony M. Scarsella
Superintendent of Schools