Dear Palos 118 Families,

I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend and returned this week ready to finish out the 2020-2021 school year strong. It is going to be a busy two weeks as we round out an unprecedented school year that included not only a global pandemic but two cyberattacks, a water main break at Palos South that closed school, and much, much more. Through it all, Palos 118 provided all students the opportunity to attend 140 days of in-person instruction this school year at a time when many school districts only began offering in-person instruction this spring and a few not at all. In the face of tremendous adversity, I'm extremely proud of how our entire school community came together to provide outstanding in-person and remote programs for our Palos 118 students this year. Before we close out, I'm asking families to please take just a few moments and fill out a short satisfaction survey. I thank you in advance for your participation.

Summer Meals

We are pleased to announce the National School Lunch Program has extended its expanded meal benefits. This means that all under-18 children are eligible to receive free meals through the summer. To meet this guidance Palos 118 will be distributing "pantry boxes" which hold the components for a week of meals. Pantry boxes will be available from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesdays near the Palos East main entrance. These boxes are available to all under-18 individuals; however, the under-18 individual does not need to be present to receive the box (an adult can pick up the box alone), and no identification is required. These boxes are 100% reimbursable through the federal lunch program and provided at no cost to Palos 118. Please help spread the word to anyone who may be interested that these pantry boxes will be available. If you have questions regarding the program, please contact Justin Veihman at jveihman@palos118.org.

Public Health Safety Terminology

As we await further guidance from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), I want to take a moment to clarify some of the terminology I regularly use in my correspondence to the community regarding public health safety precautions. The terms, guidance, mandates, and recommendations are frequently used by the school district and sometimes misinterpreted by the public. When we use the term guidance, we're referring to the actual written document local school districts receive from ISBE/IDPH. For example, school districts received a document entitled "Revised Public Health Guidance for Schools" in March 2021. These guidance documents included both mandates and recommendations from ISBE/IDPH.

A mandate is a requirement local schools must follow. Local school boards do not have the authority to overturn public health mandates. For example, our current guidance includes a mandate that all students and staff wear face masks at school. Local school boards, including ours, do not have the authority to ignore the mask mandate. The guidance documents also include recommendations. For example, IDPH guidance recommends students aged 12 and up receive a COVID-19 vaccination. However, the current guidance does not mandate those students do so in order to attend in-person learning next school year. The clarity in the terminology is important so our school community knows which safety measures local school districts are mandated to follow versus which safety measures are recommended to be followed.

Local school districts are anticipating a new round of guidance from ISBE and IDPH late next week, which will hopefully include updates to both mandates and recommendations for the next school year. I'll provide another update on next year's safety measures at the Board's June 15th meeting. I want to thank our school community for partnering with the district to provide a safe learning environment for all students this year and look forward to continuing that partnership next year.

Vaccination Opportunity

The Green Hills Public Library is hosting a COVID-19 vaccination clinic inside the library at 10331 S. Interlochen Drive in Palos Hills on Thursday, June 10. Vaccines are free and available on a walk-in basis only. For more information, please click here. If families have questions about the efficacy and/or safety of vaccines, we recommend they contact their pediatrician or local health department.

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 "moderate." 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.

Sincerely,

Dr. Anthony M. Scarsella

Superintendent of Schools