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Dear SLC Families,
Despite our extensive mitigation efforts, Covid-19 came knocking on SLC’s door this past week. And although the local Health Department tells us this is not “unexpected” given the local rate of infection (still high, but declining) and the uber-transmissible Omicron variant, these recent exposures have encouraged us to evaluate our protocols and programs.
Over the past 23 months our goal has been to provide in-person instruction, in the safest manner possible. We have been striving to find the balance of providing an enriching educational experience while keeping the changing Covid variants and health/safety guidance at the forefront of decision making. Omicron has certainly made things more challenging in recent months.
This week we canceled or reconfigured all in-classroom enrichment programs (including music, dance, art) and have been rethinking how we run Early Care, After Care and lunch programs in a way that separates children from different cohorts (classrooms). This is a logistical and staffing challenge but we have been able to put some temporary strategies in place.
We also wanted to communicate that DCFS and IDPH released updated Covid-19 guidance last week, and therefore we have written an addendum to our Covid-19 handbook. Please take a moment to read through it, as protocols have changed, especially as they relate to Isolation and Quarantine. The newly released DCFS guidelines have moved to a shorter isolation and quarantine period for positive Covid cases/Covid exposure, and appear to be weighing the risk of Covid and the importance of access to in-person learning and care, education loss and the social-emotional well being of children and families we serve.
We are working as a staff to move forward in the safest direction we see possible in the coming weeks. As always, please reach out if you have suggestions or questions for us.
In Partnership,
Chrissy Cornell
Director
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