Quincy Reporter

Champaign Unit Four Education Association issued the following announcement on Dec. 30

Good Afternoon Unit 4 Families

As you know, the new Omicron COVID-19 variant is hitting our State pretty hard. I have been communicating regularly with other area school superintendents, ROE, CUPHD, and various community partners during the break. Based on guidance I have received, I am not looking to close schools or transition to remote learning at this moment. I would, however, like to offer the following important reminders to ensure Unit 4 navigates this new surge as safely as possible.

Vaccinations

Vaccination is one of the best tools we have to combat COVID. The District continues to strongly encourage all staff, students, families, and others in the community who are not already vaccinated and boosted to do so now! To find vaccine locations and see appointment availability, visit www.vaccines.gov.

Masks

Mask use is required, regardless of vaccination status, at all campuses. Students and staff must remain masked at all times while indoors, except when eating. Vaccinated staff members may remove their masks in very limited circumstances.

Social Distancing

The District will continue to maintain as much distance between students as possible.

Symptom Screening

Families are required to screen students for COVID-19 symptoms daily and keep their students home if they are sick. Even though you are no longer required to send a completed form to school each day or complete a daily online assessment using Rave, please post a copy of the screening form at home and ask your student to review it with you each day before coming to school. They should stay home and you should contact the office if they have any symptom on the sheet.

If you need additional copies of the form for use at home, please reach out to your school's main office. As we have throughout the pandemic, we will continue to monitor our data and will re-institute daily certification forms if necessary.

Testing

Twice weekly COVID-19 testing is still required for all employees who are not vaccinated. Testing is encouraged for non-vaccinated students. Testing is not recommended for asymptomatic staff and students who have been vaccinated.

During discussions with our community partners, it was shared that the Stephens Family YMCA welcomes Unit 4 staff, students, and families who wish to get tested using SHIELD. Beginning January 3, 2022, testing will be held Monday-Friday from 6:00-8:00 a.m. and 4:00-6:00 p.m. Individuals are strongly encouraged to sign up ahead of time using the instructions that are attached. Please understand with the increased demand for testing that longer lines are likely and try to be on time as late arriving testers will not be tested.

Other community testing sites, including the Marketplace Mall, have expanded testing access based on recent demand. Information from CUPHD, including locations and testing hours, can be found here.

Contact Tracing

When cases surge, contact tracing becomes more difficult for many entities, and our District is no exception. While we are looking to add capacity to reduce the burden on our Nursing and HR staff, this does not happen overnight. We ask for your understanding and full cooperation while we work through the calls and emails. Please understand that we are prioritizing based on the specifics of what’s been reported so you may not be contacted right away. We appreciate your patience and support.

Updated CDC Guidance

The District is aware of the updated CDC and IDPH guidance for the general public. At this time, these updates do not apply to schools and we will continue to use what’s in our current Operational & Safety Protocols. If and when new guidance is issued, we will review and incorporate it as needed.

Contingency Planning

As stated earlier, although we plan to operate normally at this time, I will continue to evaluate the situation in consultation with our partners at CUPHD. In the event the need to pivot arises, we will do so. It is always recommended that staff and students take their Chromebooks/Laptops home with them in the event we need to return to remote learning.

Original source can be found here.