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‘One more plea’: Area superintendents release letter addressing COVID

Posted Monday, August 31, 2020 7:30 pm

Letter from all county superintendents

As we enter SY 2021, we are faced with an unprecedented health crisis, unlike anything we have ever experienced. As Superintendents of our county public schools, we are seeking your help in keeping our students, staff, health care workers, and community safe.

Our goal is to have our students in school, in-person, as much and as often as possible. To accomplish this goal, we need your help. The staff, nurses, and administrators have worked together under the guidance of Jo Daviess Health Department, Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), and Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), to put together plans to open our schools safely and to keep our students as safe as possible. This includes wearing face coverings, having fewer than 50 people in any setting, and maintaining appropriate physical space as much as possible. We have also changed and energized our cleaning procedures, provided staff with the materials needed to clean desks and surfaces frequently, and updated procedures and practices to meet the guidelines. With that in mind, here is what you can do to help us stop the spread of this terrible virus. When your children are not feeling well or are experiencing any of the COVID-19 symptoms, please keep them home and consult with your health care provider. When your children are not in school, please help them maintain appropriate physical space and wear a face covering if that distance cannot be maintained. If you have a gathering, support the recommendations of Jo Daviess County Health Department, IDPH, and the CDC to keep your guests and our students as safe as possible.

If we all work towards the same goal, keeping our students, the community, and our schools free of the virus, we can return to the important job we all have, educating our students in-person and helping our students to grow, learn, and succeed. Our students are our future and having them get the best education possible is our number one priority.

We hope to have a great school year, and with your help, we can reach this goal.

by Brandon Behlke

bbehlke@galgazette.com

GALENA–Jo Daviess County superintendents released a joint statement on Tuesday, Aug. 25 to alert parents, staff and community members about the dangers that COVID still poses to in-person education and the need for everyone to abide by protocols to ensure that students can attend school.

“The superintendents have been working hand-in-hand all spring and summer with this COVID issue,” said East Dubuque Superintendent TJ Potts.

“The thing that is important to know is all the county schools have been in almost daily contact about protocol,” said Tim Vincent, Galena superintendent. “We make sure we are doing as much as possible and using the same guidelines and advice as the rest of the county. That has been the culture from the summer to today. It has stemmed from the idea that we want to be on the same page with each other.”

Scales Mound Superintendent Dr. Bill Caron penned the letter and sent it to the other five superintendents for their review.

“The crux of it is what we are constantly reinforcing to families and staff about the importance of following protocols and social distancing when not in school,” said Vincent. “Also, reminding parents to self certify and not send kids when they show symptoms.”

The letter comes after Warren, Stockton and Scales Mound school districts were impacted by COVID only one week into the start of the new school year.

As of Aug. 27, Galena and East Dubuque had not had a positive case in their district.

“So far, Galena School District has been incredible of how smoothly it has gone,” said Vincent. “The credit goes to the staff who has implemented the plan and the community that is following the protocol. It has been a team effort. We haven’t had a positive test within the school yet, and are willing to communicate that if it does happen.”

The letter indicates one last plea by district officials to the community to follow protocols.

“We felt that as a group we need one more plea to our communities that we are only going to be able to do in-person learning if every person in every community in Jo Daviess is doing their part,” said Potts.

“We want to stay in school as much as possible,” said Vincent. “We all need to be doing our part to remain in school as long as possible.”