The Illini West Return to School Plan states that the quarantine and isolation of our students will occur in accordance with Hancock County Health Department (HCHD) guidelines. Our admin team continues to work with the health department to better understand and communicate those guidelines to you, our families.
This morning we held a conference call with HCHD to review receive the most up-to-date information.
Students will only be excluded from Illini West High School if the school receives official notification from SIU Contact Tracers or HCHD that a student has been placed in quarantine or isolation (see definitions as the end of this post).
SIU Contact Tracers and HCHD staff only notify Illini West that a student has been placed in quarantine or isolation. They do not provide us with the dates of the quarantine or isolation.
SIU Contract Tracers or HCHD staff provide families with documentation that quarantine or isolation has concluded and students may return to school.
Remote instruction will be made available to students who are under quarantine or isolation as directed by the SIU Contact Tracers, HCHD, or the Illinois Department of Public Health.
While all of this "looks good on paper", there are more than a few functional realities Illini West does not control that make the implementation of these policies challenging for everyone.
For example, by the time Illini West is notified that a student is isolated or quarantined, the period of isolation or quarantine is often partially completed. Because remote instruction can only begin after official notification, this lag in notification results in a period of time where students were eligible to receive remote learning but may not.
We understand that our families are not at fault for the lag in the notification, and I think it's important to note that we are not faulting others, including the contact tracers or HCHD either. It's just a function of the world we currently live in.
Our students will receive an excused absence for the time between the start of the quarantine or isolation period and the time the school receives official notification, and we will work very hard to make sure your student stays up-to-date with their courses during this period of time.
That's just one example. There are others. Throughout the implementation of these policies, we will work with our families to understand how they apply to your individual situation and do our best to help you resolve them and get your student back to school as soon as possible. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact the high school with questions.
Isolation: separates sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick.
Quarantine: separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick.
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