Dear Manhattan 114 Families:
I want to continue to thank all of you for your support and understanding this year. As we approach March 22nd and a return to our regular school day schedule, it is very encouraging to see the positivity rate for Will County, Region 7, and the State of Illinois continues to improve dramatically. We are hopeful this continues to be the case and it will continue to be very important for all of us to remain committed to the mitigations we have in place (face masks, personal hygiene, cleaning and sanitation procedures, social distance, and the self-certification procedures).
Today, we want to provide detailed information regarding the changes to our Return to School Plan and instructional models. We are committed to providing for all three groups of learners (in-person, remote, and quarantined). I am including the MSD 114 Instructional Models for 3/22/21 for you to view. Contained within this document is a link to the comprehensive Return to School Plan, that can also be found on the district website.
After reviewing the information regarding the upcoming changes, please contact your building principal with any changes that you intend to make regarding your child(ren)’s learning environment. Once we receive this information, we will also finalize any changes we need to make with transportation. Buses will still be limited to no more than 49 students plus the driver (total of 50 Persons). Due to the constraints, we are not able to approve any additional requests for paid transportation. I sincerely appreciate all of your patience and understanding as we work quickly to make the necessary adjustments to serve all of our students. If you are able to drive your child(ren), it is the safest way to avoid potential close contact on the school bus.
As another reminder, in addition to the changes that come with starting full, in-person schedules at all of our buildings, we updated our quarantine requirements based on changes/recommendations of the CDC. While the 14 day quarantine is still the recommended guidance for close contacts, the CDC has offered a shortened ten day quarantine for close contacts who receive a negative PCR test on day 8 or later and remain asymptomatic from the last exposure to the positive case. If the result is negative, then the student may return to school on day 11, so long as they remain asymptomatic (symptom free). Please contact your school nurse if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Rusty Ragon, Superintendent