March 12, 2021
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 full school day schedule, it is very encouraging to see the positivity rate for Will County, Region 7, and the State of Illinois continues to remain low. 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).
Please remember that we rely on everyone working together to make our school environment safe and to maintain in-person learning for everyone. As a reminder:
Students will be socially distanced 3-6 feet in their classrooms.
Students will be socially distanced 6 feet during lunchtime.
Quarantine for students will remain defined as those within 6 feet for 15 minutes or more.
Self certifications are due one hour before entering school (Please help us by completing this item as we are required to have this system in place).
All members of the household should remain home if any member of the house is sick.
If you are concerned about having to quarantine due to a close contact, please understand that buses will be full and present the highest risk for close contacts. 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, there are updated 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.
Lastly, I also want to announce a change in the calendar. It was discussed at the March Board of Education meeting and agreed that moving the March 26th early dismissal date to the end of the year, Friday, May 28th, would be best, especially since we will be in our first full week. There will not be early dismissal on Friday, March 26th. You will receive reminders from your school as well.
Sincerely,
Rusty Ragon, Superintendent