Health Reminders in District 35

We are in the final month of school and seek your assistance to ensure the health of our school community. As required by IDPH and the Cook County Department of Public Health, if a student is at home sick OR sent home sick with suspected COVID-19 symptoms during a school day the IDPH guidelines also require that all siblings must also be sent home and quarantine until an alternative diagnosis is made or a negative COVID test result is received.

When leaving a message on our absence line, please be sure to leave details of the illness so we may respond accordingly in the school. Our school nurse will also remain in contact with the family to ensure appropriate next steps are followed to return to school.

2021-22 Bus Registration

Registration for the 2021-2022 school year bus service opens tomorrow - May 11th.  Please register by Wednesday, July 7, 2021, if your family requires consistent use of the District 35 bus for daily transportation to and/or from school. We must limit ridership on each bus to ensure all COVID safety protocols are followed.

To register and pay online for bus service, please visit our Family Access site. Please click here for Registration and Payment Information.

If you require further information on the busing program, contact Mrs. Gayle Stone in the Glencoe School District Business Office at 847-835-7800.

Glencoe’s Most Im-Peck-able Bird

Glencoe and its surrounding region draw a spectacular diversity of birds with roughly 300 species passing through each year. The Village’s Sustainability Task Force is announcing a contest to select a bird “mascot” to help us engage as a community in doing what we can to keep birds coming here. Find more information, photos, and fun facts about each bird on the ballot by clicking here. The voting starts May 12th - choose your favorite and cast your vote for Glencoe’s “Most Im-Peck-Able Bird”!

FAN Webinar Event

On Wednesday, May 12th from 7:00-8:00pm, Family Action Network will host an evening with New York Times bestselling author Steven Johnson. After writing thirteen books, he now returns with an urgent book tied to the current pandemic crisis, Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer, which delves into the extraordinary successes of public health and medicine in the past century, and the people who made it possible. Click HERE to learn more about and to register for this free webinar.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Mental health is essential to our overall health. The importance of attending to mental health has become even more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Working to fight the stigma, provide support, educate the public and advocate for policies that support people with mental health illness and their families are the focus of Mental Health Awareness Month. In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we are posting signs and placing green ribbons around the trees at each of our schools. 

Please visit the following resources to support mental health and consider ways to care for yourself or others:
- Family Service of Glencoe
- National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI)
- The National Council for Behavioral Health
- Youth.gov
- Paws for Patrick

Bike, Walk, and Roll to School

Don’t forget to Bike, Walk, and Roll to School. May 5th is National Bike/Walk to school day. Click here to see all the details of our D35 program.

We will pull our first 15-day lottery winners on May 10th. Join in to help the environment and have a healthy start to the day!

2021-2022 Calendar

The Board of Education has approved the 2021-2022 school year calendar.  Winter break and spring break are common across New Trier Township. Click here to view a one page listing of major events for the upcoming school year.

Spring 2021 Full Day School Times

As you plan for your family schedules in the return to full-day learning, we have created one location listing all the school and lunch times HERE. If you have any specific questions about your child’s school details, please reach out to your building principal.

Supporting In-Person Learning

Thank you for your support with our health protocols that allow us to safely operate within our schools for in-person learning:

Complete Your Child’s Daily Symptom and Temp Check Stickers
Please resume the daily check and ensure your child has a signed and dated sticker on the outermost layer of clothing for quick verification upon entry. Review the SCREENING REMINDERS here.

Stay Home When Sick
Please help us by keeping your child home if they are experiencing any symptoms or if anyone in the home is awaiting COVID test results due to symptoms. We are following all exclusion guidelines through the Illinois Department of Public Health with regard to school attendance and quarantine. Please contact your school nurse with any questions or concerns.

Follow Safe Practices in our Community
Wear Your Mask. Wash Your Hands. Watch Your Distance. Avoid non-essential travel and gatherings outside of your household. Taking these steps together as a community supports the health and safety of all. Please check that your child has a few back-up masks ready to go in their backpack. If your child requires new masks, please reach out to your school as we have plenty on hand to share.

Let’s continue to support one another as we navigate this unique year with care.

Thank you!

Exclusion Guidance from IDPH

On January 4, 2021, the school guidance for responding to COVID-19 cases or symptoms was updated by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). Our schools work with the Cook County Department of Public Health to respond using the following criteria:

- IDPH Decision Tree for Individuals
- IDPH FAQs

If a student is sent home sick with suspected COVID-19 symptoms during a school day the IDPH guidelines also require that all siblings must also be sent home and quarantine until an alternative diagnosis is made or a negative COVID test result is received. Due to community transmission levels, if an individual is a close contact to a confirmed case or experiencing symptoms, documentation of a negative RT-PCR COVID-19 test result is needed. Our school nurse will provide all information when a child is sent home. Our nurse will also remain in contact with the family to ensure appropriate next steps are followed to return to school.

Substitutes Needed

District 35 is seeking daily substitutes to support our in-person learning model. Are you interested in supporting this option in our schools? Please:
- Apply online for the SUBSTITUTE position
- Complete the additional documentation and secure a license
We look forward to increasing options within our schools to support student learning. Thank you!

Safe Routes to Schools

We are pleased to see so many students biking or walking to school. Please view the Safe Routes to Schools information here to be aware of crossing guard locations, stop signs, and recommended routes for our students. Please also be mindful of the helmet law in Glencoe - all children under the age of 16 must wear a helmet while on a bicycle, scooter, or skateboard. Thank you for your support of this critical safety measure.

Quarantine Guidance for Close Contacts

For close contacts, the 14-day quarantine is still highly recommended by the CDC and CCDPH; however, the state and local health departments have advised our local districts that it is acceptable to follow the alternate quarantine time periods due to our effective mitigation efforts.

CLOSE CONTACT? The following revised quarantine timelines will be in effect for our students if they have been deemed a close contact:

-A 10-day quarantine and an absence of all symptoms during any day of the daily monitoring period is required. The student may return to school on the 11th day. While a shortened time period of quarantine is available for adults who also complete a RT-PCR test, this option is not allowed for children.

As always, please contact your school nurse directly with any questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

We appreciate the many questions which have been shared regarding our plans for the opening of the 2020-2021 school year. In order to more thoroughly address these, we have prepared a Frequently Asked Questions document. This reflects the latest information from CDC and the Illinois State Board of Education as of July 26, 2020. We will continue to update this as additional information is shared to guide our planning.

Directory Information

The school district may release directory information which includes:

Student Name
Address
Grade level
Birth date and place
Parent(s)/guardian(s) name and address
Period of attendance in school

Additionally, student pictures without identifying information may be posted on the district web page with informational pieces. Any parent(s)/guardian(s) may prohibit the release of any or all of the above by delivering a written objection to the Building Principal.