Districts 75, 120 provide thermometers to families in need
As students prepare to return to classrooms, two Mundelein school districts want to ensure any family that needs a working thermometer gets one at no cost.
Parents in Mundelein Elementary District 75 and Mundelein High School District 120 are being surveyed to determine how many that will be as the start of in-person learning nears for both.
Notifications in English and Spanish were sent Friday. School nurses came up with the thermometer idea so students can be prescreened every day at home before leaving for school.
"We already have a lot," of responses, Jaime DeCarlo, assistant superintendent for student services for the districts 75 and 120 said Monday. The districts have 300 thermometers to distribute and expect to order more, she added.
"This is something the nurses came up with and it made a lot of sense," DeCarlo said.
Districts 75 and 120 have shared a superintendent and some administrators since the 2019-20 school year.
Students will return to District 120 classrooms Monday. The District 75 school board will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday to consider a suggested return date of Feb. 1.
"I want to get our students and teachers back in school. I think everyone involved wants our kids back in the buildings," said District 75 board President Kevin Holly.
Superintendent Kevin Myers said the unions, administration and school boards have met regularly since August to chart a safe course to return to school.
"The timeline we have is a good plan and one that establishes a good, yet prudent starting point for in-person instruction," Myers said. The timing is similar to that in peer districts, he added.
DeCarlo said it's critical students are certified and healthy and symptom-free before entering the buildings.
"The goal, too, is to give parents that security and affirmation before they send their kids on the bus," she said.
District 75 has about 1,745 pre-K through eighth-grade students in four locations. About 38% are considered low-income.
In District 120, 54% of families favor a hybrid model. In District 75, the percentage of those who selected hybrid learning varies by school from 33% to 46%. Those who didn't respond will be placed in hybrid learning.
"I believe the district has done a thorough job of implementing mitigations in the building, and constructed a schedule to make everyone as safe as possible," Holly said.
As part of the advance effort, town-hall webinars regarding health and protective measures for families are being hosted by school nurses from both districts, with Dr. Arie Friedman of PediaTrust the scheduled guest.
The webinars will cover procedures, symptoms, vaccine information, classroom cleanliness and other topics. The English version is at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and the Spanish version the same time Thursday.
Visit www.facebook.com/district75.org for more information.