Woodland schools to resume in-person instruction Tuesday

Woodland Elementary School District 50 will resume in-person classes Tuesday after providing more than 500 COVID-19 tests to students, teachers and the community in the past week.

The district held a testing event through SHIELD, an initiative created by the University of Illinois, last Thursday. And on Monday, a teacher's institute day, free testing was offered to educators as well.

Superintendent Lori Casey said providing so many free tests before students return to class will allow those who test positive to know to quarantine before returning to school buildings.

Casey said the district will continue to operate with the care and caution they did last semester to keep children in the classroom safely.

"We are looking at this from classroom to classroom, each school and each team and trying to be as proactive as we have been," Casey said, adding that when it comes to mitigation "it's not doing one thing, it's doing everything."

Some examples of keeping the number of cases down in the district include going back to remote employee meetings and directing district families to local clinics that provide vaccines. The district also requires masks for everyone in school.

Over the weekend Casey sent a letter to parents informing them the district will follow advice from experts and require only a five-day quarantine instead of the 10-day period used last semester.

Casey said officials are excited for students to return to the classroom after the long winter break. "We are doing everything we can to stay open," she added.