COVID-19 Information

Staffing is a challenge. There was a nationwide teacher shortage before the pandemic, and the pandemic has made that worse. Finding substitute staff is also a challenge, and it’s a problem that’s not unique to Rockford.

Building leaders work with district-level administrators to ensure staff levels are sufficient to continue teaching and learning and ensure that students’ needs are met. We have had scenarios in the past where school-based administrators will work at another school to provide support. If a school needed to temporarily switch to remote-only instruction, that decision would be made with input from the building administration and the district-level administration.

The district has a dashboard that shows active cases of COVID-19. That dashboard can be found at the top of this web page. There is not a dashboard for staff or students who are teaching or learning remotely because they’re on temporary quarantine. Please note that staff and students might be on temporary quarantine because of COVID cases that are outside of RPS 205.

According to our contact tracing team and school nursing staff, our positive cases or the need for staff and students to quarantine comes from staff or students interacting with people outside of school who have tested positive for COVID-19. The cases stem from activity outside of school hours.

Social distancing (also called physical distancing) means keeping space between yourself and other people outside of your home. Social distancing is a critical tool in decreasing the spread of COVID-19. Follow this link for the CDC's Social Distancing info and tips. Schools should create as much space between staff and students as possible during the day, recognizing that it is not always feasible to have 6 feet of social distancing during primary instructional time in the classroom.

Other general guidelines:

• Social distancing floor/seating markings will be displayed in waiting and reception areas, such as lobby and main office. Physical guides – like tape – can be placed on floors and sidewalks to define one-way routes.
• Administrators will review and evaluate classroom capacity with the goal of creating as much space between people as possible, recognizing that it is not always feasible to have 6 feet of social distancing during primary instructional time in the classroom.
• Administrators can create one-way hallways and stairwells to reduce close contact. Passing periods should be staggered to limit the number of students moving through the hallways at a time. Floors will be marked with 6 feet of spacing on floors to remind students and staff to always stay apart.
• Each school will designate specific entry and exit points based on student cohorts. Students will be monitored at arrival and dismissal times to curtail congregating and ensure students go straight from vehicle to their classroom, and vice versa.
• Staff will minimize opportunities for exposure by ensuring social distancing of at least 6 feet between people whenever possible.
• Classroom desks and chairs will be arranged, whenever possible, so students are separated from each other by 6 feet. If it is not possible to space seating, student chairs and/or desks will be facing the same direction, rather than facing each other.
• Furniture in common areas should be spaced out, if possible, to minimize crowding. Multiple groups will not be allowed in common areas.
• Hall lockers at middle and high schools will not be used. Physical education lockers will only be available for students participating in swimming, and students will be assigned lockers in a manner to maintain social distancing.
• Hall lockers will be used at elementary schools. Students will go to their lockers in the morning and at the end of the day. They will continue to follow social distancing guidelines. Student pick-up and drop-off will happen outside, whenever possible. 

Early Childhood: In Early Childhood classes, where social distancing will be a challenge, students and staff will focus on:

• Hand hygiene.
• Independent play/reducing classmate interactions.
• Infection prevention education for staff and families.
• Adult physical distancing from one another.
• Adults wearing both face shields and masks.
• Use smocks or aprons to be left at school each day.
• Separating groups of students into cohorts who remain together.
• Spending time outdoors.
• Use dividers at nap time.

All staff and students are required to wear a face covering or mask while inside the school building. Wearing a face mask is most important when students and staff cannot maintain 6 feet of distance between each other. Face coverings do not need to be worn outside if students and staff can safely
remain at least 6 feet apart.

Appropriate Face Masks or Coverings

Cloth face coverings or masks must completely cover the nose and the mouth. Each mask or covering must follow the district’s dress code policy. These can include disposable masks or cloth masks. New research shows that bandanas and neck gaiters are only a single layer of fabric and are not as
effective, so those face coverings are discouraged.

Face coverings should not be placed on anyone who:

• Has trouble breathing or is unconscious.
• Is incapacitated or unable to remove the face covering without assistance.
• Students who provide a physician’s note as documentation that they have a medical contraindication (a contraindication or condition that makes masking absolutely inadvisable) to wearing a face covering.

Medical Exemptions

Any student who is seeking a medical exemption from wearing a face mask will require a note from their physician. In addition, the District’s nursing staff may need to discuss potential accommodations for the student with the student’s physician. In order to ensure the health and safety of all students and
staff, these will be handled on an individual basis. Remote instruction may be the safest environment.

Students with IEPs/504 Plans

How should schools handle students with IEPs or 504 plans who cannot tolerate a face covering or a face shield?

Students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan who are unable to wear a face covering or face shield due to a medical contraindication may not be denied access to an in-person education if the school is offering in-person education to other students. Staff working with students who are unable to wear a face covering or shield due to a medical contraindication should wear approved and appropriate PPE based on job specific duties and risks and maintain social distancing as much as possible. Other students should also remain socially distant from students who are unable to wear a face covering or face shield due to a medical contraindication. Schools should consult with their local public health department regarding appropriate PPE for these situations.

Behavioral Concerns

If a student refuses to wear a face mask, this behavior concern will be addressed by building administrators. Students who are unable to wear a face mask for medical reasons should consider signing up for fulltime remote instruction. If there is a medical reason why a student cannot wear a mask, parents should
consider whether remote instruction will need to occur or they will need to reach out to the Executive Director of Special Education in order to discuss and determine whether the student can be accommodated in a safe manner during in person instruction.

Teachers & Facial Expressions

Teachers needing to show facial expressions where it is important for students to see how a teacher pronounces words (such as English learners, early childhood, foreign language, etc.). However, teachers will be required to resume wearing face coverings as soon as possible. Preferred alternatives to teachers wearing face shields include clear face coverings or video instruction. There must be strict adherence to social distancing.

Students and staff will be encouraged to use soap and water for handwashing. To supplement hand washing, hand sanitizer stations will be stationed throughout each building. Refillable hand sanitizer bottles will be available in every classroom.

Monitoring and Excluding for Illness

Regular screening for symptoms and ongoing self-monitoring throughout the school day can help to quickly identify signs of illness and help reduce exposure. Staff and students should be encouraged to self-monitor symptoms throughout the day.

• Staff and students will do daily self declaration stating that said individual is free from fever and signs and symptoms of Covid19.
• Temperature checks will be conducted on a random basis as staff and students enter the building.
• No touch thermometers will be available at each school -- and in each classroom -- for staff and students to check their temperature throughout the day.
• Staff or students who develop symptoms during the school day must notify school health services or another identified point of contact in the school building immediately.

The CDC does not currently recommend universal testing for students or staff entry into school. Viral testing only determines infection at the point in time the test occurs, and it might miss cases in the early stages of infection. It is not known whether previous infection and recovery from COVID-19 illness protects people from reinfection. Do not come to school or work if you:

• Have a temperature at or above 100.4 degrees
• Have taken medication to reduce a temperature that’s above 100.4 degrees
• Have any of the following symptoms: Fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or running nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea
• Have recently traveled to any high-risk locations
• Have been in close contact with anyone diagnosed with COVID-19

Students and staff who display symptoms at school or fit these criteria will be sent home or must be picked up by a parent or guardian. RPS 205 is following advice from the Illinois Department of Public Health. All students and staff who are sent home with COVID-19 symptoms should be diagnostically tested and remain home from school until they receive negative test results for COVID19. 

Administrators have developed the following protocol for staff and student temperature screenings:

Students: Staff will screen students at various entry points: when students exit the school bus or when they enter the school building at a set number of doors, depending on the school layout. Screening could happen at six doors at the high schools, and three or four doors or entry points at our middle and elementary schools. The goal is to screen every third student to ensure their temperature is not above 100.4 degrees. No-touch thermometers will also be available in classrooms for temperature checks throughout the day for students who were not initially screened.

Staff: All staff will also be screened on a routine basis. Daily screenings will target an estimated third of staff, and those groups will rotate so all staff are captured for screenings throughout the week.

Please note: Any staff who registers a fever will be sent home. Any student who registers a fever will go to the Special Purpose Room. The nurse will be notified and reach out to students and staff with the assistance of the Winnebago County Health Department.

Handling Suspected or Confirmed Positive Cases of Covid-19

• Each school nurse and administrator will work closely with local health authorities regarding positive or probable COVID-19 cases and any staff or student exposures to someone with COVID-19.
• Any symptomatic staff or students will be isolated until they’re able to go home.
• School administrators will contact the district’s health services coordinator for guidance on notifying any necessary staff, families and the public, as needed, if a person with COVID-19 was at school.
• School administrators continue to work with local health officials – including the Winnebago County Health Department – for their guidance and support with contact tracing, necessary notification and determining whether an exposed individual needs to isolate or self-quarantine. That decision is made based upon the extent and nature of the exposure.

If a student or staff member tests positive: Exposed individuals will not be told the name of the individual who has tested positive for COVID. However, the district’s nursing supervisor works closely with the Winnebago County Health Department to provide contact tracing and to determine whether an exposed individual needs to self-isolate or quarantine. Exposed individuals will be informed of the need to self isolate. This decision is made based upon the extent and nature of the exposure.

Protocol for students or staff returning to school or work after a positive case of COVID-19: Students and staff who are confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 must complete 10 calendar days of isolation from the date of the first symptom and be fever-free for 24 hours without use of fever reducing medications. Other symptoms also must have improved before returning to school.