December 18, 2020
Dear Butler D53 Families and Staff,
THANK YOU!
I am so appreciative of your partnership with our school community this year. 2020 has certainly been a year for the record books and we're grateful to you for your continued partnership and support. We have made it this far into a very unique school year because of each of your contributions and commitment to keeping our learning environments healthy and safe. I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish this fall as we returned to in-person learning opportunities, while recognizing the importance of offering a remote option as well. I look forward to a rewarding finish of the school year in the new year.
Over the winter break, our nurses will be at Brook Forest Elementary School's health office (the door is located to the right of the main entrance) for walk-in COVID-19 testing on Monday, December 21st from 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM and Monday, December 28th, and Saturday, January 2nd from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM. Please complete the D53 COVID-19 Screening Consent Form and Waiver prior to arriving for antibody or antigen testing. Read more about the differences of these tests to clarify any questions.
Revision to letter: Ambry Genetics is also offering an at-home molecular PCR (saliva) testing kit through District 53. Prior to picking up this test, please fill out this form, print and sign the confirmation page, and bring a copy of the front and back of your insurance card to your school nurse. Your school nurse will provide you with the Ambry Genetics take-home test kit. Instructions for this at-home kit are available through Ambry Genetics. Please contact your school nurse directly to schedule a time to discuss testing options and/or conduct a free on-site test.
Our testing options have been recently covered by local and statewide media, here is an article in The Doings Oak Brook and I had the opportunity to participate in a podcast of the Illinois Association of School Administrators. We are proud of our district's collaboration and response to offering COVID-19 testing for our students and staff.
Additionally, the District will continue to update our COVID-19 Communication page on our website during winter break with applicable notifications and documentation.
In an effort to keep our school community safe, we encourage you to follow recommendations from DCHD, IDPH, and CDC related to gatherings, travel, and PPE. We continue to need your cooperation in keeping our school buildings safe.
As a reminder, if at any time your family would like to change your child(ren)'s learning program, please directly contact your building principal. If families are changing from remote-parallel to in-person learning, the COVID-19 Self Certification and Verification Form will need to be signed and submitted to building secretaries prior to requesting the change.
I wish you and your family a very happy, healthy, and safe holiday season and beginning of the new year. I hope that you spend part of this time away to make memories with your immediate family and cherish the time together.
We look forward to resuming school on Monday, January 4, 2021.
Stay well, be safe, happy holidays.
Dr. Paul O’Malley
Superintendent of Schools