St. Charles School District to release COVID protocols for coming school year in next few weeks

St. Charles School District 303 in the next few weeks is set to announce its COVID-19 protocols for the coming school year.

“In the coming weeks, the district will be updating our families, our students and our staff on all of the COVID protocols, which includes conversations on SHIELD testing, parent-family volunteerism, distancing, quarantining, sick students and staff and positive COVID results,” Superintendent Paul Gordon said during Monday’s school board meeting. “We’ll have that out to our entire community in a timely manner prior to the start of the school year.”

The first day of classes is Aug. 10. Gordon said the district’s COVID-19 protocols will be consistent from building to building.

“What I will assure our community is that it is my expectation that D-303 have a consistent approach in each and every school,” he said. “It is also the board’s expectation that we have that consistently applied throughout D-303.”

Gordon said he is hopeful the district will be releasing the information in the next couple of weeks.

In regard to SHIELD testing, the district has been contracting with the University of Illinois SHIELD to conduct weekly screening tests. The test is a PCR saliva test.

Gordon, who started July 1, previously had served as the superintendent of the Wenatchee School District in Wenatchee, Washington. Before that, he served as superintendent for Glen Ellyn School District 41 for six years. He succeeded Jason Pearson, who left the district to become the superintendent of Northbrook School District 28.