Adaptive Pause

Beginning Monday, November 16, in-person instruction at Holmes Middle School will be paused for two weeks. In-person instruction will continue this week, November 10-12. As a reminder, Friday, November 13, is a pre-planned Remote Learning Plan Day which is a non-attendance day for students.

ALL Holmes students will participate in remote learning beginning November 16. If conditions allow, in-person instruction at Holmes will resume on Monday, November 30.

An Adaptive Pause is a strategy permitted by the Illinois Department of Public Health to pause in-person learning for some period of time at the classroom, building, or District level to prevent transmission of COVID-19. This decision was not taken lightly, but was made with the following information in mind:
Increasing numbers of Holmes students and staff quarantining due to potential COVID exposure
High student absence rates, including those experiencing COVID-like symptoms
Substantial community transmission of COVID-19 as evidenced by the positivity rate and number of new cases in zip codes surrounding Holmes

The health and wellbeing of our students and staff is our top priority, which makes this Adaptive Pause the right decision.

As always, everyone should monitor their health and stay at home if they develop symptoms[1] or have been in close contact with a known case of COVID-19. Sick persons should contact their health care provider to determine if testing is needed. Anyone who develops severe symptoms[2] should seek medical care immediately.

We are committed to providing your child and our staff with a safe and healthy environment. Thank you for your understanding and ongoing cooperation with our COVID prevention policies and procedures as we work to help protect your children, your families, and our staff and their families.

As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns.