All PASS members will continue to be paid their normal pay and keep their benefits through their normal pay period for the 2019-2020 school year. Some people are paid July 1 through June 30, and some are paid August 20 something through the following August 20 something or some variation. Everyone will continue getting paid as if we worked the whole school year and are coming back in the fall. Unless someone retires, resigns, or goes on FMLA when they are required to come back. 

UNEMPLOYEMENT BENEFITS

9 month employees Parapro, Lunchroom Supervisor, Campus Monitor etc.) Even though today is the last day of school, it does not mean you will qualify for unemployment.  Since you are continuing to be paid over the summer for work you have already completed, do not file for unemployment.  This in itself would make you not eligible for unemployment. 

The Governor’s has mandated that everyone wear a mask while in a building where it’s not possible to maintain 6 feet of distance. While the buildings do have some masks, we are asking employees who have to come into a building to do work, to provide their own masks if possible. Please be assured that all members in the categories returning to the buildings will be following the guidelines from the Governor’s Office and the IDPH.  

2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR

At this point we do not have any answers on how this will look. The district is keeping up with all directives from the Governor’s office. As you are aware, guidance from the state changes on a week to week, or even day to day basis. Please be assured we are continuing to work with the district for PASS. At this point the district is focusing on getting through the end of this school year. As you can imagine there are many moving parts and as we wrap up the end of year tasks, we are working to get things done in the safest manner, adhering to the state guidelines for social distancing. As the stay at home and/or the reopening tier system is implemented, we will be able to help make better decisions on how the fall might look.

***New Information This Week***

There should be sanitizer wipes or spray and paper towels near every scanner in every building so that they may be cleaned in between each person. If your building does not have these items, please let us know immediately so we can fix the problem.

The district sent out an email outlining the COVID-19 Screening Checklist. Please follow the checklist each day before coming to work. If you are feeling ill, please stay home. If there is a positive case of COVID-19 in your building, the following procedure will be followed by the district.

COVID-19 Self Screening Checklist 

Beginning Monday, May 18, 2020, all District 202 staff will be required to complete a COVID-19 self- screening checklist prior to entering any District 202 building. The list does not need to be submitted to anyone; it should be used as guidance for all employees to determine if they should report to work. Please make sure to review the checklist every day before entering any District building. 

The COVID-19 screening checklist will be sent to all staff. It can also be found on the Intranet under Employee News > COVID-19 Information for District 202 Staff.

COVID – 19 Communication Plan 

If there is a Confirmed Case of Coronavirus 

Plainfield School District 202 will follow the direction from the CDC, Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), and Will County Health Department (WCHD). This is an evolving situation; therefore, we will continue adjust and adapt as new information is coming in. Letters have been drafted in the event that we have a staff member who has a diagnosed case of Coronavirus. 

• Staff members who are diagnosed with Coronavirus should not report to work and should follow the direction of their physician. 
• Staff members who are diagnosed must contact Becky Sipes at RSipes@psd202.org or (815)577- 4090 
• Any staff member diagnosed will need to be off work until the WCHD/CDC determines the staff member is no longer contagious. 
• Per the CDC recommendations, buildings will be closed until it has been 7 days since the last date the person diagnosed was in the building. Staff will be informed when this occurs. 

Communication Plan if there is a Confirmed Case 

The district will follow the required communication, per direction from CDC, IDPH, and WCHD. Typically, we communicate to a broader group than required. People will receive individualized communication if they had direct exposure or indirect exposure with an individual with COVID-19 during a time the individual was an exposure risk (see below). Communication will be through email, and phone call if needed. 

All school district staff must maintain the confidentiality of the staff member or student who is diagnosed. No identifying information (name, position, gender, etc.) can be shared with staff, students, parents, or the community. 

What is the exposure risk for COVID-19? 

People are at risk for exposure if they were with an individual who was diagnosed with COVID-19 during the time frame of 48 hours before the individual had symptoms onset. For example, if an individual started experiencing symptoms on Wednesday and was later diagnosed, we would contact anyone who was with that individual since Monday of the same week. 

The virus is thought to spread mainly between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet) through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It also may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads. 

Who will receive notification if there is a confirmed case? 

The District will only communicate with individuals who were direct exposure or indirect exposure to the individual during the time of exposure risk. 

Direct Exposure: Direct exposure is considered people who were in close contact with an individual who was diagnosed during the time of exposure risk. Close contact is considered less than 6 feet apart for a prolonged period of time. People who were in direct exposure will receive a letter informing them that they had possible direct exposure to an individual who was diagnosed. Individuals who were in direct exposure are required to self-quarantine for 14 days, regardless of test results. 

Indirect Exposure: Indirect exposure is considered people who were in proximity, but not close proximity as described above, or in the same building as the individual who was diagnosed during the time of exposure risk. Individuals with indirect exposure will need to monitor symptoms but are not required to self-quarantine. 

For more information about Community-Related Exposure to COVID-19, please go to the CDC website at 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/public-health-recommendations.html  

Custodians, Maintenance, and Grounds 

The summer work schedule has been put out by the district. Starting June 1, everyone will transition to four-day work weeks. 

As we start our deep cleaning of the school buildings for the summer, we want to remind you all of you the importance to adhere to safe practices while in the buildings. In order to ensure the safety and health of all, the following procedures, recommended by the CDC, must be strictly adhered to. 

They are as follows: 

• PPE is to be used. This includes gloves and masks 

• A safe distance of no closer than six (6) feet must be maintained between all personnel 
• Only Two people are to be in a classroom, restroom, or any other area at one time. The only exception to this is wide open areas such as hallways, gymnasiums, and offices, where proper separation can be maintained 
• During any breaks, including lunch, you are not to congregate in one area together. You will need to be properly separated with a minimum of six (6) feet between each other, with no more than 2 people per table. 
• If you feel ill or have a fever, do not report to work, and make sure to notify your supervisor immediately.  
• Cover any coughs or sneezes 

• Wash and/or sanitize hands frequently especially before eating, after coughing or sneezing, and when changing gloves 
• Refrain from touching your face, eyes, nose, and mouth as this is the way that the virus is transmitted. 

  By adhering to these guidelines, we can help assure that all of us will remain safe and healthy. 

Please let us know the questions you have and continue to keep us in the loop of your thoughts as this is the best way for us to address items with the district.

If you have any questions, please email JoAnne Clemans(jclemans@psd202.org; jlclemanspass202@gmail.com) or Bill Favero (wfavero@psd202.org; pass2022017@gmail.com)
JoAnne Clemans

President, PASS

Special Ed. Paraprofessional

Plainfield Academy

23930 W. Lockport St.

Plainfield, IL 60544

(815)439-5521

We hope everyone is healthy and safe in week eight of the mandated school closure. We are all in this together, trying to figure things out in these unprecedented times. Please know that PASS is still working closely with the district administration on a weekly basis to coordinate essential tasks and the safest way to get work done.

The Governor’s office has closed schools for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year, has extended the stay at home order through May 30^th, and now has mandated that everyone wear a mask while in a building where it’s not possible to maintain 6 feet of distance. While the buildings do have some masks, we are asking employees who have to come into a building to do work, to provide their own masks if possible. Please be assured that all members in the categories returning to the buildings will be following the guidelines from the Governor’s Office and the IDPH.  

All PASS members will continue to be paid their normal pay and keep their benefits through their normal pay period for the 2019-2020 school year. Some people are paid July 1 through June 30, and some are paid August 20something through the following August 20something or some variation. Everyone will continue getting paid as if we worked the whole school year and are coming back in the fall. Unless someone retires, resigns, or goes on FMLA when they are required to come back. 

All Categories – Please be mindful of the fact that you are getting paid and if you are asked to either do work from home or come in to work, you are required to work.

VACATION DAYS

Below is the email which was sent out regarding Vacation Days for our 12-month employees. The April 1^st deadline has been waived this year. Please schedule your vacation days as soon as possible, keeping in mind that buildings still need to function and only so many people per building can be off at any given time.

For clarification, this plan was created by looking at the number of vacation days employees will have on June 30^th, specifically looking at employees who have more than 10 days. We are asking those with more than 10 days to put in a vacation request for the excess to be taken in May and June 2020 (Ex. If I am the employee with 17 vacation days, schedule 3 days in May and 4 days in June). **Please do this as soon as possible. Depending on already scheduled vacation requests, the original requests may not be approved.  If not approved the employee would have to put in a second vacation request. Even though the April 1^st deadline for summer vacation requests has passed, there will be flexibility in approving vacation requests. The employees who are at 10 days or below, may also put in a vacation day or two, between now and June 30^th. Depending on the number of vacation day requests already approved, your request might be denied as the District needs a certain number of employees to do the necessary work over the summer, in various locations.   

Any employee who has more than 5 vacation days carried over on July 1^st, as noted, 5 days will be turned into sick days and the remaining days will stay vacation days.  These days will be added to your vacation total on Sept. 1^st to be used by Dec. 1^st, otherwise they will be lost.  (Ex. If I have 8 vacation days on July 1^st, 5 days will turn into sick and 3 days will be added to my vacation day total on Sept. 1st, to be used by Dec 1^st.)

 This email applies to 12 month PASS members only:
 
12 month PASS members will be allowed to extend 10 days only of their unused vacation for the 2019-2020 school year based on the guidelines below:

Everyone can only have at most 10 vacation days remaining, as of June 30^th.  People who currently have more than 10 days, will have to take the excess vacation days in May and June.

1. Anyone who has 1- 5 vacation days as of June 30^th, those days will be rolled over into 5 sick days.  (Already per the contract for PASS)
2. Anyone who has 6-10 days as of June 30^th – these 5 days will stay vacation days.  They have to use these days between Sept. 1 – Dec. 1^st.

 
If you are eligible to carryover unused vacation days to be used by December 1, 2020 and do not use them, you will LOSE them.
 

ESY

As per the email below, the district will be doing the 2020 ESY (Extended School Year – i.e. Summer School) remotely and will not be hiring any PASS employees. This will include Sped. Paraprofessionals and Secretary. 

Joanne and Bill,

The purpose of this email is to inform you ESY will be done remotely from home.  As a result, we will not be utilizing any PASS employees to support the ESY program this summer.  

Thank you,

Jen

Jennifer Orlos

Plainfield School District 202

Director of Administration and Personnel

815-577-4061

2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR

Many are asking about the 2020-2021 school year. At this point we do not have any answers on how this will look. The district is keeping up with all directives from the Governor’s office. As you are aware, guidance from the state changes on a week to week, or even day to day basis. Please be assured we are continuing to work with the district for PASS. At this point the district is focusing on getting through the end of this school year. As you can imagine there are many moving parts and as we wrap up the end of year tasks, we are working to get things done in the safest manner, adhering to the state guidelines for social distancing. As the stay at home and/or the reopening tier system is implemented, we will be able to help make better decisions on how the fall might look.

Please let us know the questions you have and continue to keep us in the loop of your thoughts as this is the best way for us to address items with the district.

As we move forward, additional categories will be asked to do essential work. These categories may be Secretary A, B, and C; Category D; Category K. Your administrator from your building may be reaching out to you with essential tasks to be completed. 

All Categories – Please be mindful of the fact that you are getting paid and if you are asked to either do work from home or come in to work, you are required to work.

CATEGORIES ALREADY WORKING

We still have the same groups of members doing “essential” work in the district. As a reminder they are:

Registrars – Registrars have been working from home (and occasionally at the buildings) on essential tasks related to registration packets, transcripts, graduation verifications, residency.

Athletic Secretaries – Athletic secretaries working on financial items as necessary, athletic awards, charter buses

Nurses – Organize the medication to be distributed the on May 11^th and May 12^th to families. Complete required end-of-year tasks per District or State nursing guidelines by May 20^th.Week of May 18^th, organize and box the health records of students who are transitioning to a new level (EC to Kdg, 5^th grade to 6^th grade, 8^th grade to 9^th grade, 9^th to P-Step, etc.) An email has been sent to the nurses with directives.

Maintenance and Custodians will begin to work full time May 4^th. A schedule has been sent out by Paul Gonzalez. Summer cleaning should begin on May 26^th.

Principal Secretaries and Bookkeepers were asked to work from home to do the financial reconciliations that are due. 

Special Ed Secretaries working from home and in buildings as necessary.

BSN-RN Nurses for Medical Review – doing “essential” work. 

Custodians in each high school to clean after Aramark finishes making the free lunches for distribution.

Maintenance were at the buildings doing “essential” work to maintain the buildings, although some of that was delayed due to the cold weather we have been experiencing. 

Grounds have been out mowing to keep the exteriors maintained.

Administrators from each building have coordinated locker clean out. Please check with your administrator for details. If you have not heard from your administrator, please feel free to reach out to them.

Sped Parapros. No paraprofessionals are required to work during this time unless their assistance is needed.  Teachers and admin should determine IF there is a way they can assist during the next few weeks.  Assistance can also be with tasks beyond Remote Learning, such as end of the year procedures. We will not be checking out computers tour paraprofessionals at this time, so if they want to assist, it will need to be within their ability to participate. 

If you have any questions, please email JoAnne Clemans (jclemans@psd202.org;jlclemanspass202@gmail.com) or Bill Favero (wfavero@psd202.org;pass2022017@gmail.com)

 JoAnne Clemans

President, PASS

Special Ed. Paraprofessional

Plainfield Academy

23930 W. Lockport St.

Plainfield, IL 60544

(815)439-5521