We have received many emails with questions of the reasoning why we have to “work in the building”. While some of our members of PASS have jobs that lend themselves to being able to “work at home”, many of them do not.
Currently the district is requiring staff in the building unless there is a child care or medical reason for not doing so. We understand that these are stressful times for everyone, however the district and our custodial staff are taking every precaution to make the buildings as safe as possible for employees. There is disinfecting of high touch surfaces being done throughout the day in every building along with regular cleaning and disinfecting of occupied rooms in the evening.
We are finding that direct exposures and positive cases of our staff are mainly from exposures outside of our buildings and are not due to spread in our schools. We all must do our part to keep ourselves healthy while at work. This would entail wearing of a mask at all times when in common areas and when in a room with two or more people, social distancing when able, frequent hand washing, and using the provided disinfectant in our classrooms throughout the day if others come into our room and at the end of our shift for the day. Everyone should be cleaning and disinfecting their own desk/table space in their classrooms.
The district continues to evaluate the growing numbers of cases in the district and the county and will make changes as they pertain to CDC/IDPH/County guidelines.
Please trust in the process the district has implemented regarding exposures and/or positive cases in a building. The guidelines from the IDPH and local county health departments are continually changing and Becky Sipes keeps up to date on all things COVID. If you have been directly or indirectly exposed, you will receive a letter from your administrator letting you know next steps.
We would like to encourage all PASS employees to bring any custodial issues directly to their head custodian rather than emailing the union. The best way to resolve an issue is to start at the building level. If, after bringing an issue to the head custodian, the issue does not get resolved, you can then go to the administrator in your building. If the issue is still not resolved after talking to your administrator, then reach out to the union for assistance.
District 202 – COVID-19 Staff Handbook
It is very important that everyone is aware of the district staff handbook on the internet. If you have any questions regarding procedures during this unprecedented time, please reference this document first before emailing. (you will have to log on to the intranet)
For our employees who currently work in person in a building and your job is able to be performed from home:
If you are feeling sick on any given day (not COVID) and you cannot self-certify, you may work from home. You would have to call your principal and let them know you are staying home for the day but will be working. What the district does not want to see is a pattern of missing days (ie., once a week, only on Mondays or Fridays, etc.).
District 202 Coronavirus Plan
Page 8 of 30
Sick employees must stay home: Updated 11/2/2020
- All staff are required to certify that that they completed a self-screening symptom checklist
daily and that they will not report to work if any symptoms are present
- Employees who have symptoms should notify their supervisor and stay home.
- Sick employees should follow the IDHP COVID-19 INTERIM EXCLUSION GUIDANCE. Employees should not return to work until they have the documentation required to return to school, in consultation with healthcare provider and their local health department.
- Employees who are well but who have a sick family member at home with COVID-19 should notify their supervisor and follow CDC recommended precautions.
- Employees who have been in contact with anyone with COVID or someone currently being tested or awaiting testing results for COVID-19 due to direct exposure, should complete the Contact Tracing form
Regarding returning to class after a student is sent home.
District 202 Coronavirus Plan – Updated 11/5/2020
Page 28 of 30
Can I self-certify if a student is sent home with symptoms? Yes, staff can self-certify if a student is sent home with symptoms. The building contact tracing team will work with the family and monitor the student’s symptoms and response from physician and/or any follow up COVID-19 testing. Staff will be informed if they need to quarantine at a later date if the student is determined to be positive for COVID-19 and they were with staff during they time when they would be contagious.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me at jlclemanspass202@gmail.com or Bill Favero at pass2022017@gmail.com.
JoAnne Clemans
President, PASS
Special Ed. Paraprofessional
Plainfield Academy
23930 W. Lockport St.
Plainfield, IL 60544
(815)439-5521
PASS IEA/NEA 