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Glenbrooks To Rollout Mandatory COVID-19 Screening For Some ExtracurricularsFree Access

Pilot Program For Higher Risk Athletics, Performing Arts Activities To Ramp Up In A Month


After several school board meetings primarily discussing possible COVID-19 testing protocols, Glenbrook High School Dist. 225 board members unanimously approved launching a pilot testing program, including mandatory testing for certain students involved in higher-risk extracurricular activities.

The pilot program would start with a 90-day period and a budget not to exceed $125,000. As part of the school board’s resolution, they said testing would start with extracurricular activities but could be expanded to co-curricular activities. That population represents about 700 students, district officials said. 

The testing is considered a COVID-19 screening indicating a student would need to take a more definitive test to determine if they are positive. 

Glenbrook South Principal Laura Fagel said extracurricular activities are independent of any class, while co-curricular activities, such as band, are activities outside of class yet linked to a specific class.

Fagel said although fall sports are ending and the future of winter sports, which begin in early November, was unclear as of Monday’s meeting, she said other things such as the annual V-Show, which includes hundreds of students, was also being planned.

The program would take about a month to ramp up before being rolled out, including a dedicated lab to quickly process test results within a day. Final costs, based on a smaller cohort than the entire student population, would still need to be negotiated. 

The testing as proposed would have cost $11 per test, based on the volume of the entire student body. RJ Gravel, assistant superintendent for business services, said that could change based on the lower volume of expected tests.  

School board members discussed the risks, costs and benefits of testing all students along with testing groups of students involved in activities, such as athletics and performing arts, where either masks are not worn or the risks of spreading COVID-19 are higher. 

District officials issued a survey to parents last week discussing both possible mandatory and voluntary COVID-19 testing. They said although survey results strongly supported both voluntary and mandatory testing by wide margins, the survey sample size reflected only about 1,000 responses out of a school population of more than 5,200. Supt. Charles Johns called the response rate “fairly low.”  

Some parents at the Oct. 26 meeting, speaking during public comment, complained their students were being taught by teachers from video screens from their homes. Other parents said with only one or two other students in classrooms, their children do not see the point in going to school.

Documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act document order show 208 Dist. 225 staff members being accommodated to work from home. Although many of those staff were identified as teachers, not all were identified by job title or department.

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