WE NEED YOUR HELP!
In order to offer the test-to-stay option (where students do NOT need to quarantine), we need 50 individuals to sign up for the Northshore Clinical Lab testing.
We currently only have 13 individuals registered for our once-weekly, school-based testing program through Northshore Clinical Labs. We need 50 individuals to register in order for Northshore staff to arrive on site to conduct testing without putting added strain on the Nurse’s Office. This program is open to both unvaccinated and vaccinated students. If you registered your student for the SHIELD IL program, please strongly consider re-registering them for this Northshore program. Information from SHIELD does not carry over to Northshore, so your re-registration is necessary for them to enroll.
If we can secure 50 individuals and begin a testing program, RHS can utilize a “Test-to-Stay” protocol. This means that unvaccinated close contacts can continue to attend in-person classes, activities, and sports as long as they test and remain asymptomatic on days 1, 3, 5, & 7 following an exposure.
As an example, we excluded 3 sports team on 4 different occasions last school year. With an in-school testing program and subsequent Test-to-Stay protocol in place, many of those students could have remained in school and in their extracurricular activities.
We need your help to make this happen. DNA collected for testing will only be used for COVID-19 testing.
Please strongly consider this testing initiative, and if you have any questions, contact David Hawk, Dean of Students, at dhawk@ridgenet.org or 708-697-5542.
Thank you,
David Hawk