Westlake Christian Academy

Grayslake kindergarten, elementary, junior high and high school academy providing Christian families with private academic education.

(847) 548-6209   275 South Lake Street Grayslake, IL

Return to School Guidelines – Fall 2020

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Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
 but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

–Proverbs 19:21 (ESV)

Westlake Christian Academy has prepared the following plan for returning to school, in compliance with guidelines from the State of Illinois, the Illinois State Board of Education, and the Illinois Department of Public Health. This plan is subject to change, as health guidelines are updated.

Printable Guidelines

UPDATE 8/17/2020 - Updated guidelines were released by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

All students in preschool–12th grade may attend school in the building every day, as long as we are in Phase 4 of Restore Illinois. Parents may also choose to have their children attend classes remotely. To request remote learning, please call or email the office. Westlake will follow our regular calendar, but several community-building events will be canceled or postponed until the spring. Westlake will make the following modifications to our policies and procedures.

On Monday, October 19 we will adjust our drop-off procedures as follows:

The biggest change to note is that we will no longer be taking temperatures at the car, as the thermometers are becoming more inaccurate in the cold weather. All Elementary and Secondary students will exit their cars, enter the main door, and then have their temperatures taken at different stations throughout the school.

Because we are unable to take temperatures at the car, if your child registers a fever inside the building we may have to send your child home after you have left the premises. Please take your child’s temperature every morning before leaving for school to help us mitigate that inconvenience.

Students dropped off before 8:00 am will have their temperature taken inside the front door. At 8:00 am, elementary students in before care will go up the BACK STAIRS to class as they have already had their temperature taken.

During normal drop-off times (after 8:00 am),

  • Kindergartners will go up the main stairs and will have their temperature taken at their classroom door.
  • Elementary students will go all the way to the second floor and have their temperature taken at the entrance to the second floor hallway.
  • Junior high students will go to their lockers first and then up the front stairs to have their temperature taken in the main hallway.
  • High school students will go up the main stairs and have their temperature taken at the entrance to the main hallway.
  • Preschool and Pre-K, parents can still bring their child to the same spot at the end of the ramp. Our teachers will invite your child to the door, let one student in, take their temperature, and then invite the next student to come up the ramp. Our teachers will open the door when ready for the next student and invite just the student to come up the ramp. Parents, DO NOT walk your child all the way to the door; please remain at the bottom of the ramp.

Arrival

  1. Upon arrival, all students and staff will receive a temperature and symptom check before entering the building.
  2. Everyone entering the school building will wear a face covering.
  3. Parents will drop students off at the main door for grades K-12 and at the end of the ramp for preschool and pre-K.
  4. Students will go directly to lockers and then classrooms; there will be no loitering in the halls.
  5. The time when students are allowed to go their locker will be extended to 8:00-8:15 for secondary and 8:00-8:20 for elementary to allow for fewer people to enter the building at a given time.
  6. Preschool and Pre-K arrival time will be 8:10–8:30.
  7. Parents will not enter the building or walk their children to class.
  8. Before-care will meet in the cafeteria, but students will sit in separate groups by grade level.

During Instruction

  1. Elementary students will stay in their classrooms, and art/music teachers will come to them.
  2. PE will take place in the gym or outside on the playground.
  3. PE will be outdoors as much as possible.
  4. Secondary students will travel to their classes as usual. They will only go to lockers before school, at lunch, and at the end of the day.
  5. All stairways will be one way.
  6. In the classrooms, desks will be placed as far apart as possible and all facing in one direction.
  7. Students will be encouraged to wash hands frequently.
  8. Students will wear face coverings during classroom instruction as much as is reasonably possible. The teacher will have the flexibility to permit students to take off their masks when needed.
  9. Students will not wear masks for PE, lunch, rest-time, and recess.
  10. If a student is absent, they will have the option to join the class remotely through Google Meet.
  11. There will be no field trips, at least for the first semester.
  12. High school and junior high retreat will happen as usual, though we will need to consider transportation options.
  13. Only essential visitors will be permitted in the building.
  14. All visitors must sign-in in the office and complete a symptom questionnaire.
  15. Teachers will wear face coverings at all times, but some teachers will need to wear shields instead of masks when teaching phonics, foreign languages, content with new vocabulary, or at other times when seeing the teacher’s lips moving would be necessary for learning.

Chapel

  1. We will continue to hold chapel each week but will rotate which classes are in the gym and which classes participate remotely from their classroom.
  2. Parents will not be able to join us for chapel, but when a class leads chapel we will offer a livestream for parents to watch.

Lunch and Recess

  1. Elementary students will eat lunch in their classrooms. All classrooms will be nut-free this year.
  2. Grades 7-10 will eat lunch in the cafeteria. Grades 11-12 will eat in an alternate location (TBD).
  3. Recess will happen as usual, as we will be able to limit the number of children on the playground to 50.

Dismissal

  1. Elementary dismissal will happen on the playground, but classes will need to be spread out more than previous years.
  2. Secondary students will need to leave the building promptly at 3:20, as there will be no lingering around after school.

Extended-Care

  1. We will continue to provide after-care. Students will be separated by grades PS-K, 1-3, and 4-6.
  2. Before-care will meet in the cafeteria, but students will sit in separate groups by grade level.
  3. Children may not bring any personal items, such as blanket, pillow, stuffed animal, or toys. The school will provide a blanket, which will be laundered every day.

Extra-Curricular Activities

  1. We will continue to offer band. Students will be spread out in the gym to allow for plenty of social distancing.
  2. Beginning Band will begin the year with individual lessons and wait to meet as a whole group until later in the year.
  3. Regarding athletics, we are monitoring the IHSA Return-to-Play guidelines, which continue to change frequently.

Resources and Materials

  1. Elementary library books will be on a rotating cart. Books will not be taken home.
  2. Shared Chromebooks will need to be wiped down after each use.
  3. Students’ materials like crayons, pencils, scissors, and glue will need to be kept separate. There will be no community materials.

Cleaning and Disinfecting

  1. High touch surfaces will be disinfected at least twice per school day.
  2. We will follow all IDPH cleaning/disinfecting recommendations at the end of each school day to ensure that rooms are clean and disinfected before the start of the next day.

Attendance

  1. Our attendance requirements will be more flexible for the 2020-21 school year. Students who need to stay home due to a Covid-19 infection or Covid-19 exposure, will be able to join the class through Google Meet and keep up with their class work.
  2. Students with a fever (100.4 or higher), respiratory symptoms, or any Covid-19 symptoms of any kind will need to stay home.
  3. If a child develops a fever (100.4 or higher), respiratory symptoms, or any Covid-19 symptoms during the school day, they will need to be picked up immediately.
  4. If a student or teacher is sick, they will need to be fever free for 24 hours and at least 10 days from the start of symptoms before they return to school, OR provide proof of a negative Covid-19 test or a doctor’s note saying they may return to school.
  5. Teachers with a fever (100.4 or higher) or Covid-19 like symptoms will need to stay home. When possible the teacher will be able to teach from home using google classroom, and students will still meet at school for instruction.
  6. UPDATE 8/17/2020 - If a student or teacher tests positive for Covid-19, the entire class will be required to quarantine for 14 days. If a student or teacher is home sick with suspected Covid symptoms, the rest of the household must stay home until an alternative diagnosis is made (doctor’s note required) or a negative Covid test result is received.

Do you have questions regarding the guidelines?

On July 16, parents met for a Principal’s Q & A Session. Questions and answers were recorded for your reference and can be read here. Please read through that document in full to see if your question has already been answered. If you still have questions after reading through our guidelines above and the Q & A Highlights, please feel free to contact us.

275 South Lake Street
Grayslake, IL 60030
(847) 548-6209