The recent start of hybrid learning at ETHS brought the District 202 COVID Dashboard, a page dedicated to tracking the number of students and staff members who have either tested positive for COVID-19 or are quarantining due to a COVID-19 exposure. The dashboard is updated weekly, with the new numbers published every Friday.

“ETHS is committed to transparency in reporting instances of COVID-19 cases as reported to a district,” an email sent to students and families on April 12 reads. “Our school community relies on this accurate and honest self-assessment every day to keep ETHS open for hybrid in-person instruction.”

Because ETHS is not doing any form of testing for COVID-19, all positive cases are self-reported. From there, students and families are informed as needed if they have possibly been exposed or may need to quarantine. The number of individuals impacted may fluctuate but is updated for the public every Friday via the COVID Dashboard.

As outlined on the COVID Dashboard page, ETHS adheres to guidelines set up by the Illinois Department of Health that dictate when a student may return to school or work following a positive COVID-19 test or quarantine period.

As of the last time the dashboard was updated, which was Friday, April 16, there were five new student COVID-19 cases, 13 students quarantining, zero new staff member COVID-19 cases and zero staff members quarantining.

The COVID-19 Dashboard was supposed to be updated on Friday, April 23, however, it was not and remains empty as of the time of publishing (Sunday, April 25).

However, as explained on the page accompanying the COVID-19 Dashboard, cases reported were not necessarily contracted in an ETHS facility. While the dashboard was not designed to offer information about COVID-19 transmissions, its goal remains to offer transparency for ETHS students, family and staff members.

In an email released to the public on April 21, ETHS reemphasized that “students, families and staff who do not provide accurate and honest answers to the COVID screening questions are considered to be non-compliant with district practices and procedures relevant to… the pandemic.