DECATUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS ASKING ALL EMPLOYEES, WHO ARE ABLE, TO WORK FROM HOME

District #61 Statement

November 4, 2020

As we continue to watch the growing number of COVID-19 cases in our county and region, Decatur Public Schools is taking action to protect the health and safety of our employees. ​DPS is asking all employees, who are able, to work from home.

We appreciate the input in making this decision and the continued hard work from leadership of all our collective bargaining units who represent the teachers, teaching assistants, secretaries, custodians, security officers, Teamsters, and maintenance crews who work day in and day out to support our DPS family.

We recognize that some job duties may not be able to be completed remotely and that this work from home request will affect employees differently, depending on their job responsibilities. Individuals should work with building principals, direct supervisors, and union representatives to determine what’s needed to effectively complete job duties from home and/or determine when employees need to be in the building to complete duties on site.

All DPS facilities do remain open, and the expectation remains that all job duties and responsibilities will be completed effectively and efficiently, regardless of work location. Facilities also remain open for students and families by appointment to get support from teachers and staff, but we continue to restrict access to our buildings to all non-essential visitors. Our overall goal is to minimize the number of people in all DPS facilities while COVID-19 numbers in our area remain elevated.

This work from home request will be in effect immediately through Friday, December 4, 2020. Another determination will be made on Monday, November 30, for the remainder of December as we continue to monitor our community health data.

Our most important objective is protecting the health and safety of our community and our DPS family. This public health crisis affects us all, and we all want to get back to normalcy as soon as possible. We implore you to please stay home as much as possible, wear your mask at all times you are outside your home, wash/sanitize your hands frequently, and get tested as soon as possible if you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.

Beth Nolan Dr. Paul Fregeau

President, Board of Education Superintendent, Decatur Public Schools