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Covid

Statistics related to Covid, quarantine, and vaccine policies

Our group has been researching the school policies related to Covid.

Jump to:

Number of Covid cases | Deaths under age 18 |How other states are handling | How nearby schools are handling | D158 Covid relief funds | Parent questions | Vaccine mandate concerns | 42 peer-reviewed studies regarding negative effects of masking

Covid cases nationally have declined 33% over the past four weeks (as of 9/29/21.)

In McHenry County, as of 9/26/21, these are the current Covid positivity statistics. McHenry County’s positivity rate is 3.14%.

Nationally, rates below 9.99% are considered “low transmission.” Why are we told that we’re still considered “high” when the county rate is so low?

As of 9/30/21, Illinois is ranked #46 on the national list of states with highest Covid infection rates, meaning 45 other states have higher rates than Illinois does. Illinois currently has one of the lowest infection rates in the country.

The number of people in Illinois under the age of 18 who have died of Covid throughout both 2020 and 2021 is 19. Just 19.

 

Covid has a .02% mortality rate for those under 18. This is lower than the flu death rate for under-18s.Since 1/1/20, 478 children under the age of 18 died of Covid in the entire nation. While any loss of life is tragic, there are currently 73.1 million children in the USA under the age of 18. Statistically,  0.0006539% of children under 18 have died of Covid – on average, fewer than ten children per state.

To compare, during the 2018-2019 flu season, 477 children died of the flu. Statistically, the pediatric Covid death rate for 2020-2021 of 478 deaths is in line with the previous 2018-2019 flu deaths of 477.

A UK study notes that of 627 children hospitalized for Covid, just six out of 627 pediatric patients died, “all of whom had profound comorbidity.”

The 2020 teen suicide statistics do not yet appear to be available, but the 2019 data shows that 2756 children under the age of 19 took their own lives, and that was in a pre-pandemic year. Children are more than five times as likely to die of suicide than of Covid.

Currently, there are only five states with statewide mask mandates: Illinois, Louisiana, Washington, Oregon, and New Mexico.

Illinois’ neighboring states are handling Covid school policies very differently than Illinois is.

Iowa

Indiana

How nearby schools are handling Covid response

Township District 211 is the largest high school district in Illinois, encompassing areas of Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, and Palatine. Despite the district’s size, 211 has had only 17 Covid-related quarantines since the 2021-2022 school year began. View their live counter of school quarantines by school at this link.

Township also has 11857 students to Huntley’s 8900 students. Currently, D158 has 77 students in quarantine this week alone as of 9/29/21.

The Illinois State Board of Education “affirms the fundamental importance of in-person learning for the well-being of students, families, and communities. We know that children learn best –
and educators teach best – when they are physically present together in the same space.

“In-person learning with the appropriate protective measures should be both safe and essential to students’ mental health and academic growth.

“The majority of students need full-time in-person access to their teachers and support network at school to stay engaged, to learn effectively, and to maintain social-emotional wellness. A recent study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that remote learning can be challenging for many students, leading not only to learning loss but also worsening mental health for children as well as parents. “

Huntley District 158 has received $2,521,955.00 in Covid relief ESSER funds. In order to receive this money from the government, schools were told that they needed to agree to the five prevention strategies shown above.

However, Indiana has also received ESSER funds, as has Iowa, and neither state is adhering to these strategy steps the way that Illinois is. We have been led to believe these steps must be put in place to receive the money, but that appears not to be the case as other states have not implemented them.

Questions our parents are asking:

  • How many students placed in quarantine actually become symptomatic / positive cases?
  • How many students have been double quarantined? Triple?
  • How many hours of education have been lost?
  • We were told at last month’s meeting that the turnaround for SHIELD tests is 2-3 days. Is that still the case, or is it longer now?
  • Are you aware that students with close-contact quarantines are not actually being placed into quarantine up to six days after the contact?
  • How many students were quarantined pre-2020 when exposed to a virus?
  • How much time and money is being spent on contact tracing? Is there a written policy on exclusion?
  • Does the teachers’ union have influence over our district’s policies?
  • Why is the assistant superintendent Rocio del Castillo declining mask exemptions from students’ own doctors?
  • Is calling DCFS on students who refuse to quarantine a current D158 protocol? Was Dr. Belin disciplined when he did this? Who gave authority for Dr. Belin to call DCFS on a student?
  • Recently, an entire class was quarantined at Conley. It took three hours to call the parents as the entire class was moved from the classroom to the gym. How does this reduce their contact when they still remained together?
  • Quarantine policies are very different for classroom, athletics, and activities.
  • Parents are currently avoiding putting children on buses to avoid the close-contact quarantines affecting busing “for safety.” Yet students are still seated on the floors of buses — also “for safety?”
  • Currently, 15% of the D158 staff is not vaccinated. How many will you terminate if they continue to choose not to be vaccinated?
  • Why does each different school’s nurse have different policies?
  • Will you force vaccination on our children if one of the vaccines is approved for 5-year-olds and up?
  • We now know that those vaccinated can still catch and spread Covid, which is a change from what the CDC initially said. Have you researched the viral load and spread of vaccinated people versus unvaccinated? Fully vaccinated people carry the same viral load as the unvaccinated.
  • The district is recommending 2.5 hours of Zoom instruction for students in quarantine. Are you aware that some students are only receiving 45 minutes of instruction per day while home?
  • Are you aware that five Illinois school districts are being sued for their quarantine policies?

If our school district is planning a vaccine mandate, please consider that the following groups are currently exempt from vaccine mandates. If all of these are exempt, why must schools enforce a mandate?

  • White House staff
  • Congress and congressional staff
  • Judicial branch
  • CDC employees
  • FDA employees
  • USPS employees
  • NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) employees
  • Pfizer employees
  • Moderna employees
  • Illegal aliens

According to the VAERS database, Covid vaccines have already injured and killed more people than all other vaccine-related deaths over the past 30 years combined. As of August 28, 2021, the CDC notes that more than 150,000 people’s deaths have been caused by the Covid vaccines.

Additionally, the FDA issued a briefing document on 9/17/21 discussing the Pfizer / Comirnaty vaccine. On page 22, this document notes that people receiving the Pfizer vaccine are actually more likely to contract Covid:

An additional analysis appears to indicate that incidence of COVID-19 generally increased in each group of study participants with increasing time post-Dose 2 at the start of the analysis period.

 

Categories
Education

2021 HHS yearbook contains biased features on Biden, Harris, and Covid vaccines

Many parents in our group have been sharing images of the 2021 Huntley High School yearbook, which contains a two-page spread discussing the impeachment of President Trump, the inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris, and another two-page spread promoting the Covid vaccines.

Parents in our group have issues with the fact that no previous Huntley High School yearbook appears to have praised the successes of a current president while denigrating the previous president.

The “Inauguration Day” portion of the yearbook reads, in part, “Trump leaves office, being the first president to not attend the inauguration of the incoming president.”

This is a false statement, and our parents are appalled that it appears as a “fact” in the yearbook that our students will have as a keepsake for their lifetimes. In fact, five presidents have not attended the inauguration of their predecessors:

  • John Adams did not attend the inauguration of Thomas Jefferson in 1801
  • John Quincy Adams did not attend the inauguration of Andrew Jackson in 1829
  • Martin Van Buren did not attend the inauguration of William Henry Harrison in 1841
  • Andrew Johnson did not attend the inauguration of Ulysses S Grant in 1869
  • Richard Nixon did not attend the inauguration of Gerald Ford in 1974

We also take issue with the text “capitol building sieged by right-wing protesters.” The political leanings of everyone who walked through the Capitol on 1/6/21 cannot possibly be known.

The term “siege,” while used in the media, is not factual considering that mainstream news also reported that Capitol police opened the doors and welcomed rally attendees inside. Surveillance video also shows officers hugging and fist-bumping attendees, and moving bicycle racks to allow their entry to the building.

While some violence did unfortunately occur on this day, the vast majority of attendees walked through doors that had been opened for them and continued walking through the Capitol in an orderly manner. (View the video.)

We do not believe political discussion with a particular slant, or propaganda, belongs in the yearbook at all. One of our parents emailed the HHS yearbook coordinator and received this reply:

Good morning,
Thank you for reaching out and expressing your concern.

I hope I’m able to clarify a few points to alleviate some of your frustration. The yearbook is a historical document, so the students include coverage during every election year, focusing on interviewing students of age to vote. The book is a student-run publication and the students choose what to cover and include, while I ensure they show journalistic integrity showcasing all sides of each topic.

If your daughter would like to return the book, we’re able to refund your payment of $50.

Other parents in our group pointed out that neither the 2008 nor 2012 yearbooks mentioned the inauguration of President Obama, and the 2016 book did not mention the inauguration of President Trump either. The statement that these books include coverage during every election year is simply untrue.

You may verify this for yourself. The Huntley Area Public Library has copies of all of the HHS yearbooks, which you may borrow to view on premises. Here are page-by-page videos of HHS yearbooks in previous election years: 2008, 2012, and 2016 HHS. Do you see any political spreads such as the one in the current yearbook?  None appear in any of these three books.

Additionally, our parents take issue with the pro-Covid-vaccination yearbook spread, as equal space was not devoted to the side effects of the vaccine, nor the current number of Covid vaccine deaths. At the time of this writing, the number of deaths due to the Covid vaccination, according to the FDA and CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System is more than 150,000 people.

It would have been better to present the pandemic topic in an unbiased manner as it appeared in the previous HHS yearbook. Here is an image of last year’s yearbook page spread that discusses the Covid pandemic and its impact on student life:

Categories
School board meetings

D158 School Board Public Comments: 9/16/21

 

View the public comment portion of the 9/16/21 D158 School Board Meeting below.

 

1:57 – In praise of Mrs. Vandy, who recently resigned from the district

2:00 – “We blindly trusted this district for far too long, and now we are here to make sure our kids are learning and not being groomed to follow an ideology or an extremist agenda.”

2:02 – Regarding illegal quarantining of healthy kids. “Illinois truancy is defined as missing 5% or 9 days of school. With each quarantine they miss more than 5% of the school year.”

2:06 – Father’s son was told as part of an alarming middle-school 9/11 lesson that Christians and Muslim religions cause the most terrorism and extremism. Teacher drew a tree outlining multiple religions but used a different color marker to create an “extremism branch” for Christianity and Islam.

2:12 – Mother’s son’s class was told to repeat a poem for 9/11 that included the line “We are one gender.” Mother says “It’s very sneaky what’s being indoctrinated into the children’s minds.” Echoes concerns about the 9/11 Islam and Christianity extremism lesson. “Are parents aware of what’s being taught in social studies today? That is unacceptable.”

 

Categories
Covid

SHIELD testing fulfillment by Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network

SHIELD testing in Illinois schools is being fulfilled in part by the Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network.

An excerpt from their site:

“Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network today announced its partnership with SHIELD Illinois to serve as one of seven labs across the state enabling broader distribution of the University of Illinois’ saliva-based COVID-19 PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test.

“Gift of Hope is a nonprofit organization that coordinates organ and tissue donation and provides public education on donation in Illinois and northwest Indiana. The decision to expand its laboratory services to include COVID-19 testing for residents is an extension of its mission to save and enhance lives through organ and tissue donation.”

Some parents in our group have strong concerns about an organ and tissue donation laboratory handling and potentially keeping a record of their children’s genetic material.

Categories
Equity

HHS Freshman geography book promotes BLM

A Huntley High School student brought to our attention that the AP Freshman geography textbook presents Black Lives Matter in a positive manner.

Page 246 of the book states that the civil rights movement continues through the BLM organization, and that BLM’s objectives are “campaigning against violence and perceived racism toward black people and educating others about the challenges that African-Americans continue to face in the United States.”

“The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography” is a brand-new textbook from Pearson published in 2020 and is a new edition for the 2021 D158 school year.

We take issue with only one side of BLM’s activities being presented in this book. The textbook makes no mention of the extensive rioting and property damage done in the name of BLM, nor the organization’s Marxist origins or allegations of misappropriated funds raised in the name of helping others.

The student that submitted this image writes “What is a discussion of BLM doing in a geography book at all?”

If you have examples of other D158 questionable curriculum, please email them to info@district158parentunion.org.

Categories
Events

Join us for the D158 Parent Union Picnic

Bring your family to our first-ever D158 Parent Union Picnic on Saturday, October 2nd at Deicke Park in Huntley at 12:00 noon.

Join us at the Hilltop Shelter next to the Discovery Zone. Children are welcome, as this is an event for the entire family.

We’ll have all of the grills fired up, and we’ll provide hamburgers, hot dogs, and beverages. Bring additional snacks or foods that your family enjoys! You may also wish to bring lawnchairs or a blanket.

This is a great opportunity to learn more about our Parent Union and the issues we’re passionate about in our children’s educations. Please feel free to invite your friends, neighbors or anyone interested in what our organization is doing. Grandparents are welcome too!

Categories
Education

Education in the News

There are a plethora of controversial education topics in the news. We are concerned with unreasonable, controversial, and extreme views becoming mandated in public education, not only in Illinois but throughout the country and throughout the world.

We recommend viewing this short video that gives an overview of the push for gender identity, racial division, and anti-American themes running through school curriculum that are making schools “training grounds for political activism.”

If Illinois were to also embrace some of the standards noted below, would our D158 school board support programs such as these? Would they finally push back? We believe the board needs to be willing to fight for us and our students when lines noting what is reasonable have been crossed.

Critical Race Theory / Equity

Sexual Education

Political Ideologies

Lowering Education Standards

Education Trends

If you’d like to submit a news article for possible inclusion on this page, please leave it in the comments area below.

Categories
School board meetings

D158 School Board Public Comments: 8/19/21

View the public comment portion of the 8/19/21 D158 School Board Meeting below.

1:42 – Regarding LIGHT program and the inappropriateness of the move from HHS to Marlowe and how these young adults need to be in a space that respects their age and status as adults.

1:44 – Unacceptable that LIGHT program was moved and how special education services are to be delivered in age-appropriate settings. Marlowe Middle School was not built as a young-adults facility.

1:48 – Critical Race Theory concepts being ushered into our schools under the guise of “intersectionality, diversity, inclusion, fragility, and equity.” D158’s recently-completed “White Fragility” training.

1:54 – Father explains why he is a member of the D158 Parent Union “We want input on the curriculum, specifically around Sex Ed, CRT, gender approaches, how equity is achieved, history” and discusses COVID response.

1:58 – Mother pulled two sons from D158 “My 13-year-old wanted to come to school and learn, not be indoctrinated, and have the message that he is a terrible person because he was born a male with white skin, and he was getting that message loud and clear. He chose to leave. There was no way I was going to expose my 6-year-old to that message and the curriculum that this district is planning.”

 

 

 

 

Categories
School board meetings

D158 School Board COTW Public Comments: 8/5/21

View the public comment portion of the 8/5/21 D158 School Board Committee of the Whole Meeting below.

(Note that our group typically does not attend the COTW meetings, but based on the volume of parents who spoke against masks and testing at the previous school board meeting on 7/22/21, board members were encouraging pro-mask viewpoints to attend and speak at this meeting.)

The first five parents to speak shared time at the opening of public comments to read a joint statement from the D158 Parent Union regarding COVID response, masks, and quarantines.

This meeting took place 13 days prior to the 2021-2022 first day of school, one day after Governor Pritzker mandated masks for back-to-school.

3:15 – Quarantines legally cannot be implemented without a court order or consent. Mandate does not even specify what kind of mask should be worn. Under the governor’s mandate, a mesh mask qualifies.

3:18 – Our Parent Union has presented many questions which remain unanswered. If masks are a “medical product,” legally, they should be treated as biohazardous waste.  If you believe the pandemic is deadly, virally-contaminated masks are medical waste that cannot be discarded in the trash.

3:21 – Parent Union will further our effort to fight for voluntary COVID protocols. The CDC has been consistently inconsistent for the past 18 months. They said COVID spread on surfaces, was airborne, and spread asymptomatically. They told people not to mask, then to mask, then to wear two masks.

3:24 – There are three kinds of people in the world: Leaders, leaners, and followers. We are asking you to lead. Other states are leading and have lifted mask mandates for schools while providing N95s for those that want them. We are extremely disappointed to learn that $20,000 was spent on Critical Race Theory training called “White Fragility” instead of working on COVID response. We will be holding this board accountable for the actions they have taken.

3:26 – You promised to debate these issues tonight publicly. You are the board of education, not the board of health. We want to see expert data behind the decisions you’re making. At what point will our board stand up and fight for us? How far are you going to let this go before you say “enough is enough?”

———

3:31 – Internet safety for Chromebooks without safety stickers. LIGHT district issues: How can the district spend millions on a new coffee bar at the high school, but the LIGHT program students are being shuttled to Marlowe, where grown adults in special education will be sharing a building with middle schoolers?

3:35 – Mother discussing son’s entry into LIGHT program. District has $700,000 worth of COVID funds but does not have money to move post-high-school LIGHT students into their own facility.

3:39 – Man states 600,000 people have died from COVID, he knows someone who has died, and that masks are needed to protect as many lives as possible. He says more deadly variants are coming and to follow the science. “Today I’ve heard some of the most dangerous misinformation of all time.”

3:42 – Father does not want mask-wearing imposed without considering the risks of wearing them all day. “Death” is not considered a metric for the current masking policies. He cites a study that 4X Co2 builds up inside masks in just 9 minutes. There are no peer-reviewed studies saying that prolonged mask wearing is healthy and safe. Parents are against vaccine centers in school. Asks the board to have a town hall with parents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories
School board meetings

D158 School Board Special Meeting Public Comments: 7/22/21

View the public comment portion of the 7/22/21 D158 School Board Special Meeting below.

Our Parent Union composed and released a joint statement which was read by one parent. This is the first speaker presented during public comments.

8:01 – Concerns regarding district’s legal right to enforce mask and testing mandates. Outlines many of the Illinois and school codes and asking board to simply follow the law on masks and testing, which states that discrimination and forcefully using medical devices or health examinations.

Our Parent Union suggested making masks optional and having the district use their COVID relief funds to purchase N95 masks for those students that want them, giving a science-backed solution for the parents who want virus protection. Please choose this option which satisfies both sides of this issue.

————–

18:25 – Mother states infections are on the rise and more transmissible variants are coming. Asks board to abide by advice to mask children for the 2021-22 school year until every child has the opportunity to be vaccinated.

22:02 – Mother reads a letter from the state’s attorney regarding mask mandates stating that they are not needed in school and that fear-based closures result in lost educational time. Asks that they not mandate masks for healthy children over a small number of worried individuals.

26:26 – Father: “We can’t come here and ask questions and get answers from you” and it leads to everyone being divided and “leading to a lot of mistrust.” The masks have become a game, as we know they do not do a thing to prevent the spread. He and his wife have pulled their children out of the district due to indecision and hope the district can get back on track.

30:55 – Mother discusses LIGHT program inconsistencies and how it applies to her special needs daughter. Points out that they are an at-risk family with a spouse who is a paramedic and her Down Syndrome daughter had a waiver to go to school unmasked last year. She and her classmates are at risk but were allowed to unmask last year, so the board should do the right thing for all.

34:56 – Father cut family trip short to speak after he heard board encouraged giving pro-mask parents another opportunity to speak tonight. He says life is not without risk and children have resilient immune systems. Masks are all for show and imagery unless they are N95s.

38:00 – The board announces that they will hold a vote on masks at the Committee of the Whole meeting next week. Our Parent Union decided to attend this meeting on 8/5/21 and speak as well.