On March 12, 2020, at around 11:30 a.m, Township High School District 214 (D214) sent an email to notify parents and staff about the changes and cancellations regarding extracurricular activities, field trips and other events at all schools within the district. These changes were made to take preventative measures against the coronavirus (COVID-19), which was officially named a pandemic this week.

After D214 Superintendent David Schuler sent the email, an overhead announcement was made to RMHS students during their third block class. To reiterate what Schuler said in the email, students were made aware that spring sports practices, games and meetings will be canceled starting today, March 12 through March 29. Any events where more than 250 people are expected to attend will be postponed or canceled from March 12 through April 30. Field trips, tours and internships will also be postponed until at least April 30.

Updates will soon be released about field trips and tours in which students and staff scheduled and paid for in advance to communicate information about rescheduling and refunds. The same will be done for internships to communicate how students will make up and or handle the loss of their credit hours. Any non-conference and non-District hosted competitions that occur after March 29 will be reviewed by a case-by-case basis to determine whether or not it is safe for students and staff to attend.

 Statewide, Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued new guidelines on March 12 about large gatherings in public spaces as there are now 32 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ill. Pritzker advises that all public gatherings and community events expected to attract 250 people or more be canceled or postponed, and he mandated that events of 1,000 or more people be canceled or postponed immediately. However, the governor is not requiring that all schools in the state shut down but the state and D214 will continue to monitor the situation daily.

Right now, two known schools in the Northwest suburbs have been closed—Stevenson High School and New Trier High School.

If school is canceled for longer than the four emergency days built into the school calendar, all staff members are preparing to teach their classes through e-Learning in which students would learn the class curriculum by using an electronic device to complete the lesson and work.

In his email, Schuler said students and staff need to start bringing home any materials that would be needed to complete assignments. For families that do not have access to the Internet at their place of residence, alternative arrangements will be made with the help of a school counselor and principal. This being said, e-Learning has not been approved for District 214 yet. On March 19, D214 filed for approval to implement e-Learning in the instance that school will have to be shut down due to the outbreak.

Schuler also listed how facilities will be sanitized in regards to disease prevention. Maintenance staff will continue to clean and sanitize places that come in contact with multiple people like desks, handrails and doorknobs. 

D214 will continue to send updates to its students, families and staff concerning any changes made based around COVID-19.

“The District is actively monitoring the information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Illinois Department of Public Health, Cook County Health Department, the Illinois State Board of Education and local municipalities,” Schuler said.

As of right now, the RMHS and or IHSA events listed below will be cancelled.

List of RMHS and or IHSA cancellations (updated as of 9:32 p.m., March 12)

• Scholastic Bowl (IHSA)
• Drama and group interpretation (IHSA)
• Debate (IHSA)
• Journalism (IHSA)
• DECA State
• Choral Concert (RMHS)