Fall 2020 Reopening Plans

Dear parents, students, and ICCI Community members Assalaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatu Allah wa Barakatoh,

The ICCI Academy believes that students’ physical attendance is essential to the child’s identity development, their academic progress, and emotional social growth. 

Therefore, based on the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois State Board of Educational and CDC health guidelines regarding school reopening, the ICCI Academy is excited to present its reopening plans! This plan is balancing between students’ educational and health safety needs. 

The ICCI Academy Safety Measures include:

1. Health and safety practices: Protocols for frequent hand washing and cleaning of surfaces (tables, computers, shelves, etc.) will be performed regularly for all students and staff.

2. Small class size with social distance between students will be applied to reduce exposure to larger numbers of students. The ICCI Academy will be utilizing all the available spaces (cafeteria, computer lab, prayer hall, etc.) to ensure students are appropriately distanced. Lunch will be taken in the classrooms with appropriate distancing or in the cafeteria in small groups.

3. Face coverings: In compliance with the IDPH & CDC, masks and or face shields must be worn by all students and teachers while indoors. 

4. Out of the classrooms instruction: We will also significantly increase our outdoor activities and instruction to increase safety, expose students to the fresh air, and to support their social and emotional health.

5. Ventilation of Classrooms: All of our classrooms and offices have several windows which will remain open to ventilate the rooms. Fans can also be used to circulate the air as needed. 

6. Screening: Any students and/or staff with even mild symptoms of illness (cough, congestion, etc) will not be able to come to school until all symptoms have cleared. Parents will be asked to complete a screening chart regarding potential symptoms of COVID-19 as part of the check-in process. Temperature checks will also be done either at home or at school based on IDPH & CDC guidance.

7. Additionally, any student and/or staff member with known exposure to COVID-19 will also be required to stay home for 2 weeks or until they have been cleared with negative COVID-19 testing.

8. Isolation of any student with signs of illness: students who develop signs and/or symptoms of illness while at school will be separated from other students and quarantined in designated and well-ventilated rooms. Parents will be required to pick children up from school immediately.

9. Virtual Access to the Classroom: Due to the strict adherence to isolating children with any signs and symptoms of infection or COVID-19 exposures, there will be times where students will still want to participate while in quarantine. ICCI Academy will make the classroom accessible to these students virtually so that they can continue to learn and see their friends despite having to quarantine at home.

We will optimize audio and visual equipment and other needed supplies for each class so that students can see their classmates/teacher and they can see them as well, thus students who are required to quarantine at home will have the option of interactive remote learning experience and will not miss out while waiting for symptoms to clear etc.

10. For Pre-K & KG students where the virtual model is hardly managed, we will coordinate with the family to have their kids join circle time, songs, books, and exercise sessions virtually as more active sessions may be more entertaining for Pre-K & KG students. We will also send arts and craft packets home so caregivers can do these with the children at home while waiting for symptoms to clear.

11. The ICCI Academy will follow ISBE guidelines attendance policy for students who have COVID symptoms and stay home for any missing school days, since parents keep their children home when they have mild symptoms of illness.

12. Teacher Safety: The safety of our teachers and staff is of utmost importance to us and we will structure instruction time to maximize time during which teachers are able to remain 6 feet away. Teachers will wear N95 masks. Interactions between students and teachers that are less than 6 feet away will be limited in time.

Teachers will limit interactions with other teachers to maintain adequate physical distancing and with masks.

13. In order to keep our staff as safe as possible, parents must wear masks when dropping off their children and maintain a safe distance. Parents will not be entering the classrooms/school during this time.

14. In the case of school closure and return to Phase 3, ICCI Academy will communicate with parents and students promptly about any updated plan. This will require more developmentally appropriate teaching and support of the social, emotional, and academic needs of children. 

15. As we have started on time as we planned, we can reduce the school day hours and the school day/per week as well according to ISBE calendar schools’ guidelines. Thus, the amount of instructions material that needs to be covered during this time will be reduced, resulting in less pressure on parents, students, and staff. So, the dismissal time will be at 2:30 PM Monday-Thursday and Friday will be virtual for the entire school. 

16. The ICCI Academy looks at a school year again with our amazing students and bringing back our beautiful community. We are dedicated to both the health and safety of our students and teachers and are also committed to making the school experience fun, interactive, and educational.

As always, we are open to your feedback! Feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.

Dr. Mohamed Elnatour

ICCI Academy Principal 

The vision of the ICCI Academy is to create a nurturing environment that provides an intricate balance of education and religion. Through small class sizes, students will be immersed in the most current methodologies that utilize the universal teachings of the Qu’ran and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The goal is to establish a solid foundation that will enhance the children’s development in Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Technology, Arabic, and Islamic Studies. Educators, parents, and community members will all have a vital role in enhancing the students of the ICCI Academy. 

The ICCI Academy started out as a one room classroom with thirteen children in pre-school and kindergarten being taught by one teacher.  It was the goal of the ICCI to create a school to service the needs of our community, and provide its children with an education that surpasses the current educational standards, as well as an enhanced Qu’ranic, Islamic Studies, and Arabic curriculum.