January 11, 2022

Dear UMS Families,

We appreciate your patience as we navigate staff shortages this week. Due to ongoing staff absences, Urbana Middle School will continue with remote learning through Friday, January 14. As of this morning, there is still a high number of staff unable to attend in-person for various reasons, this includes COVID and non-COVID absences. We will continue to follow the 1:15 p.m. bell schedule each day this week. Please continue to check the daily announcements for more information. 

If you selected in-person learning via the adaptive pause survey, please send your student(s) to school for the remainder of the week with their Chromebooks and chargers. If your student still needs a Chromebook, please stop by the UMS office to pick one up or call the UMS office if you need one delivered to your residence. First Student and MTD buses will continue to run for those attending in-person. 

Since remote learning has been extended through Friday, UMS families can reserve meals for the rest of the week by emailing Jonathan Schmit: jschmit@usd116.org by 4 p.m. today. Meal pick-up will be at UMS in the circle drive on Wednesday from 8:30-10 a.m.

The District will continue our mitigation efforts and continue to follow our current exclusion procedures for the isolation and quarantine of students per the CDC and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) guidance for schools. As positivity rates continue to change in Champaign County, we ask that you continue to closely monitor your child and anyone living in your home. If your child is experiencing symptoms or tests positive, please notify the school regarding why they are absent. 

For the remainder of this week, I encourage you to take advantage of drive-thru testing at YR on Thursday (3:30-4:30 p.m.), SHIELD testing at UMS on Thursday @ 2:45 p.m. or community testing before returning to school on Tuesday.

• USD Testing 
• Community Testing Sites  

Please continue to check email, UMS announcements, the District’s website, and social media for additional updates. We appreciate your flexibility as we do our best to keep everyone safe. We anticipate students returning to in-person learning on Tuesday, January 18, following the MLK Holiday, which was already a non-student attendance day. If you have additional questions or concerns, feel free to email Dr. Wiemelt: jwiemelt@usd116.org. 

Stay safe and well,

Dr. Ivory-Tatum, 

Superintendent