Glen Ellyn School District 41 is encouraging children and staff to return saliva samples for COVID-19 testing by having classrooms compete to adopt a turtle.
A flier was shared with parents, staff and students that discusses the Cosley Zoo Challenge. It encourages students to sign up on the district’s website to do the challenge.
The flier says that the first building in the district to reach 90 percent participation in the Skyward program and 90 percent in the return rate of saliva samples will get to adopt a turtle for a year at Cosley Zoo.
“The turtle reminds us to help slow the spread of COVID-19!” the flier says.
One Twitter user shared the flier and her disdain for the program.
“Seriously @GlenEllynD41?” Emma Woodhouse tweeted. “You’re using turtle adoption to motivate children to be tested for a virus that is less serious to their health than flu? What a disgraceful waste of money—& shameful propaganda.”
Woodhouse urged parents to reject the program.
Several users agreed with Woodhouse and tweeted responses urging parents to speak up about the program.
One user said that using whole-class peer pressure to push for kids to have their parents participate in the program wasn’t right. Another called the program a waste of money. A third did not agree with surveillance screening.
Woodhouse replied to her tweet, saying there was no reason the program needed to exist.
“Honestly, if this go (sic) through, it’s because parents allowed it,” Woodhouse tweeted. “No excuses."
One user asked how anyone was supposed to go back to normal after a program like this. Another said it is surveillance screening and then surveillance monitoring if someone is positive.
“They don’t even hide their totalitarian aspirations anymore,” the user tweeted.
Another user suggested that Gov. J.B. Pritzker was paying school boards to keep case numbers up.
“This state has gone full criminal,” the user tweeted.
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