Dear Parents and Guardians:
We’ve committed to keeping you informed about our pandemic operation plans, as this public health emergency evolves.
Friday, we outlined dozens of currently positive COVID cases and mandatory quarantines affecting people in each of our school buildings. The District hasn’t gone one day in January without a new positive case within our school community. Warren County has reported hundreds of new positive cases in that same time frame. Our local situation is not getting better.
At the same time, maintaining in-person learning for the youngest and differently-abled students has been prioritized by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the New York State Departments of Education and Health, and our own leadership team. The AAP stated just last week that “new research find[s] that schools have not been a significant driver of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in their communities when they take safety precautions. Transmission has been especially low among younger children.”
Any return to our classrooms will follow the strictest of cleaning, hygiene, and illness prevention strategies. If new positive cases or quarantines increase, we will immediately revert to all-remote instruction. Families should prepare now for that scenario.
On Tuesday, January 19th, in-person learning will resume for Grades K-6, with 5th and 6th grades following their established Blue/Orange hybrid model. Grades 7-12 will remain in the all-remote instruction model until Monday, February 1st at the earliest.
The decision on when to return Grades 7-12 to hybrid/in-person learning will be made with the best available data, in hopes that staffing levels and illness containment will allow us to get back in the classroom as soon as possible. New Visions, Early College Career Academy, and CTE BOCES students will continue to learn remote-only during this time.
Weekly meal bags will be available for Grades 7-12 students. Pickups will be every Tuesday, using the drive-through in the Middle School parking lot from 2-4 pm.
Please keep to your own home as much as possible, so we can stop the community spread of Coronavirus. Do not gather. Do not socialize with neighbors. Do not travel. Read the daily COVID-19 updates from Warren County, and keep your family safe and healthy.