See the timeline of our summer work here and more detailed information on the Fall 2020 Restart web page regarding planning work that has been taking place over the past several months. Our initial planning teams at each level (elementary, middle school and high school), made up of parents, teachers, students and administrators -- combined with our administrator/District planning team -- have been working for several months to prepare amidst uncertainties for fall. The goal is to safely accommodate as many students as possible for in-person learning (preparing for transitions between hybrid and 100% remote learning should that become necessary again) and to ensure that all students -- whether learning in-person in the classroom or remotely -- are engaged in a structured day of robust learning.  Attending to students' social-emotional well-being is paramount. 

In the spring, we assembled a 77-member team to participate in planning exercises with Stanford University's D-School working with different potential models (open campus with restrictions, Hybrid model, and continued remote learning model.) As we continued to refine our models, we sought additional input from all groups of stakeholders on draft plans. Our administrators collaborated to be able to submit plans to the State by July 31, 2020. These plans will continue to be updated and revised based on new health and safety information we receive from government and health partners. Building leaders at each of our six schools will be holding information sessions with parents in August (after the Governor's announcement Aug. 1-7) and will incorporate into our plans any additional parent feedback as necessary. 

Updated Aug. 7, 2020 - Gov. Cuomo announces that New York’s COVID-19 infection rate has stayed steady and, as a result, schools across the state are authorized to reopen  (adhering to safety guidelines from the NY State Education Department and the NY State Department of Health) for in-classroom learning
Governor Cuomo and the State of NY will make decisions around the reopening of schools based on current COVID-19 data, with announcement planned between Aug. 1-7 on whether or not schools will open in a particular region. Schools will be able to reopen in regions that are in Phase IV of the State's economic reopening and have a daily infection rate of 5% or lower over a 14-day average. If a spike is seen between when the announcement is made and the first day of school, schools will immediately close if the regional rate shoots past 9% over a seven-day average.

Assigning students to groups/pods was a complex process. Our administrators worked diligently and thoughtfully on class placement, purposefully formulating groups assigned to our teaching staff, based on numerous factors, including: -
- family preference for hybrid learning model or fully-remote learning
- honoring a.m. or p.m. preference whenever possible and providing same schedule for siblings, unless requested otherwise
- considering groups of students balanced by gender and number of students receiving special education services and ENL services
- overall group dynamics