July 31, 2020 Dear Community Members,
Our school reopening plans have now been posted on the District website; they are accessible through a link on our homepage and directly on each of our six school building sites. The plans cover every detail of the educational experience, including reopening and ongoing health and safety protocols, curriculum, student schedules for learning at each level (elementary, middle and high school), mental health, tech equity for all students, communications, and facilities. It is important to note, as we have mentioned previously, that these plans will not remain static. The plans will be revised, expanded and updated as we move forward in hopes of maximizing in-person learning, providing a robust educational program for all students and attending to our students' social-emotional needs.
The planning process over the past several months has been extensive, with the health and safety of our students, staff and families being our top priority. Stakeholders from every facet of our school community (administrators, teachers, parents, students, community members, community partners, local health department officials and the Mamaroneck Teachers Association) have offered valuable feedback, which we have worked to incorporate.
Health and Safety Information
- Our plans incorporate recommendations and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) and the New York State Education Department (NYSED). As required by the State, included are procedures for the wearing of masks, six-foot social distancing, and "cohorting" of students ( i.e. forming small groups of students who remain together during any time in school), in addition to facilities-related safety measures such as improving air quality through increased ventilation and filtration.
- The plans also include protocols for health screening measures that must be conducted each morning before coming to school, isolating and dismissing students or staff should they become ill during the school day and addressing situations in which an individual has tested positive for COVID-19 or appears symptomatic.
- The District is preparing for scenarios where one or more school buildings may need to close due to a significant number of students or staff testing positive for COVID-19 or a considerable regional increase in COVID-19 cases. In every instance, if one or some of our students or staff test positive, mandatory contact tracing will be conducted, and we will consult in collaboration with our local health officials and the CDC, as well as with our District Physician, Dr. Ann Engelland and our Nursing Coordinator Dina Murphy.
Instructional Model Details - Our plans include three models for the elementary, middle and high school levels: 1) Hybrid, the most likely start-of-the-school-year scenario, pending Governor Cuomo's announcement about in-person learning Aug. 1-7 2) 100% remote learning, and 3) All in-person learning in the event that we are able to return to this model later in the school year.
- Based on a maximum number of students we can safely accommodate within NY State guidelines, our hybrid model is outlined as follows:
- At the elementary and middle school levels, a half-day (50%) of in-person learning and a half-day (50%) of remote learning every day. While we recognize that the half-day every day model may be challenging for some families, we strongly believe that students will benefit from an everyday, consistent in-person learning routine. Keeping students in a single classroom for a full day with limited movement is particularly difficult for our younger students. The District will do everything possible to support parents and students. - The high school, based on its square footage of instructional space, will start the year with a 33% capacity model, with the goal of moving to 50% dependent on the number of students registered. It will be important to examine the traffic flow of students throughout the building to assess social distancing patterns. - We also are preparing for the possibility that during the course of the school year we may need to alternate between in-person and remote learning due to recommendations and guidance from our partnering agencies and stay-at-home orders from the Governor. The level of infection and the spread and response of the virus in our community also will determine our ability to operate schools.
Next Steps - FOR OUR DISTRICT PARENTS: PLEASE COMPLETE THIS IMPORTANT SURVEY on your family's intentions to send your children back to school in the fall as well as your family's technology needs. (We have arranged for the loan of District Chromebooks to all students in need of devices.) We are requesting that ALL district families complete this survey SEPARATELY for each child in your household (i.e., families with multiple children should fill out the survey multiple times). The survey results will help us to better refine our reopening plan based on the needs of our community. To facilitate effective planning, it is important that we receive survey responses by Saturday, August 8th. The survey will be closed after that date.
- Video: Keep an eye out for an upcoming video explaining reopening plans at each level - elementary, middle and high school.
- We will provide separate communications detailing the ways in which our District guidance counselors, school psychologists and social workers will identify students having difficulty transitioning back into the school setting and provide overall support for students during this challenging time.
- Following the Governor's announcement on the reopening of schools (Aug. 1-7), by mid-month, our school administrators will convene information sessions with parents to provide the most up-to-date information and discuss reopening plans for the safe operation of schools.
While we long for the day when we can safely have all of our students back in our buildings full time, we do recognize and understand the uncertainty that exists for parents around sending children to school. We know that the learning environments in the fall will differ from what we used to consider "normal" learning, but we are working ambitiously and optimistically to make sure students and staff feel safe returning to our school campuses and that students continue to receive the high quality education Mamaroneck is known for and values.
Warm Regards, Dr. Robert I. Shaps Superintendent of Schools FOSTERING THOUGHT AND INNOVATION Mamaroneck School District's mission is to promote intellectual engagement and an appreciation of learning as an inherently rewarding activity and to prepare students to function as responsible citizens in a multicultural world. |