The District continues to await further guidance from New York State and Westchester County regarding the start of the new school year. In this August 13 letter, I have outlined our anticipated approach to reopening and COVID-19 safety protocols.
This week, the County informed us that it had received federal funding to conduct voluntary COVID-19 testing of staff and students, as a part of a multi-layered prevention strategy for school districts. The Westchester County Department of Health will work with public and private K-12 schools to establish screening testing programs to support safe in-person learning throughout the 2021-2022 school year.
Once the testing protocol is in place, we will follow up with more information. The following are some of the program’s details:
- The County will offer a uniform testing package to all public K-12 schools in partnership with three testing vendors.
- There will be no cost to the district, schools, or individuals for testing.
- Participation is voluntary and not mandated by the District or the County.
The incoming Governor has indicated that she will make statewide decisions regarding the reopening of schools sometime next week. As soon as our return-to-school planning is confirmed, we will hold virtual forums in order to share additional information with you.
Wishing you a healthy and safe weekend.
Joseph Hochreiter
Superintendent
