Dear Mountain Laurel families,

We are writing to let you know that there have been two further positive covid cases, one reported in the Mountain Rose Kindergarten and one reported in the 2nd Grade class. These classes do not need to be quarantined as our students and faculty have not had contact with either individual within the 2-day infectious period prior to their receiving a positive test result.

It is important to note that both these cases had previously tested negative and have now tested positive. This is exactly why we have a strict testing protocol for our return to school.  Retesting will catch other false negatives before exposing the infected individuals to the entire school community and beyond.

Our objective is to keep our students, their parents and grandparents, our teachers, staff, and the wider community safe, and our school open for in-person learning.  Without testing for these next few weeks, we would be in a continual cycle of quarantine and closure. 

These are not normal times. New infectious variants are here. We have a 7% infection rate in Ulster County. The covid situation is dynamic so we must be flexible and be able to pivot quickly to avoid another outbreak.

Sincerely,

Administration.