A Message from Our Program Director

Greetings, Parents -
Let me thank you all for your patience and forbearance during our pivot to remote learning these past two weeks.
 
We know this has been a struggle for you, and we will be the first to say remote learning isn’t the best learning environment for children. We look forward to the return to in-person learning on Monday January 31st, and hope to remain in-person for the remainder of the school year. 
 
The Center for Spectrum Services COVID task force collaborates often to improve and add to our mitigation strategies. On Wednesday you received information on the Student COVID testing program we are offering. If you missed the communication, you can see it by Clicking Here.
 
As a reminder, we will only test students for whom we have signed parental consent and who are able to be tested without the use of any form of physical assistance. Please reach out to your Family Service Coordinator if you have any questions. 

Let me say on behalf of all of us here at Spectrum Services, we cannot wait to see your child back in class.

Again, thank you!

Charlotte Mennona
Program Director
Encouraging
Mask Wearing

As we enter our third year of the Covid epidemic, we recognize wearing a mask continues to be challenging for many of our students, we continue to work towards improving the percentage of our students who are able to tolerate a mask, even for short periods of time.

We offer our students masks with different fabrics and prints. Your child’s special educator and Family Service Coordinator will have additional ideas to support your efforts to acclimate your child to wear a mask.

If you would like us to send home some sample masks for you to use at home, please be in touch with your Family Service Coordinator
 
If you have questions about our Covid protocols, email our school nurses, Dan Uttendorfer, RN in Kingston: Click Here, and Marian Malcuit, LPN, in Ellenville: Click Here.

Thank you for your help!
~ ~ ~ ~
Autism can't define me,
I define autism.

Kerry Magro
Our Covid Mitigative
Policies Differ, Because Our Students are Unique

From the CDC to local school districts, policies for preventing Covid have changed. However, with our student population, where many are unable to wear properly-fitting masks consistently and social distancing is difficult to maintain, our Covid Response Team, in concern for the continued safety of our students and staff, will continue, for the time being, the policies we've been following.

Test-To-Stay Programs
As many of you know, a number of school districts are employing a test to stay program. A process whereby if a student has a close contact with another student or staff member who later tests positive for Covid, a vaccinated student is allowed to stay in class, but they must remain asymptomatic, and the parent must perform a home test on Day 2 and Day 4 following exposure.

However, since our students are unable to wear well-fitting masks as per department of health guidance, test to stay does not work for us. Quite a number of our students are not mask-wearing, and they find it difficult to keep safe social distancing.

Therefore, we will not participate in a Test to Stay program. Our student population simply does not allow it.

10-Day Quarantine
For the reasons mentioned above, we are also keeping the duration of quarantine to 10 days, rather than 5, for students who test positive, but cannot consistently wear a mask upon their return. The CDC’s guidelines state that after a five-day quarantine, a person must wear a mask for five days when around others to minimize the risk of infecting people they encounter.

If the student (age 5+) is fully vaccinated and able to consistently demonstrate they can properly wear a well-fitting mask, they do not need to quarantine after close contact with a positive person. They are supposed to get tested at least 5 days after the last close contact.

If they are not fully vaccinated and had close contact with a positive person it’s 5 days if they can wear a mask correctly. If they can’t, it’s 10 days

If a student has not demonstrated the ability to consistently wear a mask, they must quarantine for the prescribed 10 days.
The weekly Student Health-Check is an important part of our school Covid Response. This assessment works to keep your child safe by reminding all parents to take a moment to perform it before sending their Spectrum Services student in each Monday.
Vaccine's Work
If your child isn't vaccinated yet, and is eligible, we encourage you to consult with your child's pediatrician about getting them vaccinated against Covid.

Remember, a vaccinated student who has a close contact does not have to quarantine (as long as they're symptom-free), whereas a student who isn't vaccinated must.
Parent Support and Workshops for February
At Spectrum Services we believe that parents must be partners in their child’s educational program. For this reason we offer Parent Support and Parent Workshops free for any parent of a child with a developmental disability. Funding is provided through grants from the Office of People with Developmental Disabilities. Click on any of the workshop for details.

This group is an “open conversation” for parents to share stories, discuss research, identify community services, and to ask and answer questions from other parents. Most importantly, this is a time to give and share support. Some of you are new to this journey with Autism while others have traveled this journey for a while. Regardless, we all need an opportunity to share our worries and triumphs with each other.

Presented by Tom DeHaan, Program Coordinator for the Taconic region of the Office for Persons with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD). Tom will discuss the services which may be available to your family free of charge.

In this workshop, Stacey Orzell will share a variety of resources for children of all ages and abilities. She has complied a vast amount of community recreation, camps, social groups and sibling meet up information.

In this workshop parents and caregivers be given helpful hints for making small changes that will have a positive effect on their child’s behavior.
We are grateful for Spectrum Services Annual Sponsors, who support our students and families.
70 Kukuk Lane, Kingston NY 12401 - 4 Yankee Place, Ellenville, NY 12428