WHERE WE ARE
As we announced last week, we will host an informational session this Tuesday, August 24 from 5 to 6 p.m. to share the best information we have at the time about what families can expect for the 2021-22 school year. The format will be the same as our previous community sessions except there will be an opportunity for parents to participate in person as well as virtually. The session will be broadcasted via YouTube Live and parents can submit questions using YouTube Live Chat. We will broadcast from the Kenmore West High School auditorium and parents will also have the option of attending here as well. Those participating online will be able to submit questions via YouTube Live Chat and we will provide a QR code for people to submit questions in person on their mobile devices. As with all of our previous community sessions, you will be able to watch the recording any time and we will post an FAQ document following the event.
One of the most important topics we will address on Tuesday is masking. As of today, we are still waiting for the Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH) to provide guidance for school districts. We expect this to be released any day. We know the CDC recommends masking in schools and we are seeing mask requirements becoming more common in the community as rates continue to rise, but we do not know for sure what kind of requirements will be in place for schools. We hope to have this information by Tuesday.
We will focus on several other topics as well such as distancing, quarantine regulations, procedures from last year that we will be discontinuing and ones we will keep in place, breakfast and lunch, cleaning/sanitizing protocols, transportation, ventilation, protocols for when a student or a staff member becomes symptomatic during the day, and the addition of tents at schools to provide additional outdoor options. We will also discuss the partnership with ECDOH to provide proximal and surveillance testing in our schools, what the difference is between them, and how parents can choose to have their children participate. All of this information will be captured in a concise two-page document that we will be releasing this Monday, prior to the meeting. This document will guide our discussion at the information session so please keep an eye out for it.
With less than two weeks to go before the first day of school on September 1st, I hope everyone shares my excitement. A year ago, the biggest decision facing the District was whether we would be able to open with a hybrid schedule. The best that we could hope for back then was students attending school in person only two days per week. Today, we know we will be opening for full, 5-day, K-12 in-person instruction to start this school year. Although mitigation strategies will be in place to minimize the spread of COVID-19, it will be business as usual in our schools and that is something to be very excited about!
