Dear Middleburgh families and staff,
As anticipated, the New York State Department of Public Health (NYSDOH) released new guidance relative to re-opening schools. You can review this guidance (law) in its entirety here.
The most significant changes are the differences in guidance between elementary and secondary schools as it relates to social distancing and “cohorting” of students; both of which are tied to a seven-day rolling average of county-wide infection rates. This rate is critical as it dictates the extent to which secondary students can be cohorted and socially distanced at three feet apart versus six feet.
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- Elementary Level – We started the year with our elementary schools open every day. Elementary schools will remain open in our current model through the end of this year. We will maintain six feet physical distancing until local positivity rates decrease.
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- Secondary Level – Students will remain in their hybrid instructional model based on six feet until the rolling average allows for a full return. Should infection rates drop to the extent we can re-open without cohorting ( self-contained, pre-assigned groups) we will bring all 7-12 students back to a full time, everyday model based on three feet. However, we will need to assess how late into this school year this will be considered a viable option. Since local positivity rates are considered “high risk” the likelihood of this happening is low.
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- Fully Remote – Elementary and secondary students learning in the fully remote model will continue in this program through the end of the school year.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you!
Brian Dunn
Superintendent of Schools