Dear New Rochelle School Community,
As we plan to start our year, we know that many of you have questions about the opening of schools and what to expect when school starts next month.
The first day of school is Wednesday, September 9. This is a half-day for elementary schools.
From September 9 to September 11, schools will hold orientations with a combination of live and virtual sessions determined at each school. While these orientations are typical in our schools during the first few days, this year they will be smaller to ensure we are utilizing all of our health and safety procedures for school reentry.
During this time, students will be invited to collect instructional materials, books, and the technology they need to work from home, including Chromebooks if they don’t already have one. We expect to have our hotspots next week and we will send separate correspondence about how families without internet can access one.
When students are not participating in the orientation process, there will be online modules, or asynchronous learning activities, that will allow them to become familiar with the use of personal protective equipment, the importance of social distancing and lessons in social-emotional learning, setting literacy routines, and mathematics. These activities are for the first days of school, after which scheduled classes will have synchronous learning.
Although our schools have a consistent approach to teaching and learning, individual building leaders will have the flexibility to manage the opening of school in a way that best supports the needs of their school community.
Each school will communicate with families in the coming week when you will receive more information from your child’s principal about how online learning will look for your student and what you can expect for the start of the school year. This is when you will receive a schedule and information about your child’s classes.
Teachers are scheduled for professional development and will be prepared to teach our students. Our teachers will also engage in professional development in the use of Personal Protective Equipment, the importance of Social Distancing, and how to incorporate Social-Emotional Learning in our units of study. Teachers will also be offered the opportunity to take part in sessions on all of the instructional technology that we will use during the virtual start.
By next week, information specific to the plans for your school will be posted on the school’s respective website. Until then, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact your student’s principal.
Our central administration has received numerous emails to questions that have been answered during presentations or in our FAQs on our website. We encourage you to go to nred.org to find out answers to those questions. Due to the volume of emails we are receiving, individual questions, letters of appreciation and concerns about virtual learning may not receive an individual response. Any student-specific questions can be answered by calling your school.
Sincerely,
