Superintendent’s Community Update, February 5, 2021
Dear Hastings Families,
We have had an interesting week of weather activity. More excitement is headed our way this weekend. While I had communicated in December that emergency closing/snow days would be traditional snow days, this decision changed this week because of the two consecutive days of bad weather. There may be a time, as was the case on Tuesday, when a remote day of instruction rather than a day of no instruction makes the most sense. On a positive note, we will regain the snow day used on Monday because Monday was declared a “State of Emergency”. We set aside five emergency closing days for this school year. One day had to be restored to cover the parent-teacher conference day in November. We had planned to use two Flex Wednesdays for parent-teacher conferences but ended the Flex Wednesday model in late October. December 17th was our first emergency closing/snow day. The three remaining emergency closing/snow days must cover us from now until the end of the school year. If we exceed our three days before March, it makes sense to conduct remote instruction rather than deduct days from the March 29-April 5 Spring break.
There are a few more important items to share with you.
The Coming Jobs War Book Study, Portrait of a Graduate, and Strategic Planning
Please join us in this important work to bring the schools and community together to re-examine our goals for student learning and reflect on our hopes, dreams, and aspirations for all students. This will be achieved through the identification of 21st-century learner dispositions, competencies, and habits of mind necessary for all students to succeed in an ever-changing global society. This process was outlined from start to finish and shared with you here. If you would like to join this exciting team, please sign up here. If you need a copy of the book, please email one of the following people:
Black History Month
In observance of Black History Month, a 12-month calendar from the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is on display on a bulletin board across from the Personnel Office in the Farragut Complex. Each day of the week explains a historical event that involves Black, People of Color, and Indigenous People (BiPoC). On today for example, in 1917, “Congress passes the Immigration Act of 1917 to bar entry of Asian, Mexican, and Mediterranean people, poor people and those with mental and physical disabilities or criminal records”. This calendar is available to order from the EJI as well as others from previous years.
The 2021-22 School Calendar
A draft of the 2021-22 school year calendar will be shared with the Board at the February 22nd Board meeting. The draft is here.
Our Athletic Program
At Monday’s Board of Education meeting, the Board will be reviewing a resolution to allow our students to participate in Ice Hockey, Girls Junior Varsity and Varsity Basketball, and Boys Junior Varsity and Varsity Basketball. Andrew Wendol, Interim Director of Physical Education, Health and Athletics, has worked closely with Section I and the Westchester County Department of Health, which granted districts permission to offer high-risk sports. Mr. Wendol has made all appropriate arrangements to allow our students to participate safely in these sports.
School Reopening Committee
In the January 29th update, I announced the School Reopening Committee will be reconvening and new members are invited to join. If you are still interested in joining, please sign up here. The meeting will be held on Thursday, March 4th from 4:30 pm-5:30 pm. A meeting link will be shared with those who signed up. Our objective will be to determine a plan for phasing in all students. We have a few priorities including acquiring vaccinations for all school personnel and a reliable COVID-19 testing program for our schools to proactively detect positive cases when we reopen for all students. We need your support and advocacy. Please continue to use the Voter Voice portal provided by the Westchester Putnam School Boards Association.
We will continue to inform our school personnel about obtaining a vaccination when we learn about expanded availability. Members of the community have notified me and I have in turn notified faculty and staff. Thank you for sharing this information with us. In addition, school personnel will be allowed to use sick time to obtain vaccinations so they are not restricted to time after their workday or on weekends.
Thank you for your continued efforts to uphold important safety practices that protect everyone.
I hope you have a safe and enjoyable weekend.
Sincerely,
Valerie Henning-Piedmonte, Ed.D.
