November 20, 2020
Dear Hastings Families,
I hope this update finds the community in good spirits in anticipation of Thanksgiving. While we all want to approach the upcoming holidays as we have in the past, we know we can’t because of the risks associated with coming in contact with others who may be asymptomatic and positive. Please follow the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on travel and gatherings during Thanksgiving which is here. Everyone needs to heed these safety procedures by celebrating with immediate family members and avoiding travel. The outcome of not wearing masks and disregarding social distancing will significantly impact the ability of our schools to reopen on November 30. Thank you in advance for all you are doing to keep us safe.
With the recent positive COVID cases at Hillside Elementary School and Farragut Middle School, we are hanging on by a string. While the cases, so far, in our schools don’t suggest that individuals who test positive for the virus were exposed in our schools, the aftermath has been tremendously challenging for our schools. The reality of what happens after we have a positive case has resulted in the need for administrators at each school to piece together classroom coverages with teachers who are already teaching their classes and substitute teachers who are still scarce after several recruitment efforts. A few of our teachers have been quarantined as many as three times. Our administrators are carefully monitoring staffing levels for next week and will do their best to conduct in-person learning. If we need to move into remote instruction, we either have another positive case or we don’t have enough teachers to safely conduct in-person learning.
Under the Governor’s micro-cluster initiative, districts must develop a plan to conduct COVID testing in the event we fall into a yellow micro-cluster zone. The new color zones have replaced the 5% infection level initially articulated by the Governor in July, which would result in the closure of schools. If we are designated a yellow zone, schools remain open but we must test 20% of in-person students, teachers, and staff for the duration of the period we are in the yellow zone. We are exploring two options for meeting this mandate and will share our plan with the community next week. While the New York State Department of Health has agreed to provide the rapid test kits to districts, free of charge, the logistics of conducting testing must be carefully planned, which is what we are doing. This unfunded mandate will require unplanned expenditures even with the free rapid test provided by the New York State Department of Health. You can help by joining our advocacy effort found here.
In my October 26th community update, the decision to remain in the hybrid instructional model for November was announced. After reviewing the recent COVID cases at Hillside and Farragut Middle School and the escalating infection rate near communities that we border, we will continue with hybrid instruction in December. Increasing student density in our schools would not be prudent at this time. Westchester County Executive George Latimer issued a statement this week, supporting district decisions to remain at their current level of density. We know this decision will not help families who want us to shift to a full-day for 1st-graders or return all children to in-person learning. However, after three positive cases in one week at Hillside, this is not the direction we should go at this time. Ms. Cazes, Mr. DeKams, and the Hillside faculty and staff will continue to explore how best to safely proceed in the months ahead. Before the winter recess, which starts on December 24, we will announce the instructional model for January.
We appreciate your patience, cooperation, and understanding as we continue to focus on how to remain safe while we also look ahead to better days.
I hope your Thanksgiving celebration is joyous, safe, and filled with happiness.
Warmly,
Valerie Henning-Piedmonte, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
