Superintendent’s Community Update for December 18, 2020
December 18, 2020
Dear Hastings Families,
The schools have certainly had their share of COVID-19 related issues this week. Both Hastings High School and Farragut Middle School are now in full remote learning with Hillside Elementary School operating in the hybrid learning model. Moving into remote learning across the District on December 21-23 helps to prevent faculty, staff, children, and families from having to spend the holidays in quarantine or isolation. Given the increased infection rate after Thanksgiving, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of avoiding large gatherings during this holiday season and not traveling. As I stated in last Friday’s update, please defer visiting loved ones and shift your travel plans to the summer months. Please also review the guidance on travel from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of today, we are not required to start mandatory COVID-19 testing. Let’s keep our numbers down and stay away from the yellow zone. I want to thank families who completed the parental consent form in the event this testing becomes necessary. Information about our yellow zone microcluster testing plan and parental consent form is here.
Unless conditions change during the holiday recess, we will continue to use the hybrid learning model in January 2021. On December 10th during their Hillside Huddle, Amy Cazes and John DeKams described their plan to transition to full-day learning for 1st graders on January 19, 2021. The slides from their presentation are here. No additional changes will be made to the schedules at Farragut Middle School or Hastings High School at this time. Thank you for your patience, cooperation, and understanding.
Please continue to review these CDC holiday reminders to keep your family safe. The Westchester County Department of Health provided a contact for reporting unsafe behavior in the community, which impacts the safety of others by contributing to the spread of the virus. Please contact the Westchester County Department of Health at 914-995-2900 or [email protected] to report these incidents.
Last night P-C0C (Parenting Children of Color) sponsored a panel of graduates of the District who were Asian American, African American, and Latinx, to share their experiences while they were students in Hastings. There were many positive experiences shared by the panelists. However, they also spoke about some challenges associated with being from different racial, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds in a predominantly white school district. How to Be an Antiracist Educator by Dena Simmons found here is a helpful exploration of how to adopt practices that support all learners. To be clear, this was not a resource recommended by P-CoC or the graduates. This is a resource I have read a few times and find that it helps to frame some practical steps for developing an anti-racist mindset.
We all are looking forward to the holiday recess which starts on December 24, 2020, with a return to school on January 4, 2021. Please continue to enforce all of the safety protocols such as wearing masks, maintaining 6 feet of social distancing, and washing your hands frequently. These practices have mitigated the spread of the virus. Every week brings its challenges, but your flexibility, cooperation, and assistance are greatly appreciated.
Please have a safe and enjoyable weekend.
Sincerely,
Valerie Henning-Piedmonte, Ed. D.
Superintendent of Schools
