July 10 Update

July 10, 2020

Dear KLSD Community,

I’m very much aware that even though it’s early July, the fall is on the minds of many. How could it not be, as we all think about the return to school.

We intend to provide you with updates throughout the summer - to share all current information along with our thinking – so that you can be best informed about what’s ahead.

You may have already heard that on Wednesday of this week, Governor Cuomo shared the following:

  1. New York State will provide re-opening guidance to schools on Monday, July 13
  2. Every school district must then submit its own re-opening plan to the State by July 31
  3. Governor Cuomo, following the submission of those plans, will decide during the first week in August if schools will open.

We believe the Governor’s guidance will be related to health and safety and that educational guidance may arrive later in the week. 

While I believe (and hope) the State’s guidance will give us some latitude to design a plan that best suits our District, the Governor has the ultimate authority to decide if schools will open for in-person learning. We cannot make that decision independently. 

In the absence of State guidance, we have been thinking and planning for every contingency. Our hope, of course, is to bring all students back to school for in-person learning. We know the benefits to students of being in school. But we also understand the health and safety constraints that may only allow for a partial re-opening, a hybrid model (some groups of students on some days), or possibly even a full continuation of distance learning.

Before submitting a plan at the end of this month, we will seek feedback from families, and we will share our plan as soon as it is finalized. Please watch your email for further opportunities to offer feedback and provide input. 

In the meantime, if you have questions, please submit them to questions@klschools.org.

And if you haven’t yet participated (or wish to participate again) in the Thought Exchange project supported by more than a dozen local districts, you can do so here: https://my.thoughtexchange.com/309679837. This project is generating thinking across communities about the re-opening of school.

Please continue to be well and have a good weekend.

Sincerely,

Andrew Selesnick, Superintendent of Schools