School Opening Guidelines for January 3, 2022

December 31, 2021

Dear KLSD Community,

I hope everyone in our community has been able to enjoy some time during this break period to be with family and friends. While we continue to face significant challenges, finding time for balance and to take care of self and loved ones has never been more important.

We are, of course, mindful of the rapid spread of COVID and the dramatically increased case numbers of recent days. At the same time, our commitment to the importance of in-person learning for all students and the lessons we learned from our hybrid and shut-down experiences remain with us. As a result, we will open for in-person learning on Monday, January 3, assuming we have sufficient staff to do so. If conditions force us to make a change between now and Sunday night, I will be in touch again.

To help us keep schools open for all, please be reminded that you must keep your child home from school if either of the following is true:

  • Your child is ill, regardless of vaccination status. 
  • Your child has tested positive for COVID in the last 10 days. NYS still requires a 10-day isolation period for students testing positive for COVID regardless of vaccination status. 

In the past week, there have been some developments from both the CDC and NYS, some of which apply to us and some of which don’t. They are as follows:

The CDC revised the length of the isolation period for COVID positive individuals. NYS public schools, however, are obligated to follow guidance provided by NYS DOH and that guidance has not yet changed. As a result, any student who tested positive over the break, must remain out of school for ten days from the day their positive test was administered, or the day symptoms developed, whichever came first. We will let you know if/when this guidance changes.

Under new guidance from NYS, staff members who have tested positive, are vaccinated, and remain asymptomatic, can return to work after isolating for five days.

NYS is shipping rapid tests to every school district. KLSD will use these tests to implement Test to Stay (TTS), a strategy that allows students who would otherwise be quarantined to attend school. TTS applies only to non-vaccinated students and staff who have been exposed in school and, as a result, are required to quarantine. TTS requires the administration of a rapid test at school each morning. A negative result allows the person to attend school. It does not, however, allow a student to participate in extra-curricular activities. Quarantine is still required outside of the school day. TTS is not available to students who have been exposed in settings other than school. We will share more information as soon as we are ready to implement TTS.

Our weekly screening testing will be conducted on Monday and Tuesday next week for all students whose families have provided consent. Additionally, we will be sending reminders in the coming week and encouraging more families to provide consent for their children to be tested.

Vaccination continues to be the most certain way to remain in school following exposure. We continue to encourage families to seek vaccination and boosters, if eligible, for your children if you have not already done so.

For students who cannot attend school, either because they are isolating following a positive test, or because they are quarantined following a school-based exposure, we will continue providing support at the elementary level with our dedicated quarantine teachers. At our secondary schools, students meeting these criteria will have Zoom access into classrooms and, where possible, access to after school support by Zoom. Please understand that our focus remains on supporting the vast majority of students who are in school, and Zoom access, as a result, will have limitations. At both elementary and secondary schools, quarantine support can begin no sooner than January 4.

As of the writing of this letter, the number of positive cases that have been reported to us since our schools closed on Thursday, December 23, is as follows:

School

# Of Positive Cases Reported (students and staff)

Increase Miller Elementary School

18

Katonah Elementary School

24

Meadow Pond Elementary School

13

John Jay Middle School

28

John Jay High School

51

 

 

 

 

 

While we all continue adapting to ever changing conditions, guidelines, and available resources, we remain committed to supporting your children. I thank you for the partnership of the last two years, and for the partnership, compassion, and patience that will be required in the coming weeks.

I wish all a happy and healthy New Year.

Sincerely,

Andrew Selesnick, Superintendent of Schools