Beginning tomorrow, our school will reopen for in-person instruction as planned. Tomorrow, January 5, students in grades 5 through 8 return for in-person instruction, while students in grades 9 through 12 return on Wednesday, January 6.
While COVID-19 infection rates have continued to increase throughout our region, all available data indicate that the rate of virus transmission in schools remains low. Governor Cuomo has said “the safest place in the community is truly the school” because the precautions schools have taken have been effective.
In December, we were forced to transition to schoolwide remote instruction. This was due to the number of teachers quarantined and the staffing shortage created. Unless we experience another extreme shortage or there is an executive order by the governor to close schools, we will continue to offer the option for in-person instruction. We communicate on a daily basis with local health officials and other school leaders to monitor all available information, including how the increased infection rates relate to schools.
We want to take advantage of the opportunities we have for in-person instruction and we know how important it is for our students to be in school. In order to remain open, we need to keep this environment as safe as possible. As we return to school, we use this moment to remind everyone of the health and safety precautions in place at CBA. Teachers will remind students of our rules on proper mask wearing, hand hygiene, social distancing, etc. Students who violate CBA’s mask policy will receive a verbal warning by the teacher. For subsequent violations, the student will be referred to the administration and may be placed in remote instruction for repeated violations. We ask everyone to answer the questions in daily screening honestly and insist that anyone who is sick stay home.
If we adhere to these precautions, we can continue to limit the spread of the virus in school. The next few weeks will be challenging and we anticipate more positive cases. If we remain committed to each other’s health and adhere to our policies, we can continue to provide in-person instruction in the healthy, safe, and faith-filled environment that you have chosen and the environment that we work diligently to offer to every student, every day.
Sincerely,
