Update on School Reopening August 14 2020

Update on LaFayette CSD Reopening Plans- Thursday August 14, 2020

Dear LaFayette CSD Families:

On Friday August 7, 2020, Governor Cuomo announced that schools in New York State can return to in-person instruction starting in September. LaFayette Central School District is pleased to be able to offer the following options for families to consider:

1. A return to in person learning, five days a week, for all students in grades pre kindergarten through twelfth grade with safety precautions (symptom screening, mask wearing, social distancing) .

2. Digital learning for students who are not able to return to school. 

We appreciate the 600 responses that we have received so far, designating the learning option (in person or digital learning) and transportation preference that our families want for the fall. If you have not completed the survey, someone from your child’s school will be reaching out to assist you with indicating your preference for either in person or digital learning.

Parent Meetings

We have had great involvement from LaFayette families with our Reopen LaFayette CSD Committee during the months of June, July, and August, and are also offering three additional informational sessions for parents to learn more about our reopening plans. LaFayette families are welcome to join me through video conferencing on the following dates/times:

• Monday 8/17 6:00 PM - Parent Meeting #1 via Google Meets - https://meet.google.com/yhj-gzqq-zdh

• Tuesday 8/18 6:00 PM - Parent Meeting #2 via Google Meets - https://meet.google.com/tnr-ybhx-uhr

• Wednesday 8/19 4:00 PM - Reopen LaFayette CSD Task Force Meeting - email jbelfield@lafayetteschools.org if you are interested in joining

• Thursday 8/20 6:00 PM - Parent Meeting #3 via Google Meets - https://meet.google.com/ddq-eagd-xgd

Each parent meeting will cover the same information. You are welcome to attend all meetings. You are also welcome to contact me at any time with questions on our reopening plan - 315-529-9550 (cell) or jbelfield@lafayetteschools.org. 

Here is the tentative agenda for the Parent Meetings:

• Welcome

• Reopening Metrics

• Overview of Reopening Plans

  • What you need to know for in-person learning

  • Phase In 

  • What you need to know for digital learning

• Opportunity for COVID-19 Testing for Students and Staff

• Contact Tracing

• Questions and Answers

If you are interested in joining our Reopen LaFayette CSD Task Force, please feel free to email me so I can add you to our distribution list. 

Updates to Reopening Plan

The district submitted our reopening plans to the New York State Education Department and the New York State Department of Health on Thursday July 30th. The plans have recently been updated based on new requirements issued by Governor Cuomo on August 7th. We have updated details on three specific aspects of our reopening plan: 1) how the district plans on working with the Onondaga County Health Department to conduct diagnostic COVID testing for students and teachers- click here 2) how the district plans on working with the local health department and NYS contact tracing if someone tests positive- click here 3) and how the district plans to conduct remote learning- click here. These three new updates have also been posted under the links section of our School Reopening webpage - click here. 

Phase In for September

In order to help start in-person learning on the right foot, we are going to take a phased in approach for the first two days of school. This will allow our students and staff to learn new procedures for symptom screening, drop off, mask wearing, social distancing, hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, and other safety precautions. Here is our proposed schedule for the first three days of school:

Tuesday September 8th- First Day for In Person Instruction Grades 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11

Wednesday September 9th - First Day for In Person InstructionGrades PK, K, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12

Thursday September 10th- First Day for Students in All Grades/Digital Learning Starts

Adjustment to School Start/End Times

We are also making slight adjustments to our school schedule to allow for staggered drop off times. This will allow school staff sufficient time to perform temperature checks on smaller groups of students. Your child’s school building principal will reach out with specifics next week regarding student drop off times. We want to be sensitive to parent work schedules while also allowing the schools extra time to screen students for symptoms. Please remember that we dismiss early on Mondays (1:45 ONS/Grimshaw and 2:00 PM for the High School/Big Picture) so that our teachers can work collaboratively in professional learning communities. 

Student drop offs will be staggered and again your child’s building principal will reach out with more specifics next week. 

Grimshaw Elementary: Drop off times start at 7:00 AM (official school day starts at 7:45) and dismissal starts at 2:10 PM.  (Monday dismissal starts at 1:45 PM)

Onondaga Nation School: Drop off times start at  7:15 AM (official school day starts at 7:30) and dismissal starts at 2:50 PM (Monday dismissal starts at 1:45 PM for PLCs)

LaFayette Jr/Sr High School and LaFayette Big Picture School: Drop off times start at 7:30 AM (official school day starts at 7:55) and dismissal starts at 2:38 (Monday dismissal starts at 2:00 PM for PLCs).

We are excited for the return of our students (either in person or via digital learning). Please know that we are working diligently to maintain a safe learning environment that addresses the needs of our school community. Again, if you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact me at 315-529-9550 (cell) or email jbelfield@lafayetteschools.org 

Sincerely,
Jeremy Belfield
Superintendent of Schools
LaFayette Central School District