January 3, 2021
Brunswick CSD Community,
With the holiday recess coming to an end, we want to let our community know that as of this communication, our plan is to have our students return to in-person learning on Monday, January 4, with grades K-6 being fully in-person and grades 7-12 in a hybrid format. [Tomorrow is a D day, with the red cohort in the secondary building.] Caregivers that wish to explore remote possibilities should contact their building principal as soon as possible.
We will continue to monitor the data for our schools and make any adjustments as necessary. While we can not predict the future, we know what procedures have been working.
Throughout the break, we have been monitoring the pandemic and have been in contact with the Rensselaer County Department of Health, and other schools within BOCES regarding our ability to reopen schools safely. We have also consulted school physicians for their opinion on reopening. While we understand the rationale for some schools switching to remote instruction, we feel that keeping our students learning in an in-person environment is very important and, as long as we can continue to provide in-person instruction in a safe manner with sufficient staff, we will make every effort to do so.
The New York State Department of Health and public health experts have said that schools are among the safest places one can be during this pandemic. Thus far we have had twenty-five (eight of whom are staff) cases and five are siblings. Almost all our cases have spread from non-school contacts.
In the new year, it is imperative that all members of our District continue daily health screening, temperature checks, mask wearing, social distancing and health hygiene. The metrics are changing but testing is coming. An important change involves CDC guidance for quarantining a total of ten days, instead of the previous fourteen. In addition, we are hoping to have the capacity to complete the rapid antigen test by this week. We are hopeful to be able to vaccinate our school staff by the end of this month.
Lastly, please look for our rapid test consent form to be emailed starting tomorrow to in-person and hybrid students. You will need to answer this email once; if you do not respond, you will continue to receive the email until a response has been received. If you have any questions, please reach out to our COVIDhotline@brunswickcsd.org
Sincerely,
Dr. Angelina Maloney
Superintendent
Brunswick CSD