I hope that you and your family are enjoying the final days of summer. We are extremely excited to welcome back our staff on Monday and our students on Tuesday of next week! There is already a positive feeling throughout the district in anticipation of a great year.
I had dreamed of writing no Covid-19 messages to you this year; however, there is some new guidance from the New York State Department of Health that I would like to make you aware of. The guidance indicates a "new phase" of the pandemic and includes the following highlights from the CDC:
• Elimination of quarantine after exposure
• No universal masking requirement in school or on the school bus
• No physical distancing required
• No required screening testing
• No required reporting of positive results
• No Covid-19 vaccination requirement to attend school
• No requirement for contact tracing
*Please note that if a student or staff member does test positive for COVID-19, they should isolate for 5 full days at home. Individuals returning to school after completing 5 days of isolation should wear a mask in school and in indoor public spaces on days 6-10, in accord with CDC recommendations. There is no required test to return; however, individuals should be fever free without fever reducing medicine for 24 hours and have improving symptoms.
The district will still be following all cleaning and disinfecting guidance to reduce the risk of spreading germs.
Attached to this email you will find a more detailed FAQ that was provided for schools and a COVID-19 mitigation strategies guide for parents. We will keep you posted if there are any changes to this guidance put out by the Suffolk County Department of Health.
I am hopeful that this is a first step towards "normalcy" and look forward to partnering with you to support our students and ensure an excellent year!
Sincerely,
Paul Romanelli
Superintendent of Schools