Our Approach
The Highland Falls Fort Montgomery Central School District is committed to making the soundest decisions regarding our reopening, and we strongly believe in making those decisions based on science. Our approach is comprehensive in nature and it is informed by what we see happening internationally as well as by national and state guidance, and local decisions.
HFFMCSD strives to return students to our physical schools in a safe and responsible manner. This website is designed to inform parents, faculty and staff of the plans for reopening our school campuses. On this site, you can view the guiding documents we have considered in creating our reopening plan and familiarize yourself with the options for returning to school.
Four Guiding Principles
1
Ensure the safety and wellness of students, faculty and staff
2
Deliver a high-quality educational experience in all instructional models.
3
Be flexible to ever- changing conditions and responsive to students' needs.
4
Plan for progress, not perfection.
REOPENING OUR PHYSICAL CAMPUSES
The safety of our school community is our top priority. During planning we have made sure to include all aspects of the school experience and what safety precautions would have to be taken for each. These include teaching and learning, social-emotional learning, exceptional learners, transportation, facilities, food service, health and wellness, ELLs, school security, and more.
Student and Staff Experience
The district's number one priority is a safe learning environment that protects both the student's social-emotional wellbeing as well as allowing them to effectively learn. Below are some of the social distance and safety equipment that is planned to be installed in our school buildings and offices.
Limited Hallway Traffic
Daily Health Screenings
Distance Workstations
Reduced Classroom Seating
Sanitation Stations
Avoid Sharing Equipment
Virtual Meetings
PPE / Increased Sanitization
UNKNOWNS & VARIABLES
Metrics that Governor Andrew Cuomo plans to use to determine whether school buildings may reopen as well as the regional conditions that will require students to stay at home:
- Average daily infection rate of the novel coronavirus is 5% or less, schools in that regional can reopen.
- Average daily information rate of the novel coronavirus is 9% or higher, schools in that region must close.
(The opening calculation generally will be based on 14 days of data and the closure decision will be based on seven days of data).