SHCSD Reopening Information center

August 2021

Dear Sackets Harbor Central School Community,

We have updated our Reopening Plan in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 schools and the American Academy of Pediatrics' COVID-19 Guidance for Safe Schools.  These tools will serve as guidance  until the requirements are issued by the governor and/or the New York State Department of Health (DOH). 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/k-12-guidance.html 

Given the highly transmissible delta variant, we anticipate implementing continued health and safety protocols to keep our school community safe.  The approach will be layered to include masking, physical distancing, promotion of vaccination, screening/testing, good handwashing/hygiene practices, staying home when sick, cleaning and disinfection, and working with Jefferson County Public Health to contact trace.        

What we now know after nearly 18 months of responding to this public health crisis is that we can do this.  It is a relief that there seems to be collective agreement that students need to be in school fulltime and that is what we are planning for.    

Be sure to refer to the District's Reopening Plan for the latest information on the plan to keep our school community in-person on a fulltime basis and healthy!  

Be well,

Jennifer Gaffney 

August 2020 

Dear Sackets Harbor Central School Community,

The last few months have been incredibly challenging due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  When we were forced to close our school doors in March, our faculty, staff, and students responded to the vast changes in our educational landscape in a manner that was most impressive.  The forced transition revealed that, as Sackets Harbor Patriots, we can all persevere.  The pandemic and subsequent closure brought to the surface the incredibly important role public education and teachers have in our communities.  We are so fortunate to have been and continue to be supported by a wonderful community which has wrapped around our little school to provide so much generosity, collaboration, and devotion.        

We survived the closure in the Spring of 2020 and now our focus has shifted to how we will return to a safe and effective school setting in September.  Our Reopening Stakeholder Team has met numerous times since April to brainstorm and plan.  We also surveyed the faculty, staff, and community about their viewpoints on reopening and our Stakeholder Team considered the vast amount of feedback we received as we planned and formulated our vision. 

As soon as the guidance from the Department of Health and State Education Department was released in mid-July and we learned of the parameters in which we had to work, we were able to start the creation of our reopening plans.  It is important that our school community understands that the vast majority of our planning was mandated by the Department of Health and the State Education Department and most of it is not negotiable.  We have and are doing what we need to do to welcome back as many of our students as often as possible.  That has been and continues to be our goal and the health and safety of our students, staff, and community has been and is the foundation from which all decisions have been and will be made.       

It is our intention to make sure to communicate all of the reopening details in the most efficient way possible.  We created this website called The SHCSD Reopening Information Center for our school community which contains details regarding every aspect of our reopening covering topics such as Communication/Family Engagement, Health and Safety, Facilities, Child Nutrition, Transportation, Social-Emotional Well-being, School schedules, Attendance, Technology and Connectivity, Teaching and Learning, Special Education, and Bilingual Education and World Languages.  On our website, you will find our detailed Reopening Plans, our guiding principles and priorities, documents from the State, and the community and staff survey results.  Our communication is ongoing and will focus on guidance from our local health department, state health department, CDC, Governor’s Office and local BOCES.  We will use this website, as well as School Messenger (texts, emails, phone calls) and social media, to keep everyone informed.

We realize that in-person and face to face instruction is the best way to teach and the best way for most students to learn.  Unfortunately, the mandatory requirements will not allow us to open our doors to all PK-12 students each day of the week as we had desired to do.  Until then, we are focusing on two learning plan models; the first being a hybrid learning plan model which means students will attend in-person and virtually.  This is the model we intend to start the 2020-2021 school year with.  The other model we are working to improve from this past spring is the virtual learning plan model in the event that we need to close the building to students.   These models are explained in detail in our Reopening Plan Section.  I know anything less than a full day, in-person, and five-days-a-week educational program will cause stress.  Being the parent of three school aged children myself, I wholeheartedly understand.  However, we are in the midst of a pandemic and we need to make adjustments and modifications in order to prioritize health and safety.       

Many preparations are now underway which include new cleaning and sanitizing schedules, conducting daily health screenings, teaching healthy hygiene practices, employing social distancing requirements, securing PPE equipment, updating policies including the Code of Conduct, instituting new school health guidelines, and much more.  We are re-imagining everything from our schedules, to how we offer school meals, to how we enter and leave our school building each day.  We recognize that not all of these changes will be embraced but we ask that our community understand that they are necessary to reopen our school to students.   

We would like to share our gratitude for your continued patience, understanding, flexibility, and support.  These are the most challenging times in the history of the American educational system and we are so thankful to work alongside all of you to ensure that our mission is accomplished.  As Patriots, we will persevere.   

Your Partner in Education, 

Jennifer L. Gaffney, Superintendent