Background:
COVID 19 has caused one of the most severe public health crises in modern times. The District needed to pivot to remote eLearning in early March, and this was our primary mode of instruction through the end of the year. With summer underway, we are now turning our sights towards the fall and our restart efforts. Scarsdale Public Schools are fully committed to thoughtfully planning a restart of school that adheres to our longstanding vision and beliefs while maintaining the health and safety of students, staff, and the broader community. We believe that the best education stems from meaningful relationships between students and teachers. While these relationships are most meaningful in person, we are fully committed to keeping this as a focus--whether in person or virtually. As a District, we are committed to opening schools as soon as it is safe to do so.

Schools in countries impacted earlier than the United States have started to reopen and all of those schools have opened with some level of social distancing, reduced capacity, and/or hybrid learning models. These examples are instructive, and we will use these practices, along with guidance from New York State, to inform our scenario planning.

We have developed a structure to include voices from all of our District and community stakeholders to ensure the plan has a broad understanding of the needs of students, faculty, staff, administrators, and families.

While much is in the planning stages, one thing is clear: when we return to school, the experience will not be the same as before the pandemic. However, together we can and will develop a plan that creates an environment that is as safe as possible, maximizes opportunities for students, understands the realities for educators, and acknowledges the needs of all stakeholders. This is easily stated, but in practice, it will require fundamental changes in the way we operate, the willingness to compromise, and, most importantly, compassion for each other. There are challenges ahead, but there are also opportunities. The whole of our community is equal to the task!The Restart Steering Committee is supported by specific task groups that will review specific issues related to buildings and support structures. This work could not be completed without the input from all stakeholders including faculty/staff, parents, and administrators.

Each of these groups has representatives from the parents, faculty/staff, building administrators, and Central Office.

The Steering Committee will task each of the groups to work through specific challenges and develop specific plans for implementing the health and safety restrictions, while also maximizing the ability to provide a school experience as close to normal as possible. Our groups will meet regularly throughout the Summer to assure we are ready to open in September.

Timeline

As a District, we are committed to providing the community with an understanding of our restart plan as far in advance of September as possible. That being said, this planning is complex and very dependent on when the State provides guidance. We created a timeline for our planning efforts:

Parent Survey

A subcommittee of parents created a survey to gather information that could inform the District's Restart Plan. You can view the Restart Survey Summary Report.