Dear Port Jervis Learning Community,
As we near the end of the Holiday Pause as guided by the Department of Health, I want to provide an update on the status of schools and decisions that have been made regarding the Instructional Phases planned for the next several weeks.
The Holiday Pause letter from Dr. Gelman, Commissioner of Health for Orange County, was borne from the speculation that the number of COVID-19 cases would increase following the Thanksgiving Break. While this speculation did prove to be accurate for several communities, the numbers in the communities that make up the Port Jervis City School District have remained relatively flat. In part this can be attributed to the limited number of congregate events that took place, as well as the following of guidelines for hygiene, physical distancing, and wearing of masks. Regardless of the reasons, the metrics are clear and as a result, we will resume the hybrid model on December 14 as previously communicated. Cohort I will attend school on Monday and Tuesday, and Cohort II will attend school on Thursday and Friday. Wednesdays will remain as All Remote days.
In the aforementioned letter from Dr. Gelman, one will note that the recommendation for the two-week pause or pivot to fully remote also applies to Winter Recess. This would result in our students being fully remote from January 4 - 18. While the recommendation is appreciated, I believe the decisions for each school district should remain with the individual school district and based on the number of cases or prevalence in the specific communities. Based on the current data coupled with the procedures and protocols utilized in our schools, the decision has been made to maintain our hybrid instruction during this time period. Unless the number of overall cases warrants such a change, our students will attend school in the hybrid model until we are able to transition to Phase V - all students attending school. While Phase V is not expected anytime soon, the needs of our students are best met when they are in school to the greatest extent possible.
Students will resume Instructional Phase III on December 14, 2020.
Students will remain in Instructional Phase III after Winter Recess.
As our Instruction Plan is centered around every student following their schedule for synchronous learning/instruction, if a student is not in attendance for in-person instruction, they can access their class/classes via the Google Suite on their Chromebook. This would count as attending the class for the purpose of recordkeeping. Therefore, if one is scheduled for hybrid learning, but the parent/guardian would prefer to remain with a self-imposed “Holiday Pause” following Winter Recess, that is permissible, as long as the student logs in and participates in the learning experiences each day.
Please note, this plan is for the students that attend Port Jervis City School District programming. Students that attend out of district placements, i.e. special education programs, as well as BOCES Career Tech, will follow their respective program’s plan for hybrid or remote learning.
If you have any questions, please feel encouraged to contact your child’s school counselor, building administrator, or my office.
Thank you for the continued support and understanding.
Mike Rydell
Superintendent of Schools
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