SED Guidance Provided to NYS School Districts

Good Morning,

I hope you have all had a wonderful week. It certainly was a warm one!

As I shared with you earlier this week, the Honeoye Central School District, along with the superintendents from each school district in Ontario County, worked alongside the Ontario County Administration and Public Health as well as our legal teams and school physicians to draft reopening plans.  On August 10, New York State Education Department (NYSED) Commissioner, Betty Rosa, informed schools across New York State that SED would be releasing school reopening guidance.  Said guidance was disseminated to New York State school districts yesterday.

Over the upcoming days, HCS will conduct a crosswalk of our Reopening Plan draft with provisions outlined in the SED Health and Safety Guide for the 2021-22 School Year guidance document. We fully anticipate sharing our comprehensive reopening plan with our learning community on Thursday or Friday of next week.

While a formalized reopening plan is not available to share with you at this time, we are planning based on the following:

1. HCS will offer full in-person instruction (five days per week) for all students, grades UPK-12.
2. HCS will resume traditional scheduling models, with one arrival time at the elementary level and one at the secondary level. Note: This eliminates the two bus run model for arrival and dismissal at the elementary level that was utilized last year.
3. The HCS Reopening Plan will include required masking on buses and on campus.
4. HCS will not require submission of daily screenings. 
5. Heightened cleaning protocols, hand sanitization, and contact tracing protocols will remain in effect.
6. School sports will be held according to the three traditional seasons with safety provisions based on forthcoming NYSPHSAA guidelines.

On behalf of the Honeoye Central School District, thank you in advance for your patience and for the ongoing support and partnership in advocacy for all HCS students. As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns about the information included in this communication, or otherwise.

Warmest regards,
E. Bridget Ashton

Elizabeth Bridget Ashton
Superintendent, Honeoye Central School District
8528 Main Street
Honeoye, New York 14471
[email protected]
On Twitter: @EBridgetAshton