In last night's COVID updated to the KLSD community, Andrew Selesnick, Superintendent of Schools said, "I want to provide an update on where things stand for our schools today and where we might be heading."
Selesnick said that pace of the virus has increased dramatically in the last week and he reported that the town of Port Chester, which was the first yellow zone in Westchester just a few days ago, is now an orange zone. Port Chester schools are in a fully remote model. "With the number of positive cases increasing across the County, further yellow zone determinations seem inevitable sooner rather than later," said Selesnick.
Please read the complete update below:
If you’re not familiar with our State’s micro-cluster strategy (which calls for yellow, orange, and red zones), you can read more about it here.
Importantly, it’s not just the number of cases connected to schools that impact us, it’s how entire communities are faring that determines our status.
My hope is that we can keep our schools open as long as possible while still maintaining the safe conditions we have worked so hard to keep since September. We are exploring all avenues that might allow us to meet the State’s testing mandate (necessary to stay open if we’re named a yellow zone).
In the meantime, I encourage everyone to follow the protocols we know have helped – wearing masks, washing hands, and maintaining social distance. For now, we look forward to seeing our Cohort A and 4-day students at all five of our schools on Monday.
Two practical reminders: First, if a student is quarantined due to an exposure in school, while testing is encouraged, a negative test does not shorten the quarantine period. Second, if you learn of a positive case in your family outside school hours, please email your school’s principal immediately.
Thank you, and please take care,
Andrew Selesnick, Superintendent of Schools
For additional information from the Superintendent's office, please click HERE.