Good afternoon Pelham Parents, Teachers, Staff and Students,
We are hard at work preparing for a safe and successful first day of school for students on September 9.
First of all, I want to thank our families for making your decisions regarding in school or remote learning. 75% of our students have chosen to be in school and 25% have selected remote. We had a slightly higher number at the high school and a slightly lower number at the elementary level. For all of our students, remote and in person, we are just so excited to welcome you back.
I want to give you a few updates on our work.
As a reminder, we will require everyone entering and moving around the school to wear a face covering. Exceptions will be rare. We will also follow our self-screening protocols, hand washing expectations and physical distancing requirements, all of which are explained in our Reopening Safely Plan.
Next regarding ventilation, we have made some changes to respond to the pandemic. We have ordered new filters throughout the district. We have increased our fresh air intake by 25% and increased our run time for the ventilation systems by 25%. We continue to investigate additional ways to address ventilation.
On August 21, each school principal will publish student assignments and a Reopening Guide for Families including explanations of nitty gritty topics including arrival and dismissal procedures, lunch, recess, advisory, and parking.
On August 28, you will have access to a video from our wonderful school nurses on safe practices when school reopens.
As a reminder, if circumstances change related to this pandemic, the district may need to pivot. While we do not know what the future holds, we are prepared, if necessary, to switch back to a fully remote program.
If you have questions, please start with the Reopening Safely Plan and our Frequently Asked Questions documents. Also, you can contact your school front office who can point you in the right direction.
There is a lot that will be new this year. I find myself most excited by the things that are familiar as we approach the school year. For example, having our youngest students nervously getting ready to meet their teacher, seeing our new sixth graders curious about switching teachers for each subject, our high schoolers hoping they might be able to drive themselves or go with friends to school for the first time. And our teaching staff, who keep telling me that they cannot wait to see our students again, whether in school or remote.
Like you, I do not want to be going through these challenging times. No one does. But given that it is happening, I could not have hoped for a better community to serve or a better team of school leaders, teachers, staff and parents.
Thank you for your patience and grace.
Sincerely,
Chip McGee