Sent on May 3, 2021 via SchoolMessenger
Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention downgraded Rockland County’s designation for level of community transmission from high to substantial. This change permits our secondary schools to reopen for full-time, in-person student attendance with three feet physical distancing.
I am pleased to announce that South Orangetown Middle School and Tappan Zee High School will welcome students back for full-time, in-person learning on Wednesday, May 12.
Parents of SOMS and TZHS students received email messages last Friday to register their students by this Wednesday, May 5, for either full-time in-person OR full-time virtual attendance for the remainder of this school year. The timely registration of students is a critical component for logistical planning to meet the May 12 opening date. If you have not already registered your student(s), please do so immediately via the appropriate form: SOMS Registration | TZHS Registration.
Students registered for full-time, in-person learning are expected to attend school daily. Virtual participation will be reserved for students registered as full-time virtual students and for full-time, in-person students who are absent for COVID-19 related reasons (i.e., due to quarantine and/or COVID-19 testing for medical procedures). Masking and other key safety procedures will remain in effect.
I will present additional information regarding the full-time return of our secondary students at our Board of Education meeting this Thursday, May 6. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7:30PM. Questions may be submitted in advance to reopening@socsd.org. Our schools will also share detailed information with families in the days ahead.
This is a heartening and long-anticipated milestone and I look forward to having all of our students back for full-time, in-person learning next week.
Sincerely,
Robert R. Pritchard, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools