Dear Forester Families,

We are surveying families with students in grades 1 – 8   to assess whether you would be
supportive of your child(ren) attending live, in-person classes 4.5 days per week with the
Wednesday 12:00 dismissal remaining in effect through the end of the school year.  The CDC indicated that lower incidence of COVID-19 among younger children compared to teenagers suggests that younger students are likely to have less risk of in-school transmission due to in-person learning than older students.

We recommend that students in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten continue in the half-day model, hybrid, or live virtual model and students in grades 9-12 remain in the hybrid model.  The recommendation to maintain the hybrid schedule for grades 9-12 is based on the CDC recommendations regarding older students (alternate schedule with cohorts of students and six feet of social distancing).

In consideration of the possible reopening of our elementary and middle schools, all COVID-19 mitigation efforts would continue to be in effect.  However, it is important to note that students and employees would be required to wear their masks all day and scheduled mask breaks would be eliminated due to the inability to provide for six feet of social distancing. In addition, we would only be able to provide for minimal social distancing in the cafeteria during breakfast and lunch which would result in our students removing their masks and eating with less than the recommended six feet for social distancing.

We know from speaking to many parents that some would support attending 4.5 days per week
and others would not be comfortable since we would not be able to fully comply with the recommendations of the CDC and the PA Department of Health.

Your survey responses will be used to help us determine whether we will begin to transition our students in grades 1-8 into a 4.5 day schedule or if we will remain in a hybrid schedule for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year.  

A recommendation to change to our instructional model will be contingent upon all employees who requested the vaccination having received it and the Susquehanna County percent positivity rate reaching and remaining at less than 5% for two consecutive weeks as recommended by the updated Pennsylvania Department of Education guidelines for fully reopening schools.

We know that this has been a very difficult year for our students, families, and educators.  We look forward to the day when all of our Foresters can be back in our classrooms with their teachers.  Thank you for your patience and support as we work to educate our students and protect the health, safety, and welfare of our school community.

Sincerely,

Jessica Aquilina
Superintendent of Schools