Increase Miller Elementary School

March 25, 2021

Dear IM Families,

We hope you have all been enjoying the spring weather and that you continue to remain healthy during these times. 

As a follow-up to the Principal’s Coffee on March 17, we wanted to outline some important information for all of you, including timelines and changes, as we continue to prepare and plan for all our students. 

 Timeline for 5 Days In-Person

Week of April 5th (no changes to learning model)

Welcoming K-2  Remote Students transitioning to 4 Day In-Person. 

Since we do not have the barriers yet, we cannot welcome back remote students for grades 3, 4, and 5 until their       designated week. 

 Grades K-2:                4 Days In-Person

Grades 3-5:                 Hybrid Schedule (Cohorts A and B)

Special Classes:          4 ½ Days In-Person

Grades K-5:                April 7 *Remote Wednesday

Week of April 12th (Starting Monday, April 12, all grade 3 students attend)

K-3 Grades:                4 Days In-Person

4-5 Grades:                 Hybrid Schedule (Cohorts A and B)

Special Classes:          4 ½ Days In-Person

Grades K-5:                April 14 *Remote Wednesday

Week of April 19^th (Starting Monday, April 19 all Grades 4 and 5 students )

Grades K-5:                5 Days In-Person

*Schedules for Remote Wednesdays on 4/7 and 4/14 may be modified due to teachers needing to prepare for the re-opening and transition of incoming students.

Health and Safety

• Masks will continue to be required at all times at school with the exception of lunch and mask breaks.
• Families will continue to complete the Daily Health Screener. Children who present with a symptom listed on the screener are required to stay home. Please immediately contact the School Nurse, Julia Fitzgerald at 763-7139 or jfitzgerald@klschools.org , to discuss the appropriate course of action.
• Consistent with our health practices pre-COVID, students should stay home if they are ill. We understand that families do not want to miss valuable instructional time, however, if your child is sick, it is important to monitor his/her symptoms and prevent the spread of illness among students and staff.
• Classrooms where the number of students and space allows for desks to be 6 feet or more will not require barriers.  At this time, this is possible for all Kindergarten and Grade 1 classrooms.  Classrooms where the number of students and space for desks are less than 6 feet apart will require barriers. Barriers will be affixed to desks and the minimum amount of space apart will be 3 ft. 

Lunch

• Grades K-2:  We have been able to make some scheduling changes with staff for lunch and movement. 

In our K-2 classrooms, students will eat in smaller cohorts rather than as a whole group.  While there are certainly benefits to being together and socializing, we are trying to limit exposure to the virus.  When all students have their masks off, we are required to quarantine those students exposed for more than 10 minutes.   

• Grades 3-5:  Weather permitting, students will eat lunch outside in a designated location.  We ask that your child bring a beach towel to school to use for outdoor eating.  Eating outdoors is another way to potentially reduce quarantine numbers. 

 Movement (Recess)

• Masks will continue to be worn and staff will continue to remind students about social distancing.
• Handwashing will continue to take place. 
• K-2:  Students will play outside in their smaller cohort. 
• 3-5:  Students will play outside as a class.
• Students will be assigned to designated areas
• The playground is open!  Students have started to rotate through the playground on assigned days.  Each group will have at least one day a week. 
• Students will continue to have access to balls, games (Gaga included), and outdoor items and areas.

Teaching and Learning

• Once we phase out the hybrid model, students will no longer be able to access the classroom with a Zoom link. Since all our in-person students will be in school, teachers will no longer need to juggle both settings.  Instead, they can focus on all their students in front of them.   
• If your child is absent and temporarily ill, Zoom will not be accessible.
• If your child needs to quarantine for a period of time, asynchronous assignments on Schoology and/or Seesaw will be posted and a daily check-in via Zoom will be arranged.  *Each quarantine scenario will be individually assessed (i.e., number of students in a class, staff) and additional resources will be allocated when they are available.
• With the weather improving and no more Zooming, teachers have the flexibility to take the children outside for learning experiences. We do not have outdoor classrooms that meet the regulations of New York State so while we can bring students outdoors for learning opportunities, we cannot designate outdoor spaces as classrooms.
• Physical Education classes have been taking place outside, weather permitting, all year.  We will continue to do this during the months ahead. 
• The District is providing each school with one (NYSED approved) tent.  We anticipate this covered area will be helpful to us for the remainder of the year. 
• Since we are merging cohorts, we have been able to reassign staff to support students.  Teaching Assistants will work with both Kindergarten and Grade 1 classrooms daily.  Grade 1 Interns will support the building with substitute coverages. 

Arrival and Dismissal

Please see the drop off and pick up times below.  We made a minor adjustment to the times to prepare for the increased volume of cars in April.  We appreciate your adherence to these times. 

 Drop off Schedule:

9:15 am – 9:25 am:  Kindergarten with siblings in the circle by the gym

9:15 am – 9:25 am:  Grade 1 with siblings. Drive past the front of the school and into the side parking lot.

9:25 am – 9:35 am:  Grade 2 and 4 with siblings in the circle by the gym

9:25 am – 9:35 am:  Grade 3 and Grade 5 Front of the school with siblings

Pick Up Schedule:

3:05 pm – 3:15 pm Kindergarten with siblings in the circle by the gym

3:05 pm – 3:15 pm Grade 1 with siblings.  Drive past the front of the school and into the side parking lot.

3:20 pm – 3:30 pm Grade 2 and Grade 4 with siblings in the circle by the gym

3:20 – 3:30 Grade 3 with siblings and Grade 5 front of the school         

We will continue to monitor drop off and pick up during the transition to 5 days a week. If any changes are needed, we will let you know. In the meantime, thank you for your cooperation in making these busy times of the day run safely and smoothly. Consider refreshing your Pick-Up/Dismissal signs to be displayed in your front windshield over the spring recess to help move the process along.

Social-Emotional Wellness

To support social and emotional wellness as our landscape changes, clinicians will be providing support and resources to classroom teachers.  Teachers and clinicians will also work collaboratively to facilitate discussions and classroom lessons.  During the week of April 5, clinicans will be conducting morning announcements for all our students. Topics include getting to know each other again, self-care, adjusting to new routines, and maintaining a positive mindset.  As always, if you have a concern, please reach out. 

Spring Break and Travel Guidelines

Spring break is March 29 to April 4. We look forward to students returning back to their programs on Monday, April 5. If your family is planning to travel during break, below is the most recent District communication regarding travel and quarantine guidelines.

Dear KLSD Community,

A number of community members have been asking about travel and quarantine in light of the upcoming spring break. 

Governor Cuomo recently made statements about ending the need to quarantine following out-of-State travel, effective April 1.

As of this morning, however, the State’s Travel Advisory website (linked here) has not been updated to reflect the Governor’s statements. The most recent update was on March 10. That update created quarantine exemptions only for those who are fully vaccinated and those who have contracted COVID within a certain timeframe of their travel. All other travelers are, at this moment, still subject to quarantine, and all travelers are still asked by NYS to complete a traveler health form (linked here).

It is New York State, and not KLSD, that requires and enforces travel related quarantine. Our student health screener will continue to ask if the student is under any mandatory quarantine order, as an important reminder. 

I advise all community members who are contemplating out of State travel to continue checking the State’s website to see if additional changes are reflected by April 1. 

I hope this is helpful.

Sincerely,

Andrew Selesnick, Superintendent of Schools

While we realize there is a lot of information in this communication, we wanted to be sure to answer as many questions as possible given the changes ahead. As always, we appreciate your feedback as we seek to create safe and positive learning experiences for our students.

We continue to be grateful for your partnership and the hard work and professionalism of our teachers and staff.  They have been remarkable during these challenging times.

Be well and enjoy the spring recess as a family.

Kerry Ford and Michael Weschler