Superintendent Provenzano has provided an update on a full school reopening in the following Feb. 27, 2021 message to parents and the Fairport CSD school community.

Dear Fairport Community:

The budget season is underway. At this week’s Board of Education meeting we presented the Non-Instructional Budget; as we are developing the 2021-22 budget, we are planning for a full reopening of our schools in the fall of 2021 when the new school year begins.

At this meeting and throughout the week, the Board and I also heard comments and inquiries from many of you on the potential for reopening our schools this spring. We appreciate the feedback we received and know that our community’s advocacy is sincere and guided by the right intentions for our students.

Is there a Pathway for a Return to School this Spring?

We want to bring students back to in-person instruction on a full time basis as soon as it is safe for them and our staff. We are hopeful this will occur sooner rather than later. To achieve this, we need to think differently about our K-12 educational models relative to the health and safety parameters we must consider at each grade band (K-5, 6-8, 9-12) based upon the required guidance.

As you may be aware, on February 12, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued revised considerations for school reopening. This document included guidance that schools may consider a return to full in-person school if the rolling 7-day average of community infection rates continues to trend downward to low and moderate rates.  We understand that the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) will soon be reassessing their plans for schools based on this new guidance.  We also anticipate the NYSDOH will require new return to school plans consistent with the new guidelines. We will be ready to submit an updated plan, based upon the new CDC guidance and NYSDOH requirements.

We will be working and communicating with our administration, staff, parents, medical experts and student representatives as we learn more and finalize these plans. We will reach out to these constituents and our school community for input as we develop our return to school plan. Please stay tuned for opportunities to participate in our reopening process.

We are committed to remaining agile and proactive to adapt to changing guidance at the State and Federal levels. There will be more details to follow and much work needs to be done; I am hopeful that the NYSDOH will provide a pathway to allow us to develop acceptable plans for a return to school prior to the fall.

Sincerely,

Brett Provenzano
Superintendent of Schools