AECSD Reopening Plan, COVID-19 Protocols, Federal Funding Info

Click on links below for information, resources, and updates
Parent Toolkits / Resources for English Language Learners	Federal Relief Funding Information:
Anonymous Alerts - Report Cyberbullying & More	Foundation Aid and American Rescue Plan
Social / Emotional Support Resources	ARP ACT - Funding Report - UPdated
COVID-19 Information & Resources	ARP-ESSER-Application-Part-2-ARP
COVID-19 Testing Process for Students
COVID-19 School Safety Guidance
NYSDOH - Return to School/Work Toolkit
Remote Learning Daycare Assistance Programs:
Learn & Grow at the YMCA	Learning Labs at Champions for Life

 

 

Reopening Plans for 2021-2022 School Year

Superintendent's UPDATE – August 2021

Dear Auburn Families,
 
The Auburn Enlarged City School District will be starting the 2021-2022 school year with full in-person instruction five days a week for all students in Grades K through 12. Below are some of the plans that are being put in place based on recommendations from the Cayuga County Health Department and guidance from the New York State Education Department.
 

• Face Masks: All students and employees will be required to wear masks correctly and consistently regardless of their vaccination status while on buses and inside any school buildings. Face masks will not be required outdoors while on school grounds. Our plan is to reevaluate the need for face masks on a month to month basis based on the most current guidance.
• Social Distancing: We will continue to do our best to socially distance students three feet apart from one another on our buses and in our classrooms as much as possible depending on class and classroom sizes.
• Transportation: All eligible students will be transported by bus to and from school. Everyone is required to wear masks correctly and all times while riding the bus.
• Lunches: Elementary students will eat in the same pods every day during lunch; secondary students will also eat in the same pods every day during lunch, but they will be allowed to choose their pods. This will limit potential exposures and make any necessary contact tracing easier to conduct.
• Disinfecting: We will continue to disinfect our school buildings every day, as we did throughout the previous school year.
• Air Purification: The district will be utilizing its federal COVID relief funds to purchase air purifiers to put in every classroom, cafeteria, and gymnasium. These air purifiers have been known to completely eliminate the coronavirus from air particles, which will make our school buildings that much safer. School districts across the country including many throughout central New York are purchasing these air purifiers as well.

 
We will do everything we can to ensure the health and safety of our students and employees upon the return to school, but we need you to do your part as well. Please do not send your child to school if they are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, even if the symptoms are mild. This is the best way to stop the spread and help ensure that we can continue with full-time in-person instruction. If we see a large increase in cases, we will be ready to go fully remote instantaneously if need be, but our goal is to avoid that if at all possible. Children learn best in the classroom.
 
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we tackle another unprecedented school year.
 
Jeffrey Pirozzolo
Superintendent of Schools
Auburn Enlarged City School District
 

---

2020-2021 School Year

Superintendent’s UPDATE – April 2021

Dear Auburn Families,

We are very excited to announce that with the revised social distancing guidelines moving from 6 feet to 3 feet, the Auburn Enlarged City School District will reopen for full time in-person instruction on April 19. Elementary students will return for in-person instruction Monday through Friday, while secondary students will return for in-person instruction Monday through Thursday.

All students who were in the hybrid learning model will be automatically enrolled in the full time in-person instruction model unless their parent/guardian contacts the school to make other arrangements. All students who were in the fully remote learning model will be contacted by a school administrator and given the option to switch to full time in-person instruction. Any student who would like to remain/enroll in the fully remote model is able to do so.

Elementary schools will stay with classes and schedules that ensure students are in a ‘cohort.’ This means that students will spend the entirety of their day with the same group of students. Lunch will take place in cafeterias where space allows, while some will be provided to students in their classrooms. Cohorts will be structured so that students are spaced according to the revised social distancing guidelines of 3 feet, but the number of students in each cohort will depend on the size of the teaching space.

Hand sanitizing stations are still available in each classroom. Desks will be set up so that the revised social distancing guidelines of 3 feet can be maintained. Masks are required at all times except while eating.

Masks are required for students being transported by school buses. The buses will be sanitized after every trip. While we will accommodate for social distancing on our school buses, we recommend that parents or guardians drop off and pick up students if at all possible to ensure safety.

At any point, the district may need to move into a full distance learning model depending on cases of COVID-19 in our community and region.

In addition, as the majority of our students are returning to in-person instruction, we are also changing how we will distribute food to our fully remote students. Effective April 19, 2021, food pick-up will be at Casey Park Elementary School only from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. Families will be required to pre-order the food by calling (315) 255-8335 by 7:00 p.m. the day prior to pick-up by leaving a message with the names of the students who will be receiving the food.

We are very excited to be welcoming our students back for full time in-person instruction. Hopefully bringing our students back for full time in-person instruction now will prove that we are capable of returning to a normal school year next year.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey A. Pirozzolo
Superintendent of Schools
Auburn Enlarged City School District
 

---

August 19, 2020

Dear Auburn Families,

These past few months have been challenging for our entire community as we navigate through the ever-changing guidelines for reopening our schools. As it is, the district’s options for instruction have been limited to a hybrid model (partial in-person learning/partial remote learning) and a full remote learning model. The Auburn Enlarged City School District will be moving forward with a hybrid learning model, but we will be utilizing a phase-in plan to reopen our schools due to many factors.

In recent weeks, we asked families to participate in an instructional preference survey, and the results showed over 1,000 students choosing to participate in a full remote learning model due to concerns regarding the health and safety of returning to school. Additionally, we still have so many unanswered questions on how we will handle COVID-19 testing and contact tracing in our schools.

By implementing a phase-in reopening schedule, we will be able to monitor our screening process and solidify our health and safety precautions, making it much more likely for our reopening to be successful. A phase-in reopening will also allow students and staff to get more comfortable and familiarize themselves with a full remote learning model, which makes up the majority of the instructional model for the 2020-2021 school year. The hybrid model consists of 3 days a week of online instruction, and at any point, we need to be prepared to move into a full remote learning model if deemed necessary by New York State.

Phase-in reopening schedule:

Sept. 8 & 9: Introductory Days
These days will be reserved for students in Grades K-12 on both the hybrid and remote learning models to come in and pick up equipment and meet their teachers during scheduled times.

Sept. 10 – 25: Phase 1
Students in preschool will attend school every day Monday through Friday in Phase 1, and start dates will be determined by individual sites. Students in 8:1 and 12:1 programs will attend school every day Monday through Thursday. Additionally, students in CTE, Compass, and day treatment programs will attend school according to their specific program’s schedule. All other students in Grades K-12 will participate in the full remote learning model.

Sept. 28: Phase 2
Elementary Level – Grades K-2 will attend school on an A/B schedule. Grades 3-6 will continue with the full remote learning model.
Junior High – Grade 7 will attend school on an A/B schedule. Grade 8 will continue with the full remote learning model.
High School – Grades 11 & 12 will attend school on an A/B schedule. Grades 9 & 10 will continue with the full remote learning model.

Oct. 13: Phase 3
All other students who have opted into the hybrid learning model will attend school on an A/B schedule.

Access to technology will be based on a family’s need. Students will be able to pick up requested technology devices on Sept. 8 and 9. Further communication from the technology department will be forthcoming.

Individual schools will also be communicating the details of learning schedules and other pertinent reopening information with families. The safety and well-being of our students continues to be our top priority. We are grateful for the support of our school community in these challenging and ever-changing times.

Sincerely,
Jeffrey A. Pirozzolo
Superintendent of Schools


 

---

July 31, 2020

Dear Auburn Families,

The end of the 2019-2020 school year was nothing short of extraordinary, and it looks as though what lies ahead for the 2020-2021 school year will be just as remarkable. School districts across New York State have been working diligently to come up with reopening plans based on three models – a 100% in-person learning model, a hybrid learning model where there is a split between in-person and distance learning, and a 100% distance learning model. While developing plans for each model, districts must also incorporate all of the health and safety guidelines set by the governor, the State Education Department, and the Department of Health. Because of this, every school district’s reopening plans are going to look different.

By August 7, Governor Cuomo will announce whether school districts will be able to reopen for in-person learning in September. If he announces that students are not allowed back in school buildings, the Auburn Enlarged City School District will reopen with a distance learning model. If the governor does allow students to return for in-person learning, the district will be reopening with a hybrid learning model, which will have students attending school in person on an A/B rotation 2 days out of the week and distance learning 3 days a week.

Because of the current social distancing guidelines mandated by the state, it would be impossible for the Auburn School District to be able to socially distance students from one another due to bus and classroom capacity. The district transports 58%, or approximately 2,400 students, to and from school. Most of our buses have a maximum capacity of 66 students. With social distancing and all students wearing face masks, we will only be able to accommodate between 11 and 22 students per bus. In addition, the district’s school buildings simply do not have enough space to be able to socially distance 4,200 students.

As you read through the district’s reopening plans, the student schedules and teaching and learning sections will give parents and guardians a good idea of how school will look for each model, but below are some highlights of what the hybrid learning model will look like.

In the hybrid learning model, students will be on an A/B rotation. Students assigned to an A schedule will attend school in person on Mondays and Wednesdays and attend virtually on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Students assigned to a B schedule will attend school in person on Tuesdays and Thursdays and attend virtually on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Having all students attend school virtually on Fridays will allow teachers to prepare lessons for the following week so that students will have easy access to the curriculum.

Elementary schools will create classes and schedules to ensure students are in a ‘cohort.’ This means that students will spend the entirety of their day with the same group of students and not attend class in other classrooms throughout the building. Teachers of art, music, physical education, etc. will rotate between cohorts to help limit the number of transitions. Lunch will be provided to students in their classrooms. Cohorts will be limited to 12-14 students depending on the size of the teaching space to ensure compliance with social distancing guidelines. The junior high and high school will create classes and schedules to ensure students are in a ‘cohort’ to the extent possible.

Hand sanitizing stations will be available in each classroom. Desks will be set up so that social distancing can be maintained. Out of an abundance of caution, students and staff are required to wear face masks at all times while in school exept while eating and during designated mask breaks.

Masks will be required for students being transported by school buses. The buses will be sanitized after every trip. Parents will be provided with a form opting in or out of utilizing our transportation services this year. While we will accommodate for social distancing on our school buses, we recommend that parents or guardians drop off and pick up students if at all possible to ensure safety.

We can all agree that none of these learning models are ideal. We cannot bring all students back for full in-person learning because of the current social distancing guidelines. The hybrid model creates childcare issues for working parents. Distance learning creates social-emotional deficits for students. Our goal is to bring all students back to school every day as soon as it is safe to do so, and we will continue to work to come up with a plan that will allow us to do that.

Finally, it is important to understand that at any point the district may need to move into a full distance learning model depending on cases of COVID-19 in our community and region. We will all need to be flexible and adjust the best we can as we navigate through the school year. The district will continue to communicate with parents and the community on a regular basis through the website, social media, letters, emails and phone calls.

Each school will be communicating specifics about your child’s schedule in the coming weeks. Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s principal or an administrator with questions or concerns. We will all get through the 2020-2021 school year together.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey A. Pirozzolo
Superintendent of Schools
Auburn Enlarged City School District


To download and view Auburn's Reopening Plan, click the image below.