WV BOE ‘optimistic’ about return to in-person learning

Warwick Valley Schools District Superintendent Dr. David Leach expressed “optimism” that the return of full-time, in-person learning is in view, at the board of education’s regular monthly meeting that was livestreamed via YouTube conference call on March 4.

Leach told the school board that his administration’s “priority is a safe return for all students.” Currently, he said, that grades K-2 are the only students who are in school full-time, five days a week, although, he added that the district offers a “distance learning academy to all students.”

Students in grades 3-4, he said, are in school every other day, but he expects they will return to full-time in-person learning on March 15, when the hybrid model at the elementary level ends.

Leach thanked the staff for their efforts in making the hybrid and distance learning possible.

As to the upper grades coming back to their respective buildings, “Additional challenges remain at the middle school and high school,” Leach said, involving sufficient spacing, staffing and transportation.

Still, Leach said that he expects the New York State Department of Health to offer guidance “soon” on the resumption of in-person instruction for all students, and the district is “optimistic” planning the return of additional grade levels.

In the meantime, he added, “We are considering use of physical barriers, like high-quality polycarbonate desk partitions as an additional mitigation strategy.”

Quarantine rules, Leach said, will remain unchanged locally, per the NYSDOH.

As COVID-19 infection rates drop and more staff are vaccinated, Leach continued, the district is “optimistic” that they can “get more kids back for in-person learning.” However, “the challenges of the virus still remain.”

There were seven positive cases in the WV district this past week, which “may not seem like a lot,” Leach said, but those cases led to 15 staff and 68 students having to quarantine.

Leach informed the school board that 300 district employees received their first shots on Feb. 28 in the high school gym; they are scheduled to receive their second dose in a month.

Leach thanked Sun River for facilitating the district’s vaccine program, and also acknowledged “Mrs. Laroe, the staff, Buildings and Grounds, and the custodians” for their assistance in the process.

The district is in discussions with Sun River to set up public vaccinations at the high school.

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