Parent/Guardian Questions and Answers - Second Semester
(Questions are posted as submitted. This page will be updated as needed)
[updated April 12, 2021]:
Question: When will the district increase in-person days for students on hybrid instruction, now that the state has updated its guidance for schools?
Answer:
Late April 9, the New York State Health Department released updated guidance regarding physical distancing for schools, a full three weeks after the Centers for Disease Control released their update. This is welcome news, enabling our district to offer more in-person days of instruction per week. The district is now reviewing the state guidance to determine any needed updates in the district plan and any adjustments we will need to make in order to offer more in-person days of instruction during the ongoing pandemic. Our initial review shows that the primary changes include a recommendation of three feet of physical distancing in classrooms, in line with the CDC guidelines, and six feet of distancing for music and physical education instruction.
The other major piece in the state guidance is required stakeholder feedback prior to expanding in-person instruction. The district will be sending more information on our plan, and we will ask for feedback to meet this portion of the state requirements the week of April 12. We ask parents and guardians to look for this information and complete it as soon as possible if they have feedback.
At this time, we hope to implement the plan April 19, barring no additional requirements placed upon districts.
Question: Exactly how much would it cost, in a dollar amount, for the attorney to write their interpretation that students, faculty, and staff must adhere to the 6ft. guidance from the Health Department, except when a student must speak one on one with a teacher? (which was described, during said meeting, as classroom instruction)
Answer:
The Board of Education has legal counsel that provides opinions to the district both verbally and/or through a formal written legal review, if requested. In most cases, a district is given the same legal opinion verbally through discussion with the district. The costs for this verbal service are usually included in the district's annual retainer agreement for general discussion and counsel throughout the year. When specifically asked to give a formal written legal review of any matter the cost is based on a variety of factors such as the length of time to conduct research, gather information, discussions, documentation, as well as formulate a final legal opinion. This is usually completed based on an hourly charge for time, as well as any fees associated with the formal review. Our attorney’s hourly fee is established at $190 per hour. Therefore, the charge would be for fees and the amount of time put in by the firm to conduct the review, as well as any necessary fees associated with the review. Depending on this structure, the fee could be any range of cost depending on the extensiveness of the review. Our counsel has informed the district that the review would still reach the same verbal conclusion provided to the district at this time unless there is change in the state guidance.
Question: What was the thought behind continuing with the current hybrid schedule and not allowing Dr. Douglas to proceed with making a plan for three days of in-person instruction?
Answer:
At their March 4 meeting, the Board of Education affirmed the district’s reopening plan developed last summer. This does not mean that the board prohibited the district from exploring adjustments to improve our instructional delivery plan. In fact, the board specifically asked the district to investigate potential adjustments (such as 3/2 rotation days of cohorts for the secondary level) that could be feasible during this time, while also advocating for a change to state guidance in order to allow more days of in-person instruction.
The following questions were included on a petition submitted to the Board of Education on March 18, 2021.
Question: Why is Horseheads School District’s current educational plan not meeting the minimum of 900 instructional hours across ALL grades and modalities within the district?
Answer:
The Horseheads Central School District is meeting the minimum education timing requirements (days/hours) of the New York State Education Department.
The calculation given in the follow up letter from the petitioning group indicated that they had calculated the instructional time for students (during the day over the course of the school year) to be 775 hours of the 900-hour minimum state time requirement. However, it is important to point out this calculation does not account for asynchronous learning time, which also counts toward the total yearly instructional hours for students during the pandemic.
Making a conservative assumption that each student does a minimum of an hour a day/night asynchronous learning time, throughout the course of the school year (which most students must do far more than just an hour a day/evening), the student’s instructional time would be increased by at least 182 hours. This would result in a total yearly instructional time of at least 957 hours for the year and is beyond the state’s expectation.
In addition, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) has also instituted a waiver of the minimum hours and days of instruction for any school district in NYS during the 2019 through 2022 school years. Horseheads CSD had to apply for this waiver prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. As such the district is well positioned with the NYSED to meet any requirements regarding educational days and hours because of the changing school years, and the issues caused this year by the pandemic.
Although the school is intent on meeting the minimum instructional days and hours, the district‘s financial resources are protected from any potential loss by an approved waiver of these days/hours, if needed, by the NYSED. Therefore, the question is not based on the requirements of the state or the actual way hours and days are calculated for NYSED purposes.
Question: How will the district adjust the schedule for the last few months of the year in order to increase the instructional hours for students during virtual instruction?
Answer:
The district has been regularly adjusting the instructional format and programming since the start of the pandemic over a year ago. Throughout this school year faculty, staff, student, and families have had to adjust to ever changing situations related to COVID-19 clusters, exposures, quarantines, micro-cluster zones, testing, etc. The educational program has shifted between hybrid (in-person and remote learning) to all remote learning, and different learning structures for even different buildings at various times throughout this school year, for distinct reasons and/or state closures and reopening.
We want to thank all for assisting our instructional staff during this ever-changing time, as well as commend the staff, students, and parents for persevering through this tough time. Especially, when we are again adjusting to hopefully more in-person days, once the state gives new guidance now that the CDC has issued their guidance of 3 feet distancing. This should be the last potential shift for this school year and the remaining weeks of instruction.
Question: What is the District's plan to return to in-person education and when will it be made public or available to Horseheads District parents for review?
Answer:
The district’s plan has always been to return to more daily in-person instruction, when the state allows for it in its guidance. As such, the planning by the district is in place to maximize any new guidance from the state while not abandoning our students and families who have chosen 100% remote instruction for this year. As such, the district has already released its tentative plan for increasing instruction according to the CDC guidance which was just released. However, this plan may have to be adjusted based on what NYSDOH puts into place. When that happens, the district will adjust it plan, as swiftly as possible, and communicate any start date out to our community. The current plan and any potential updates are the basis for what the district is doing this year. The plan is not subject to further review, as it continues to meet all the parameters within the district’s initial plan which was developed by our community stakeholder groups and modified by the district as appropriate during the pandemic to comply with state guidance.
Question: We hereby request the School Board and the Superintendent obtain the written opinion of the Horseheads School District attorneys regarding the 6-foot interpretation guidelines. This request was put on the public board meeting on Thursday, March 4, 2021, and three board members spoke up and indicated this wasn't necessary. It is incredulous that the board that oversees not only the education of all of the students in our district but also the welfare of our teachers is failing to act on any and all possibilities to bring our community, teachers, students, staff and administrators back into a healthy, prospering teaching environment.
Answer:
The Board of Education has had several verbal reviews of the 6’ interpretation made available to them, via the direct request of the superintendent and his reporting to the BOE, as well as multiple other check-ins with district counsel by other members of the administrative team. Additionally, privileged communication of this interpretation has been provided to the board in a written form. The conclusion of the formal written legal opinion yields no changes to the current operations of the district. Additionally, the action of the full Board is clear from their meeting that they did not need any further written opinion from district counsel. They (the board) of course do look after the education and welfare of the district, as a Board, and must adhere to all regulations, orders, and laws of the State of New York when carrying out their duties. They cannot just do what they or the public want and put aside their legal obligations as suggested.
Question: We are asking the HH school board to reassess the current hybrid and remote models in order to rework any areas that are failing to meet our district standards as this will assist our district in recovering from the impact of the pandemic.
The district must develop a plan NOW regarding how to return to full in-person education as soon as possible, within existing guidelines.
Answer:
The Horseheads CSD Board of Education affirmed the district direction by Board vote on March 4, 2021, stating that the district will continue its current plan approved by the state and in compliance with guidance. The BOE has also given direction to seek modifications as appropriate for all moving forward as stated in a previous question. The district is currently awaiting revised state guidance to update the social distancing requirement. We are advocating for this change at the state level.
The district cannot increase in-person learning more than it has at this time as a result of guidance and legal counsel for de-densification at 6-foot requirements. Our plan to increase in-person learning is only viable if the state aligns with the new CDC guidance released on March 19, 2021.
Question: The Board should continuously be seeking an understanding from teachers, students, and parents on how the current platform and processes are functioning.
- What are the successes?
- What are the failures?
- What are the areas that need to be reworked?
- the Board has failed to take any action to improve the current learning model.
- Parents have been asking the Board to proactively establish future learning plans since December of 2020 and have seen no actions taken.
- The Board should be proactively providing teachers and parents projected plans for what education in the Horseheads District will look like for 3-days a week in-person, 4-days a week in-person and ultimately the return to full in-person learning.
Answer:
The district has been answering these questions throughout and monitoring and adjusting as we progress throughout the pandemic. Please read over previous questions and answers.
The following questions were asked at the March 18 Board of Education meeting.
Question: What you are doing to make the rest of this school year and next year different. I read daily in the news outlets that schools throughout New York State are returning to school 5-days a week. Have you contacted these schools to find out how they are doing this?
Answer:
This school year is different and the next is unknown at this point. The district has been requesting information from the state for planning next year's educational format. Currently, we can only plan for a five-day in-person education format for next year, until such time that NYSED and NYSDOH indicates its requirements for schools for the 2021-2022 school year.
News outlets may be reporting other schools are returning for 5 days a week. However, it is important to note that these news stories do not give actual context in their reporting. No school the size of Horseheads, Elmira, or Corning is opening 5 days a week for students.
The speaker said that she teaches at a school that is open five days a week. This particular school is in one of the smallest school districts in the area and state. The student class size typically found in these smaller schools, when spaced 6 feet apart, allows these schools to have 5 day a week classes and still meet the social distancing limits of the state. This means these smaller schools could educate at 6 feet apart every day whether they are in a pandemic or not. This is not possible for larger schools like Horseheads when there is a required need to de-densify an entire school building/district.
Yes, some schools in NYS (mostly smaller schools or schools that have extra rooms and/or staff) are starting to go back 5 days a week with 6-foot distancing, but they are schools that are smaller in size and have additional educational space. Again, larger schools the size of Elmira, Corning, and Horseheads are not able to do this.
Question: What is the amount of time the state requires students to be learning each year? What do you plan to do for the students who have not hit this mark?
Answer:
As stated above, the district is meeting the requirements of the New York State Education Department.
Question: I would like to understand how Wednesdays are counting as a school day right now. Wednesday instruction for us is 2 hours or less and then they are free to go. Wednesdays should be a full school day. Studies are now showing that students on average could lose 5 to 9 months of learning by the end of June 2021
Answer:
As stated above, the district is meeting the requirements of the New York State Education Department. This is accomplished in a variety of ways including in-person synchronous and asynchronous time, remote learning synchronous and asynchronous time, time associated with the instructional program throughout the entire week and weekend, both during school hours and outside of school hours. All time combines to meet the states requirements.
Question: Why are we not reevaluating the plan that was created in August? As a teacher, I am constantly being asked to "pivot". Why isn't the district pivoting when things are no longer working?
Answer:
As stated in a previous answer, the district has regularly adjusted and pivoted throughout this pandemic time from the beginning. Our teachers and staff have many distinct types of educational situations and settings to address. We believe our staff are doing remarkably well with all the nuances that have been thrown at them and the students/families they serve. To say things are not working is a narrow view according to the perspective of one or a specific group. The district has heard from many others throughout the community stating that they are thankful for the way things are working for their students as well as trying to keep all as safe as possible. Our staff members are working hard to find ways to work for our varying needs. Unfortunately, like all districts during this time, we have those who are not attending, participating, submitting work, /or communicating with their teachers or administration. These students are the primary ones who will see zeros and/or failures during this time. Teachers have worked diligently to instruct and assist all those who are willing to try their best under these difficult challenges.
Question:
What if these were your children? What would you tell him to do? Would you continue to wait for someone else to make the decision for you?
Answer:
Several on the Board, as well as the superintendent, have children in our schools. Each parent must assist them as best they can during this time. Parents need to work positively with their student, staff, and administration. They need to communicate with them, as appropriate, to assist their student(s). We should help them to openly and actively participate as fully as possible, and most importantly, do their best and do not give up. That is what we believe all should be told, as well as your students every day.
Districts have had to make many decisions and plans during this pandemic. The district cannot just do what it wants to in this situation. The district must follow state regulations, guidance, best practices, law, and orders. We do not wish to wait for decisions to be made, but we must follow the decisions that are made by the state whether others believe we should or not.
Question: I recognize that not all parents want their children in-person. So, what is the plan?
Answer:
The district's plan is to address all formats of learning required of the district which it can feasibly and safely put into place. Our plan is on the website and we are following it, this was recently reaffirmed by the BOE that the district will follow the state approved plan. The district has been making modifications to it, as appropriate under the new CDC guidance, but the district still must wait on the state to give final direction and future guidance.
Question: When will you even survey the families what we want? You might be surprised to find there to be some real feasibility when it comes to what you can offer the families that do want to return to in-person learning.
Answer:
The district uses surveys when appropriate and needed. Once we had information from the CDC, the district conducted a survey to determine parent/guardian input on more in-person learning. The survey gave information to the district that was exactly what the district had anticipated - that the majority of students on hybrid instruction would participate in more days of in-person learning if the state updates its guidance to allow the district to offer this.
Question: Dr. Douglas, will you guys collectively continue to email the Governor and others, especially our local county leaders? BOE, are you collaborating with other BOE's in the state and contacting the Governor's office jointly, and often, as in several times a week. Are you guys putting pressure on the local health department and Chris Moss to advocate for schools opening for more in-person days and to change the 6ft guideline to 3ft and if so, what has been done or said?
Answer:
The district administration and BOE, along with our staff, have been continually working to bring about change at the local and state levels throughout this entire pandemic. All are committed to continuing this effort, as well as to get students back to school full time in person. We appreciate the many parents who have assisted in the effort by contacting the state. The district also appreciates the work of our local leaders and state officials for their support and continued advocacy. All have been very public and vocal through their roles and connections to try and get the state to move as fast as it can. However, the power and ultimate decision-making rests with the Governor and his health director, Dr. Howard Zucker.
Question: Has someone from the superintendent’s office or a BOE member contacted Onondaga to find out how they are doing what they are doing? According to the County executive's office, Dr. Gupta, the head of their county health department, made the decision to reduce the number of feet required in a classroom if they are using barriers.
Answer:
Yes, we have contacted school leaders and colleagues in the areas where schools may be moving to 3-foot distancing. Each has its own context of what and when something like that could happen. Specifically, each of these areas would be acting against state health department guidance. However, it has been re-affirmed to Chemung County school districts that localities and local health departments do not have the legal authority to override the state. We all must be cautious about what we read in news outlets to make sure we have a full understanding of the circumstances described and whether or not they apply to our district’s situation.
Chemung County leadership has regularly informed Chemung County districts that at this time, it does not have the authority to permit school districts to move to 3-foot social distancing.
Many school superintendents in Onondaga County indicated that they would only go forward with the 3-foot guidance if it were put in writing by the County Executive and County Health Director. Currently, the County Executive’s plan has not been approved by the state, even though he has been telling the region he is going ahead with it. Our district has just learned that some large school districts in Onondaga County are moving forward with the executive’s plan based on the County Health Director’s approval. We will have to learn the outcome of this non-compliant action with the state guidance.
The district will be monitoring this situation and has informed the Chemung County Officials of this pending issue. The district has also indicated that if Onondaga County can proceed, as mentioned, without the state stepping in to enforce their regulations, Horseheads CSD would be requesting the same approval from Chemung County leadership as soon as possible.
We either must wait for state guidance changes or the implementation process in Onondoga County to occur to finally establish an answer for the district to move forward.
Question: Are we sending out surveys like Corning is and planning for a 4 day in person school week? If we are not, then why?
Answer:
The district was planning to survey families to determine if our projections would change in any dramatic way if guidance were updated and we could accommodate more days of in-person instruction per week. We needed to find out more specifics either from the federal government or the state to finalize the survey. The CDC issued its updated guidance on a Friday afternoon, and the district sent its survey to families the following Monday to determine interest in more in person learning.
Question: I spoke with a parent who has children in the Elmira District and she said her kids get progress reports every week. Could we do the same?
Answer:
Parents can check the progress of their child through the SchoolTool Parent Portal tool daily throughout the entire school year. Schools have communicated this to parents. If you are having difficulties, a parent can talk with the teacher, administrator, and/or our technical support staff to assist. Our district and staff are always available to address concerns or have conversations, which is not always available in a weekly paper report. Please try accessing the Parent Portal for your student’s information. The district has used this resource both pre-pandemic and during the pandemic to keep all updated as much as possible daily.
Question: Virtual learning has made it easy for students to say to themselves and parents ... l'm tired, I don't feel like going to school today, I'll just go virtual. Even if they would rather go to school. Children are depressed and have gone from loving school, to wanting to just sleep all the time. How will these issues be addressed?
Answer:
This is not a major issue when students are in school as you have indicated, kids want to be here. However, when this is happening at home, we urge parents to assist the school staff so that their students are actively engaged when they are out of the presence of their teacher who would normally keep them on task in the classroom. In this situation, the district and staff look to the parent/guardian/caretaker to assist in keeping the student active in their learning process and on task. This is an issue during this time that districts look to the adults at home or at caregiver to address this with their students. The district does recognize that many parents work, and that there isn’t always an ‘adult at home’ depending on the age of a student. The district encourages parents to talk to their child’s school principal, counselor, caregiver, and/or teachers for assistance if students are not engaging.
Question: When will Wednesday become a normal school day whether it is virtual or in-person?
Answer:
Wednesdays are scheduled days for asynchronous work, small-group instruction with teachers, as well as days specifically for our remote students to have dedicated time with their teachers. This is something that all hybrid students receive at least two times a week under this pandemic setting. Even if the district moves to four days a week in person, the Wednesday time will be needed more for our remote students, as they are important learners and a part of our school community.
Question: Does the district have data to support that remote kids are using this day to connect with teachers? How many children are taking advantage of this time? What is the percentage?
Answer:
The data shows that our teachers, staff and students regularly access this time. It is expected that all parents ensure their students are online when assigned by their instructor if possible. However, the district and our staff recognize that this is not always the case for every family. Parents can adjust their students’ time as it fits into their pandemic schedule and/or specific situation. The district does its best to have opportunities for all throughout everyone's schedules both synchronous and asynchronous time for learning.
Question: Students are not getting the instruction time they should be in the current hybrid model. My sophomore, when in school, has class for 80 minutes per class. However, I find on his remote days, he spends as much time on his PlayStation as he does on ltslearning. Why are these classes not being taught to the fully allotted time?
Answer:
This question has been addressed in varying ways above regarding instructional time. Specifically, instructional time is supported in a variety of ways during the pandemic. Students have instruction which will be offered as in person synchornous and asynchronous time, remote learning synchronous and asynchronous time, time associated with the instructional program throughout the entire week and weekend, and both during school hours and outside of school hours. All this time is combined to form the instructional program for all during the pandemic. Students and families will need to work out the at home expectations for their learning setting as it is outside of the normal educational structure that all are familiar with when we are not in a pandemic.
If parents are having difficulties with home settings, please reach out to the staff, counselors, and administrators to see if we can assist you in the home setting while we are governed by the state's pandemic regulations.
Additional questions:
Question: I spoke at the last school board meeting almost 2 weeks ago. I noticed that the video is not posted yet. When will this be posted?
Many of the parents who spoke, me included, asked specific questions. I checked the question and answer page on the district website and don't see updated answers to those questions yet.
Also, Chemung County Legislator Christopher Moss posted this article today. This article states that, "while the current state guidelines do allow districts to bring kids back with 3-feet of social distancing, plastic barriers must be used". Is this true?
Answer:
The video of the March 18 meeting has been posted to the Board of Education page at this link: HCSD Board of Education. Please go to the website to access the district’s video’s as the information is specific to Horseheads and regularly stored at this site and not just on various media platforms.
The district is working on all the questions. We will post responses when the questions are completed and reviewed. There are many other tasks, during any given day and/or weekend, that are also being addressed regularly in the district. First and foremost, we are trying to work on advocacy and the instructional plan to provide more in-person days of instruction per week once the state gives its guidance.
It looks as if County Executive Chris Moss simply posted an article from another area for others to be aware of the advocacy. The district has checked with him regarding his position. This has not been part of our discussions at county meetings as no local official has the authority to override the Governor or his state health department. The article is also not in line with the guidance directly from the State Department of Health and our district’s legal counsel. Therefore, any statement coming from anywhere other than the Governor, State Health Department, State Education Department and/or our legal team is just that, a statement. The district needs to be given specific instructions/guidance from the state, as we cannot just take information from media and/or social media as the proven course of action.
[posted March 11, 2021]:
Question: Has the District looked into the option of barriers in schools? Has each building come up with a count of which classrooms would need barriers? How many barriers total per building? Is there a line item in the proposed budget in case this mandate does not change for the 2021/2022 school year? Can parent organizations help raise the money to purchase the barriers? If these questions cannot be answered yet, can the district develop a plan to begin phasing in the use of barriers to start bringing some grade levels back to school 5 days per week? A suggestion seen in other districts is to start with the elementary schools and work through the district from there.
Answer:
Barriers in Schools
The district has investigated barriers from the outset of the pandemic and was advised by counsel that this does not eliminate the need for six feet of distancing for de-densification of schools. While the six-foot distancing requirement remains, the barriers would provide an additional bit of safety. With guidance from state and local health authorities, the district has taken the position of best practices that masking would be 100% during the school hours, except during appropriate mask breaks throughout the day and during lunches.
Estimated Numbers of Barriers
If the district were to purchase barriers as an added layer of safety, one barrier for every classroom seat in the district would be needed. This would amount to roughly 3300 seats in the hybrid model, or approximately 6600 seats if all students return. At the elementary level, keep in mind that this includes all classroom teachers as well as art, music, library, reading, resource room, etc. At the secondary level, students travel to several classrooms throughout the day, each seat requiring a barrier. In addition, barriers would have to be utilized in lunchrooms across the district to handle full student capacity in our schools. This is not as simple as one barrier for each student. Each student area must be outfitted and regularly disinfected for student and staff use.
There are low-cost barrier options at about $20-$30; however, these barriers are not as substantial as the higher-cost versions and may not stand up to daily disinfecting and use. This type of barrier would need to be replaced regularly throughout a school year due to wear and daily cleaning, which would be a continued cost to the district.
Higher-cost barriers are $150-$175 each, which poses a significant cost impact. These barriers would need to be secured to surfaces in order to prevent potential injuries to others. They would likely not need to be replaced throughout a school year, unless the barrier is damaged.
Another option would be if the state would redefine barriers as safety glasses, goggles, or face shields with continued mask use. These items would have a per unit cost of $3 to $15 for each student. This type of “barrier” could easily travel with every student. We would ask families to assist with daily cleaning and disinfecting of these items. This type of barrier, if the state allows, would be more cost-efficient and need replacing only if damaged or lost. We encourage our parents to advocate for this change to state guidance with this last option for our district.
Budget for Barriers
The district would use funds from the district budget to acquire the needed materials for any items to reopen our schools fully once guidance from the state is either modified and/or changed.
Parent Organization Fundraising for Barriers
We appreciate parents' willingness to assist the district and we are grateful. However, it is not necessary at this time. The district would use funds in the budget approved by our community to meet this need if the state were to require barriers and allow us to decrease social distancing.
Similar to when the district purchased a substantial number of technology devices for students during this past year, the district would utilize current funds for mandated needs. If barriers were to be required for the state to reduce distancing, the district would make barriers happen. Currently, this it is not the case. Additionally, there is significant lead time for any mass purchase of these barrier items. Therefore, the earlier the guidance comes from the state, the easier it will be for districts to plan and acquire the needed materials for safety and best practices to return our students fully to school.
Bringing students back 5days/week with Barriers
This question is answered above.
Question: What is your student no show rate on their scheduled in-person day?
Answer:
There are various ways for students to connect and be present during this school year. Our daily attendance rates represent students that connect both remotely and in-person. If a family chose in-person hybrid instruction, there is a seat for that student on their in-person days.
The rate of students attending their scheduled hybrid day has not been consistent from day to day or week to week for a variety of pandemic-related reasons. Students may be out of school for contact tracing, quarantine, or other reason. For instance, many families chose to keep their children on remote instruction when our county infection rates were high. This is the reason the guidance encouraged districts to remain flexible when considering student attendance.
Question: How many surveys have been sent to parents regarding their education preference?
Answer:
This question about surveys has been answered in the Q&A.
Question: Why are my kids online less than 2 hours per day? Why are my kids not learning in conjunction with the kids in class on days they are virtual? Why aren’t the teachers engaged in face-to-face learning with ALL children for the entire school day regardless of modality?
Answer:
Our instructional plan for the district’s students was developed by a community stakeholder group as required by the state. We are the only district in the Southern Tier to involve all stakeholder groups in the plan development process. These individuals worked diligently during the height of the pandemic to create, discuss, and coalesce around an instructional plan for the district to move forward for the best of all our Horseheads families and not any one segment of the district. This plan was presented to the Board of Education in August with consensus to move forward and reaffirmed as the plan that the district will continue to follow, according to state guidance, in early March. The district is advocating for changes to the state's guidance, as well as looking at enhancements to the core instructional time.
Question: Why can I watch my nephews wrestle full contact, but I have to explain to my kids that they can’t go to school and sit in a classroom with their peers 5 days a week?
Answer:
This is the same question we are asking the governor and state department of health. It is our hope that the guidance will be updated to allow us to bring students into the classroom more days per week.
We are following guidance from the state regarding instruction, sports, gatherings, etc. This guidance gives counties flexibility in some areas, such as athletic contests, but not all. The county is allowing two spectators per athlete.
Revised Spectator and Athletic Information
Additional Athletic Information for seasons and competitions
(subject to adjustments, as needed, by district, county, and state)
Spectators at Practices and/or Contests
Low and Moderate risk sports can have no more than two spectators per athlete (indoors and outdoors) by order of Chemung County depending on the site and/or restrictions placed upon sports by the state, counties, and/or Board of Education.
High Risk sports, as of February 18, 2021, Chemung County Schools have been cleared to have no more than two spectators per athlete (indoors and outdoors) by order of Chemung County depending on the site and/or restrictions placed upon sports by the state, counties, and/or Board of Education.
Indoor events:
The Horseheads Central School District will allow limited home team spectators only at home athletic events:
- Only home team spectators will be allowed for home competitions when feasible. This is due to COVID-19 guidelines and/or capacity limits for safety and to keep our sports programs open.
- Competition capacity limited for each sports venue will be set by the athletic director.
- All spectators will be required to follow health screening protocols and temperature checks to attend any competition.
- There may be indoor events that have no spectators, only one spectator, or a maximum of two spectators per family. (This will be set ahead of the competition by the athletic office and communicated via coaches.)
- Senior Night events will also be limited indoors. The district will reserve these events for spectators of the seniors’ families only in order to honor their high school career.
- Away indoor athletic events are governed by the away school. If spectators are allowed, all spectators are required to follow the away schools' procedures and/or protocols. (families should check with the coach prior to any away competition for away school districts rules and/or limitations prior to attending any event.)
- Any non-compliance with school district rules, protocols, and/or safety procedures may result in a person's removal from the school event(s).
Outdoor Events:
The Horseheads Central School District will allow outdoor spectators for both home and visiting athletic team events:
- Spectators will be allowed for outdoor competitions when feasible. This is due to COVID-19 guidelines and/or capacity limits for safety and to keep our sports programs open.
- Competition capacity limited for each sports venue will be set by the athletic director.
- All spectators will be required to follow health screening protocols and temperature checks to attend any competition.
- The away team school district is required to provide an individual supervisor/administrator to complete their visitor's check-in, screening, supervision, departure, and/or contract tracing.
- There may be outdoor events that have no spectators, only one spectator, or a maximum of two spectators per family (both home and/or away teams). (This will be set ahead of the competition by the athletic office and communicated via coaches.)
- Outdoor Senior Night events will also be limited, if needed. The district will reserve the right to have these events for spectators of the seniors’ families only, to honor their high school career. Final decisions on senior night attendees will be established by the Athletic Director.
- Away outdoor athletic events are governed by the away school. If spectators are allowed, all spectators are required to follow the away schools' procedures and/or protocols. (Families should check with the coach prior to any away competition for away school districts rules and/or limitations prior to attending any event.)
- The Horseheads Central School District will also send an individual supervisor/administrator to complete their visitor's check-in, screening, supervision, departure, and/or contract tracing for these outdoor away events.
- Any non-compliance with school district rules, protocols, and/or safety procedures may result in a person's removal from the school event(s).
Click here for the district’s Return to Play Plan for High-Risk Sports.
[posted February 2021]:
Question: Can you please explain why spectators are not allowed to watch their kids compete? 1 parent for each child competing would not cause harm to anyone and all regs can be followed. I am sure most parents would even give up their spot for a parent of a Senior.
Answer:
Low and Moderate risk sports can have spectators depending on the site and restrictions placed upon sports by the state, counties, or Board of Education.
High Risk sports, as of February 18, 2021, has been cleared by Chemung County to have no more than two spectators per athlete.
Additionally, spectators may be limited* for any event based on location, county of the event, and/or space limitations set by the District Athletic Director for the event to proceed in a safe and orderly manner.
*Additional Athletic Information for seasons and competitions
(subject to adjustments, as needed, by district and state)
Spectators at Practices and/or Contests
The Horseheads Central School District will allow only limited spectators at home athletic events:
- Spectators will be only allowed at home competitions when feasible. This is due to COVID-19 guidelines and/or capacity limits for safety and to keep our sports programs open.
- Competition capacity limited for each sports venue will be set by the athletic director.
- All spectators will be required to follow health screening protocols and temperature checks to attend any competition.
- There may be events that have no spectators, only one spectator, or a maximum of two spectators per family. (This will be set ahead of the competition by the athletic office and communicated via coaches.)
- Senior Night events will also be limited. The district will reserve these events for spectators of the seniors’ families only to honor their high school career.
- Away athletic events are governed by the away school. If spectators are allowed, all spectators are required to follow the away schools' procedures and/or protocols. (families should check with the coach prior to any away competition for away school districts rules and/or limitations prior to attending any event.)
- Any non-compliance with school district rules, protocols, and/or safety procedures may result in a person's removal from the school event(s).
Question: Cuomo opened Arenas for thousands to watch.
Answer:
Governor Cuomo has opened large venues of 10,000 seating capacity or more only, requiring that all attendees undergo the 72 Hour PCR COVID-19 test, along with other stipulations. Unfortunately, he has not changed any other guidance at this time for other entities such as schools and municipalities. The district must await further guidance from the Governor.
Question: Why is the district not allowing spectators outside for outdoor sports? What is the science behind this decision? You can most definitely social distance, wear a mask and there are no issues with “ventilation”
Answer:
The district has not stated that spectators are not allowed for outdoor sports. At this time, the district has not addressed outside sports as we are in the Winter Season, which is indoors. Chemung County and the Department of Health will provide guidance on this question once we get to outdoor seasons and the snow melts. The district will then share information on this question once we receive final guidance from the appropriate authorities. Additionally, the Board of Education has also established set limits on spectators for any events, out of an abundance of caution and safety, to make sure COVID-19 infection spread is minimized as much as possible in order to allow athletes to have as much as possible a complete season during this pandemic time.
Question: We are happy the kids are getting somewhat of a season but it is my understanding that this was a district decision and no Cuomo has opened this up to all. Can you clarify?
Answer:
On January 22, Governor Cuomo announced in his regular press conference that state-deemed high-risk sports can resume February 1, 2021 as long as districts work with local authorities to make sure activities are as safe as possible. On January 27, Chemung County Executive Chris Moss announced his approval for these sports to begin. The district shared its plan after getting the go-ahead from Chemung County.
The district is following state, local, and board guidance for its athletic activities. The Board has provided the direction for spectators for the near future as indicated above. The district will review the issue of the number of spectators at events, when it is appropriate for the given situation in the district and varying outside events on school property. We have always tried to do this monitoring of events since we opened in order to assist our students and families in having as full of a season/activity as possible under the current pandemic situation. As we have already previously stated, the district has made special arrangements for senior nights, and we will do our best to allow home spectators at all levels.
As also stated earlier, Governor Cuomo has only opened large venues of 10,000 seating capacity or more only, requiring that all attendees undergo the 72 Hour PCR COVID-19 test, along with other stipulations. He has not changed any other guidance at this time for other entities such as schools and municipalities. As the district must await further guidance from the Governor, we suggest that individuals advocate to the Governor their thoughts on the need to loosen requirements, recommendations, and best practices for schools so that districts may also reasonably address school events.
Question: There was a recent letter from the State Education Department stating that “COVID-19 testing may not be a condition for in-person learning or participation in sports.” Will the district be updating their policy on testing for students and athletes based on this latest directive?
Answer:
The letter from SED came out just a few days prior to the writing of this information. It is memo to the field on the status of COVID-19 testing of students in schools and athletics. However, the letter does not specifically address COVID-19 testing for high-risk sports programs. The district had taken the same position communicated in the letter prior to the release of formal SED letter to the field. We shared the information with families in our February 5 district update (See below):
COVID-19 Testing:
As we reported last week, the state has removed the orange zone designation for our area, and therefore we are no longer required by the state to test students and staff in the six schools formerly in the orange zone. However, we plan to work with the county and continue testing in our schools (with the exception of Big Flats) to continue the best practice endorsed by the County Health Department as an additional level of safety for our community. Testing is also recommended for our in-season student-athletes as part of the state and county’s approval of high-risk sports.
If your child is on hybrid instruction (and is not an athlete) in any of the six schools formerly in the orange zone and you no longer want your child tested, please contact your child’s building principal via email.
Please be aware that if the state again designates our area to be in a