The first few days of school are off to a wonderful start and we are so happy to have our students in their classrooms each day. As we head into the weekend, I wanted to provide you with some updates as they pertain to our Health & Safety Protocols.

Since the appointment of Governor Hochul, we have received guidance and regulations from the New York State Department of Health which includes mandatory mask-wearing for everyone while inside school buildings and new testing requirements for all school district faculty and staff.

I am pleased to announce that we will be partnering with the Westchester County Department of Health’s testing partner, Mirimus, Inc., to offer a free COVID-19 screening testing program. The County will assume financial responsibility for the testing.

The program relies on three testing strategies:

• Voluntary testing of all students within the first few weeks of school
• Voluntary weekly testing of up to 20% of all consenting students
• Mandatory testing of all faculty and staff who have not opted out by providing proof of vaccination

This program will allow for early detection of COVID-19 in pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic individuals. Early detection means we can better stop the virus from spreading in schools. Preventing school outbreaks is key to ensuring our schools stay open to provide the education and support our children need.

All families are highly encouraged to allow their child/children (vaccinated AND unvaccinated) to participate in this free, school-based COVID-19 screening testing program. The program will use non-invasive, self-collected saliva samples that are appropriate and painless for all ages. Samples will be processed using accurate and reliable PCR analysis to identify positive cases. 

Families interested in participating in voluntary testing should read and complete the consent form for each student in your household. Please return completed consent forms to the school nurse. Please also refer to the FAQ information provided by the Westchester County Department of Health.

Have a great weekend.

Brendan Lyons, Ed. D.