November 11, 2020
Dear Catholic School Families,
Over the past seven days, the average positivity rates in many areas of Staten Island areas have risen to as high as 5.2 percent and new daily hospital admissions have increased. For these reasons, Governor Cuomo announced today that the greater part of Staten Island is now a yellow zone.
As such, all Catholic elementary schools in the Staten Island region will transition to remote learning as of tomorrow, Thursday, November 12, for the foreseeable future. Principals and teachers are prepared for this transition and have crafted plans for remote instruction guided by the Continuity of Learning Plan prepared by the Office of the Superintendent. Each principal will contact their school community this evening with the details to allow this smooth transition to remote learning. The process begins tomorrow with school buildings opened for limited access to allow staff and K-8 students to retrieve personal items and all materials necessary for remote learning.
Principals will be sharing additional information with families in UPK/3K and tuition-based prekindergarten programs. Children in these programs should not report to school tomorrow.
The Health and Safety Task Force of the Office of the Superintendent is working closely with New York City Department of Health officials to establish, operationalize and implement the necessary protocols to safely reopen our school buildings as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Mr. Michael J. Deegan
Superintendent of Schools
Archdiocese of New York