LEWISTON, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Lewiston-Porter Central School district is one of the first districts in the area to detail how it will keep everyone safe come fall.
"Families are nervous, everybody's nervous, staff is nervous, teachers are nervous about what it's going to look like, how we're going to go about this, what school's going to feel like," said Superintendent Paul Casseri.
Casseri addressed these concerns Wednesday afternoon in an email sent to parents.
COVID-19 [Update 7-15-20] This communication contains information around preliminary guidance put out by the state to re-open schools.https://t.co/te7TkEt2i6
— Lewiston-Porter CSD (@LewPortCSD) July 15, 2020
He laid out a preliminary plan including the following:
- All students, all staff, all visitors, all parents will be required to wear a mask or face covering
- Students must wear masks from the minute they get on the bus to the minute they return home
- Families will be encouraged to check the temperature of all students each morning
- Masked students will be seated one child to a seat on a bus, limiting buses to approximately 35 children
- Families are encouraged to drive their children to school each day if possible
Rules will vary by school.
"Each is going to have their individual nuances based on the types of kids that are there, the age of the kids that are there," said Casseri.
He was expecting guidance from New York State to arrive Wednesday, but officials from the State Education Department say they're still finalizing the document and expect it to be released on Thursday.
Meantime, Casseri will be working with the administration and Board of Education to prepare a final plan to submit to Albany by the July 31 deadline.
"Take a deep breath, know that we're on it, know that we will be completely transparent," said Casseri.
