2022-23 Planning for Re-Opening of Schools

Dear Pearl River School Community,

We are happy to welcome your children to the 2022-23 school year! The purpose of this letter is to provide you with updated information regarding our COVID-19 protocols.

The NYS Department of Health (NYDOH) and the NYS Education Department (NYSED) released their guidance information to schools and Frequently Asked Questions documents for schools and parents. This information is based upon the CDC guidance issued on August 11th. We are happy that most of the restrictions have been eased for the 2022-23 school year, which indicates that we are on our way to a more “normal” school environment. 

In reviewing the guidance and Frequently Asked Questions from NYSED and NYDOH the following plan will be in place for the 2022-23 school year: 

Universal masking is not required in schools or on school busses. It is recommended that individuals who were exposed to COVID-19 wear a mask for ten days. 

Quarantining if exposed to COVID-19 is not required.

It is recommended that a student exposed to COVID-19 wear a well-fitting mask for 10 days and test 5 days after exposure. At- home test kits are available at each school and District Office.  

A student who has symptoms of respiratory or gastrointestinal infections, such as cough, fever, sore throat, vomiting, or diarrhea, must stay home and should test for COVID 19. Test kits are available at all schools and the District Office.

• Students who test negative for COVID-19 can return to school once fever-free for 24 hours without fever reducing medication and the symptoms have improved.
  
  
• Students who test positive for COVID-19 should inform the school nurse and isolate for a minimum of 5 days. Students can return to school on day 6 provided they are fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication and symptoms, if any, have improved. Students must wear a mask on days 6-10 after testing positive for COVID-19. 

A student who does not have symptoms but tests positive for COVID-19 must stay home for five days as noted above. If a student develops symptoms within the 10 days of testing, the isolation clock restarts at day 0 on the day of symptom onset. 

As with any illness, students should focus on recovery. Live remote instruction for individual student illnesses will not be utilized at this time. Teachers will post assignments on Google classroom for students in grades 5-12.  Students in grades K-4 may have assignments in  Google Classroom, SeeSaw or will have work collected to send home to parents. Please allow at least two school days for work to be collected or posted if your child is isolating for COVID-19.  Students will have additional time and support to complete missed work when they return from isolation.  

We will continue to implement the positive healthy practices and mitigation strategies that are important to prevent any communicable illnesses including frequent hand washing, availability of hand sanitizer, increased air circulation and the use of HEPA filters in all our classrooms and offices, and the daily cleaning of common surfaces.  

NYSED and NYSDOH are no longer requiring that schools report cases of COVID-19, nor contact trace. We have ample supplies of COVID-19 at-home test kits available for families at our schools and District Office. Please feel free to stop and pick up a test kit if you need one during regular school hours.  

In the event of an outbreak or cluster of COVID-19 in a classroom, bus or school, a notification of possible exposure will be sent to parents. 

We will continue to monitor for any additional guidance from the NYSED and/or the NYSDOH as the year progresses and provide our families with updated information.