What's Right with Spackenkill!

What's Right with Spackenkill!
Posted on 03/04/2020
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Dear Spackenkill Community,

As you know already, student classes and extracurricular activities are canceled for two weeks, per County Executive Molinaro’s decree. Remote education will begin on Tuesday, March 17th.  Please locate your teacher’s webpage, or Google Classroom, or other approved platforms that teachers utilize to gain access to these assignments.

So what is remote education? We are not a college. Our teachers are not trained in distance learning or remote teaching, where lessons are delivered daily by teachers over the Internet. I want you to have realistic expectations. Remote education will provide a general set of assignments that review, reinforce, and enrich instruction. We have a stable infrastructure for this purpose. By and large over 90% of our students have Wi-Fi at home. Our teachers are also able to communicate to families via email for those who do not have Wi-Fi. Schoolwork can be delivered in this manner.

I also want to bring your attention to our Atlas Curriculum Maps. We are expanding the amount of resources available to parents. Here is the link:  

https://spackenkillschools-public.rubiconatlas.org/Atlas/Public/View/Default

This link will take you to our curriculum maps. These resources can be very helpful to you. Please do not think this curriculum will follow along exactly with what your teacher is doing currently, but it is overall a good description of our programs and follows NYS standards.

I have been told that there are many rumors floating through the community through posts on social media suggesting that staff, students, or others have been diagnosed with COVID–19. That assertion is inaccurate. The Health Department is required to notify each school district if they learn of any confirmed case. I will notify you immediately if that occurs.

What can you do as a family to reduce the transmission of COVID-19? Please follow good personal hygiene (hand washing, covering sneezing, staying home if ill) and avoiding unnecessary travel or socializing in large groups of people. 

The landscape is changing daily. You can rest assured that your health and safety remains uppermost in my thoughts. Any action that I take is in consultation with a variety of people and, most of all, our County Executive and Commissioner of Health.

Thank you for your great attitude during this difficult time. We need to continue to work together, and we will find a way through this current challenging public health crisis.

My best,

Mark Villanti
Mark Villanti, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools

 

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