March 12, 2020
Dear Catholic Schools Families,
Since the COVID-19 public health crisis revealed itself in our region, the Health and Safety Task Force of the Office of Superintendent of Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of New York has responded with policies that are proactive, pragmatic and patient.
In order to move forward our principals will continue to provide the excellent leadership they are known for in our schools to ensure our entire staff and faculty are educated not only about what the coronavirus is, but how to prevent its spread within our school communities. Additionally, it is important to educate our students about the virus, in the absence of factual information, children often imagine situations far worse than reality.
In the coming days, your principal, under the guidance of their regional superintendent, will announce a 12:00 PM dismissal. While we understand this may be an inconvenience to our families, this early dismissal serves three purposes:
1. Principals will be training their faculty using the ArchCare presentation and other resources, which can be found on our site, catholicschoolsny.org. This PowerPoint was created by our own healthcare organization, ArchCare, and is an overall comprehensive guide to COVID-19. They will also review the resources curated by Discovery Education Experience and The Discovery Channel. This collection of lessons and videos provides content regarding the COVID-19 at grade appropriate levels. Task force members from the Office of Teaching and Learning are creating a grade band guide for teachers that identifies the resources most appropriate for the children they teach.
2. Principals and teachers will also use this time to prepare for the possibility of remote learning in the event of an extended closing of their school by creating lessons, developing guidelines, and gathering resources for their students.
3. Maintenance staff will perform an additional cleaning and sanitation of the building according to CDC guidelines.
Thank you for your support and understanding as we come together to do what is best for our children.
Mr. Michael J. Deegan
Superintendent of Schools
Archdiocese of New York
