January 14, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Due to the COVID-19 positive test result for one of our employees at the high school building, the JSHS building will be closed tomorrow, Friday, January 15th for deep cleaning and reopen on Tuesday, January 19^th (Monday school is closed for Martin Luther King Observance). Since students are on remote learning tomorrow this should have a minimal impact.

In-person learning will resume on Tuesday, January 19th as originally planned.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Our plan will always have the safety of the children as our number one priority.

Sincerely,

John C. Morgano Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools

January 8, 2021

Dear Parent and Guardians,

In an effort to provide time to both the students and the teachers to complete assignments and to practice prior learning, we have set aside three dates during which all students will be virtual and will be asynchronous. That means that the students will complete assignments, practice etc. work provided by the teacher.  During these times, students will not be online with their teacher however the teacher will respond to questions emailed to them those days.

The dates are January 15, February 8 (already on the printed calendar as a conference day) and March 5.  

Thank you for your support as we navigate uncharted territory. Our students have more teacher contact time than many other schools. A number of schools have two days per week of in-person, Wednesdays off {no new work and no teacher support}, and Thursday and Friday online. This means that just looking at Wednesdays, our students will have about 40 more days of instruction by the end of the year compared to many other schools.

Once again thank you for making our plan work for our students. Our plan will always have the safety of the children as our number one priority.

Sincerely,

John C. Morgano Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools

December 19, 2020

Dear Parents/ Guardians,

As you know the State of NY and the nation and beyond are in the midst of a crisis with thousands dying daily. My first concern and my duty are to the children of Eldred. It is with their safety and well-being in mind that I have decided to have our students remain all virtual learning until January 19th, 2021.

Why January 19th? January 19th provides ample time for the impact of the holiday surge to subside and provides ample time from the New Year’s holiday. It is my hope that this pro-active measure will provide a safer environment to return to in January.

We will never know if we saved any lives but I know that if we do nothing, we are putting the lives of children and their families at risk and I simply cannot allow that to happen.

I am aware that this puts added strain on families and that child care issues are real. Parents may elect to utilize the Healthy Kids program located at our elementary school. Please check their website for costs etc.

It is with some optimism that I look forward to the future now that we have a vaccine. With a vaccine, there is at least a possibility that we can return to normal in the future.

Thank you for your understanding and support.

Sincerely,

John C. Morgano Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools

December 10, 2020

Dear School Community Member:

This afternoon, we received confirmation from the Sullivan County Department of Health, that a student tested positive for COVID-19. The student was last in session on Wednesday, December 9, 2020. The school district is in direct and ongoing contact with the Department of Health and we are currently gathering contact tracing information along with them.

This student attends the Junior-Senior High School and has had interactions with students and staff in the hybrid model.

As a result of this exposure and potential additional exposures, The Eldred Central School District (both Mackenzie and Junior-Senior High School) will be on remote instruction effective Friday, December 11, 2020, through Tuesday, December 22, 2020.

Please check our website and social media outlets for updates.

The hybrid model will resume on Monday, January 4, 2021, As always, the health and safety of our students and staff remain our top priority.

There will be no out of district transportation on Friday and Monday will resume on Tuesday, December 15, 2020.

Sincerely yours,

John C. Morgano Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact JJ Gass at 845-456-1100 ext.5020.

Sullivan County Public Health Services and Sullivan BOCES have hosted a School Community Forum on Wednesday, Nov. 4 to provide answers to commonly asked COVID-19 related question.

Public Health staff explained what to expect if you test positive for COVID-19  or if your or a family member is exposed to someone who has tested positive. They explained contact tracing; the difference between isolation and quarantine, and where you can get tested.

If you would like to view the meeting, please click the link below.

Sullivan County Public Health Services clarifies when to quarantine, or isolate as COVID-19 cases rise

Please visit:  https://sullivanny.us/Departments/Publichealth/Coronavirus   for up to date information.

When Should I Quarantine?

Health Department staff remind residents that quarantine is used to keep someone who has been exposed to the virus (and who might be contagious even without symptoms), from spreading it to others.

Quarantine is for people who been in contact with someone who has COVID-19 and requires staying at home for at least 14 days while monitoring symptoms. During this time period an individual could develop active infection and become contagious. The average incubation period is 5 to 7 days, but it could take up to the 14^th day.

A “close contact” means that you were within six feet of a COVID-19 positive patient for more than 15 minutes, provided care to someone with COVID-19, had direct physical contact, shared utensils or cups, or were directly sneezed or coughed on by someone diagnosed with COVID-19.

If you become symptomatic and get tested you should be on quarantine until those results come back. That includes if you have had a rapid COVID-19 test and a PCR.  Individuals must wait for BOTH results to come back prior to resuming normal activities. A negative rapid test does not mean you are cleared, both tests must come back negative.

When Should I Isolate?

Isolation is for people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and requires people to stay in their homes for at least 10 days while monitoring symptoms.

“People in quarantine should stay home, separate themselves from others, and monitor their health," said Nancy McGraw, Public Health Director.  "Please note that if you get tested during quarantine, you will still need to complete the full period even with a negative COVID test result.”

Source: Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. (2020, March 10). New study on COVID-19 estimates 5.1 days for incubation period: Median time from exposure to symptoms affirms earlier estimates and supports CDC's current 14-day quarantine period. Science Daily. Retrieved November 16, 2020 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200310164744.htm

November 2, 2020

Dear Parents,

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has developed a Parent Dashboard to increase transparency and make information about school performance and other school-level data easier for parents and the public to access. The Parent Dashboard is part of New York’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan, which emphasizes equity in education for all students and expands measures of school accountability and student success.  This new dashboard will provide parents with information about their child’s school. The Parent Dashboard is now available in addition to the New York State School Report Card on NYSED’s public data site (please click NYSED icon below). The Parent Dashboard offers information on all public schools including charter schools.

In 2019, NYSED gathered feedback from parents and stakeholders to guide the work of developing the Parent Dashboard. The data elements that parents ranked highest on the survey are available on the Parent Dashboard.

NYSED is now gathering additional feedback from parents and stakeholders to guide further enhancements to the Parent Dashboard. We invite parents and other stakeholders to explore the Parent Dashboard and then provide feedback via an online feedback survey available in 17 languages. NYSED will use this feedback to identify the data that is most useful to parents and the public and to make improvements to the website.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please visit the Parent Dashboard, which includes frequently asked questions and contact information.

Thank you for your feedback and for your continued commitment to your child’s education.

Sincerely,

Traci Ferreira, JSHS Principal            Scott Krebs, Mackenzie Elementary Principal


John C. Morgano Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools

Clarification on Wednesday's Academic Schedule

Dear Parents,

In case there may have been some dialogue amongst the community about modifying Wednesday’s schedule. I wanted to let you know after some further discussions on the modification of Wednesdays, this will be on hold until further review with the planning in greater detail. If the change does occur, a logical time to begin any structural changes is at the beginning of the second quarter, November 16th. 

We have a meeting tomorrow, however I wanted to make sure that the parents are not confused. Changing Wednesday’s schedule will impact child care, specials and learning to read and parents will need time to plan should we modify how we educate children. Presently, we are not changing our current plan.
Sincerely, John C. Morgano, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools

State Mandated Assurances in order to open in September 2020

Department of Health Safety Plan-August 10, 2020

PLANNING FOR RE-OPENING THE SCHOOL DISTRICT INFORMATION

Please click below
Planning For Re-Opening Information Page

PRIOR SUPERINTENDENT LETTERS REGARDING CORONAVIRUS

Please click below
Prior Superintendent Letters to Parents/Guardians

Jacob Fisher

Deputy Sean Grady - SRO

Dakota Finck
Josh Glantz
Sue Glantz    
Paige Spradling

ACTS OF KINDNESS(AOK) INITIATIVE BEGINS AT ELDRED SCHOOLS

As I have said many times in the past, the Eldred community is full of nice, kind kids with good parents.

We are not reminded of that fact often enough.

Our schools have a number of programs that stress the positive actions of our students. (Please see the list below).

I would like to take that a bit further. We are going to begin a couple of initiatives. Please find the button on our webpage where students, teachers, staff and parents can be "acknowledged" for doing something good for someone else and/or the community. It doesn't have to be something extraordinary - just an action that makes someone's day just a little easier. It can be anonymous or you can give your name.

We will be sharing this information with everyone at our monthly BOE meeting. (Those individuals identified as “AOK” will be acknowledged at a BOE meeting, of course, we will check with the person who was "made known on AOK" to be sure they want to be publicly acknowledged. Some people like to keep their good deeds quiet.)

We will call this button the  Acts of Kindness "AOK" button (please click).

In the same vein, we will have boxes at each school where this information can be dropped into the box.

We are all on this journey together. It's important we support each other. You may click on the icon below.

Sincerely,
Dr. John C. Morgano
Superintendent

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In an effort to provide you with factual information regarding our efforts to make our schools the positive learning environment we all want for our children, I present the following initiatives that are occurring in our elementary and JSHS school.

A course is being offered for teachers to design an elementary addendum to the Code of Conduct that will be more aligned with the needs of elementary school students and reduce the frequency of problematic behaviors.

       GRM initiatives:

• Walk and talks
• Brief individual counseling
• Brief small group counseling
• Conflict resolution/peer mediation
• Anger management
• Emotion identification
• Social skills training
• Worry warriors/coping strategies for the anxious
• Coping strategies for grief/loss
• Teacher and parent consults
• Resources and referral
• Grounding techniques, breathing sets, mindfulness, visualization
• Heavy work/sensory breaks
• Think sheets
• Behavior contracts
• Positive reinforcement plans
• Token economies/group contingencies
• Model: ignoring, effective commands, acknowledging expectations and verbal reinforcement, attention grabbing signals
• SEL lessons – small group or whole class by invitation
• Post positive potty papers
• Provided Principal with wall clings with positive affirmations

Have done in past

• Restorative circles
• Restorative justice
• Yoga4classrooms
• Bibliotherapy/writing to address trauma

All Grade Levels K-6

• Social-emotional learning lessons on Mondays
• PATHS curriculums
• Choose LOVE (it introduces courage, gratitude, forgiveness and compassion)
• Peer mediation
• Role play during counseling sessions
• Model positive behavior and social skills
• School Resource Officers (SROs)
• DARE Program
• “Too Good For” program (10 week program providing 1^st grade resources to address social emotional learning experiences.

PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Support) Mackenzie

• PBIS follows Mackenzie Manners: Be safe, Be respectful, and Be responsible
• Big BEE and Little BEE awards monthly for 2 students that show Mackenzie Manners throughout the month.  Golden trophy awards are presented to the 2 classes that exemplify the best teamwork during PE classes for the month.
• Quarterly Caring Classmate awards are presented to students in the primary grades exemplifying kindness and empathy to their peers.
• Individual classroom teachers employ their own reward systems.  Some examples include prize boxes, happy cards, high fives, and tickets.
• Logical Consequences are being created and will hopefully be implemented in September.  These will be created by the teachers under the guidance of Dr. Morgano.
• Socktober sock drive
• December PJ drive
• "Soup"er Bowl donations
• Koala and Kangaroo collection for Australia

_______________________________________

      JSHS initiatives:

• Counselors are visible and available during lunches
• Coping skills
• Meet with counselors individually
• Work on calming and de-escalating skills
• Teaching positive self-talk and positive self-image
• Teach respect rights and responsibility
• Try to breakdown social situations to assist in building social skills
• School Resource Officers (SROs)

PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Support) JSHS

• Welcome Back ice cream social at the beginning of the school year and an end of the year ice cream social.
• Winter Welcome back with donuts and coffee coming back from winter break.

Activities to build kindness, empathy, and compassion run by PBIS:

• Homecoming Week/Spirit Week where the classes dress up to show unity.
• Pep rally - students learn about all of the clubs/sports that are available to students. Classes merge together, play games to show cooperation. 
• Color Wars (spring) classes work together to compete against other classes. 
• "Soup"er Bowl  donations
• Student of the Week
• PBIS is working on "What to do" videos modeling the positive behaviors of the PBIS matrix once completed will be posted in a Google Drive for all teachers to be able to incorporate with their lessons throughout the year 

PBIS have done in past

• Peer mentoring program which we match 7th graders with upperclassmen to mentor them through their first year at the high school.

_______________________________________

            District initiatives:

• Character building/Anti-bullying Speaker
• DASA Training – 6 hour course for all staff
• DASA Training Program for community members
• Suicide Prevention training for staff
• Suicide Awareness implementation
• Speaking with students to educate them on bullying
• Open door policy for students to speak with Superintendent, Principals, Counselors on topics such as bullying of self or others
• “A O K” (Acts Of Kindness) button on the District webpage seeks to focus on and increase positive behaviors

The Eldred Central School District takes emergency preparedness very seriously. We have a comprehensive safety plan that assists our staff and Emergency Responders to respond swiftly should an emergency occur. We provide ongoing crisis management training to school administrators and other key staff members throughout the school.

Emergency response plans are in place at the school. An Emergency Response Team oversees the plan, and team members have assigned roles and responsibilities should an emergency occur. The team meets regularly to review procedures and conduct annual training and drills so that students and staff are aware of the most effective and safe emergency response.

Click for school emergency and student release information

Report An Incident

Eldred Central School District is committed to providing a safe, supportive environment free from harassment, bullying and discrimination for all students. The District encourages the involvement of staff, students, parents and community members in the implementation and reinforcement of the Dignity for All Students Act (“DASA”).
If you believe you, or someone else, has been the target of harassment, bullying, cyber-bullying, and/or discrimination, please use this form to report all allegations.
School/district personnel witnessing an incident or receiving a report of an incident must complete and submit this written report within two (2) school days. NOTE: School/district personnel must also orally notify the principal, superintendent or their designee no later than one school day after witnessing or receiving a report of an incident. In order to qualify under DASA, the offense must be in violation of one or more of the protected classes that are: race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender and sex. The law applies whether an individual actually belongs or is perceived by others to be part of a protected class.
All complaints will be treated in a confidential manner. Anonymous reports may limit the district’s ability to respond to the complaint. A prompt and thorough investigation will be conducted for all incident reports.
Please complete this form and return it to a school administrator or Dignity Act Coordinator.

Every student should look forward to coming to school and see school as a safe place.

 Eldred CSD- DASA Incident Reporting Form (Click)

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