Rye Schools Close, Remote Learning Starts Tuesday
Rye schools have announced they will close for two weeks – from March 16th to March 27th and start remote teaching next Tuesday, March 17th, 2020. Rye schools are closed today for a previously scheduled conference day.
Students will be able to enter the school Monday from 8am – 11am to collect any belongings.
The full note follows.
"Dear RCSD Community,
All schools in the Rye City School District will be closed for two weeks from Monday, March 16, through Friday, March 27. I have made this decision based on the recommendation of our school physician, the latest information from local and state public health professionals, and in consultation with the Board of Education. While we do not have any confirmed cases of COVID-19, health officials and medical experts across the globe recommend implementing “social distancing” in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus. Our plan, at this time, is to resume regular classes in schools on Monday, March 30.
Remote learning for all students in the District will begin on Tuesday, March 17, to give teachers time to make final preparations on Monday. For more information, please see my remote learning communication.
All School District buildings will be open on Monday (March 16) morning from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. for students to come and collect any belongings, materials, and resources they might need from their lockers, desks, etc. During the remainder of the closing period, District facilities will not be generally accessible and all regularly scheduled events are canceled.
Our priority during the two-week closure period is to deploy e-learning via Google Classroom and other online resources so that all students may be able to access instruction remotely.
Our remote learning plan was distributed on Thursday, March 12 to all families. Please refer back to the plan and the links for detailed information. While we have mobilized our resources to build a brand new structure for delivery of remote instruction, we know that we will experience challenges in implementation. We ask that you be patient as we move to a remote learning environment and understand that we are all learning together during this unprecedented crisis. Our faculty is working hard to create and deliver a quality program and your support and patience is appreciated.
Please note that a District-wide school closure means all school activities, before- and after-school activities, meetings, and events, including clubs and sports practices and contests, are canceled. We do not have any information about rescheduling these activities at this time. When activities are rescheduled we will communicate that information to the community.
Principals, District, and Central Office administrators will be available via voicemail and email and we will make every attempt to respond to your questions and concerns in as timely a manner as conditions permit. Our plan is to keep our Central Office open during the closure to continue operations and provide assistance and support to the community.
The CDC has issued guidelines regarding social distancing designed to reduce close contact between people to limit community spread of COVID-19. Please make every effort to limit social contact for your children. We recognize that this may be challenging. See this helpful article for more suggestions on how to implement social distancing:
https://www.technologyreview.
I will provide regular updates to the community through the duration of the remote learning period. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work together through this challenging time.
Sincerely,
Dr. Eric Byrne
Superintendent of Schools—
