Superintendent Jeff Simons
Superintendent Jeff Simons co-signed a letter with Questar III BOCES Superintendent Dr. Gladys Cruz and 21 other local superintendents on Wednesday to advocate for the NYS Department of Health to adopt the CDC’s recommendation of 3 feet of social distancing in schools.
If the state made that change, the East Greenbush Central School District could fully reopen and offer all students full time in-person learning.
The new CDC recommendations, which were announced last Friday, stated that three feet of separation between students in classrooms is sufficient to ensure a safe learning environment amidst COVID-19, rather than the previous guidance of six feet.
The letter from Mr. Simons and his fellow superintendents was sent to Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker.
It said, in part: “We want to return more students to full-time, in-person learning, but the current regulations and guidance preclude us from doing so. This is an opportune time to learn from the past and reimagine the future for in-person learning for the end of school year and later this fall.”
“Specifically, we are asking the state to adopt the CDC guidance that would allow 3 feet of physical distancing.”
This letter follows one with a similar message that Mr. Simons sent on March 15 to Dr. Zucker, NYS Commissioner of Education Dr. Betty Rosa, the Deputy Secretary of Education and elected representatives.