Re-Districting Update...

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 The next couple of weeks will bring with it additional information and opportunities for gathering information in regard to the district's redistricting project. In March of 2021, the Board of Education and the district began work with a consultant to review district facility capacity, current school boundaries, and develop a plan that better utilizes our school spaces with the main focus on reducing class sizes. Obviously, this project has changed and grown throughout the year with the closure of Staley and the need to redistribute students into our remaining facilities. To date, the consultants have presented several times at Board meetings, held a public meeting with families and staff, and conducted a survey of staff members at grades k-8 to gather feedback on their desired outcomes. Through all of this, there have been several iterations and thoughts that continue to evolve as they continue to gather information and adapt their recommendations based on the information that they receive. As a result of the first community meeting and several families expressing a wish that there was a virtual opportunity to participate, there will be a meeting held tomorrow, Monday, January 24 at 6:00 p.m. via Zoom for members of the community to receive an update from the consultants and provide feedback regarding their thoughts. Similar to our public meetings fro re-opening schools in 2020, participants will view a presentation on the progress made to date, including some of the data that supports the current thoughts, have an opportunity to participate in a live ThoughtExchange to share their ideas and thoughts on specific questions that the consultants have for the community, and finally there will be a live question and answer session to end the presentation. If you would like to participate in the event tomorrow night, the link is here: https://moric-org.zoom.us/j/95476637403. Following the community meeting, the consultant will be presenting for the Board of Education this coming Thursday night and then there will be a second Board Ad-Hoc committee meeting on February 2 to discuss the current progress of the project. It is important to remember that a recommendation by the consultants is not planned to be in front of the Board until March of this year, from which the Board will make final decisions. At this point in time, everything is being discussed and feedback continues to be gathered so that a recommendation can be made. Please stay tuned as the project develops and is perfected to meet the needs of our students. 

Test To Stay Program

Oneida County has officially approved our Test-to-Stay (TTS) program for students and staff, which means that students who are asked to quarantine for close contacts to a positive case can now continue to attend school for the five (5) day quarantine period if parents/guardians opt into the program. Any family wishing to participate in TTS will be provided test kits through their students' school for the duration of the quaratnine. A ParentSquare regarding the program, including directions and permission slips, will be sent to families on Sunday, January 16.

Calendar Change - Reminder

As you may remember, in mid-December, the New York State Education Department announced that they have canceled the January administration of the Regents exams. With this cancelation, there will be a change to the school calendar for high school students this week. January 25-28, will be full, regular school days for all students in the district. Previously, high school students were scheduled to have these days off, but with the cancelation of the exams, these will now become full school days. Please adjust your calendars appropriately and we will continue to provide reminders. 

ThoughtExchange - Peer Interactions

We are currently running a ThoughtExchange to gather feedback in relation to peer experiences and student-to-student interactions. We could use your input on "As you reflect on the current environment and situations our students experience, what concerns do you have or what positive activity/activities could be done to support student-to-student and peer relationships?". All of our voices matter, so your participation is crucial and valued. Click here to participate: https://tejoin.com/scroll/312191725. The exchange will be open until Wednesday, January 26 at 4:00 p.m.

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