As Fayetteville-Manlius School District officials prepare to expand in-person instruction opportunities for students, now is the time for parents and guardians to select the learning model they want their children to follow for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year.
Onondaga County recently announced a change to its school social distancing guidelines that will allow F-M to bring more students back into classrooms for more days of in-person instruction.
During a March 4 press conference, county Health Commissioner Indu Gupta said the county’s social distancing requirement between student desks can decrease from six feet to three because data continues to reveal COVID-19 transmission in area schools is low. When students are seated at desks or tables that are less than six feet apart, the county has said there should be a partition, such as plexiglass, between students and students should continue to wear face masks.
The district plans to offer two instructional models for the remainder of this school year, including four or more days of in-person learning and a fully-remote learning option. The hybrid instructional model in which students attend school in-person two days per week will no longer be offered once the district shifts to more in-person learning.
To assess staffing, classroom and transportation needs, parents and guardians should complete and submit the electronic in-person instruction questionnaire that was sent to all F-M families March 9 via SchoolMessenger. All families should answer the questionnaire, and responses should reflect the instructional model their household students will follow for the remainder of this school year.
It is important for health and safety planning purposes that all families submit the questionnaire by its deadline. Students of families that do not complete the questionnaire will automatically remain in the learning model in which they currently participate. For example, a current cohort A or B student will continue with in-person instruction, and a cohort C student will stay on the remote learning schedule.
A separate school reopening questionnaire has been sent to F-M staff members. Both questionnaires close at 4 p.m. March 12.
The district will communicate with families once it has an official implementation date for the expansion of in-person instruction.
Please contact sgridley@fmschools.org with questions or concerns related to accessing the questionnaires.