March 14, 2020

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s):

Thank you for your continued patience and partnership as we navigate the uncharted territory of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). This rapidly evolving public health issue has created unpredictable circumstances for us all.

As you learned via our telephone messaging system earlier today, we are joining surrounding districts in closing school for students from Monday, March 16 through Sunday, April 19. Our faculty and staff will report on Monday. We will spend our time on Monday preparing online and remote learning opportunities for students, working together on the logistics of meal preparation and distribution for families, and our plans for communication with students, families, community members, neighboring districts, and each other.

As I stated in my message earlier today, at this time there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 within our school district. The decision to close school for students in Long Lake and across our region was made to help mitigate the effects of COVID-19 in our region. As each day unfolds, we continue to work closely with Hamilton County Public Health, Hamilton County Board of Supervisors, the Town of Long Lake, Franklin-Essex-Hamilton BOCES, and neighboring school superintendents, as well as closely follow the guidance issued by Governor Cuomo, New York State Education Department, New York State Department of Health, and the U.S. Department of Education to make decisions that put the safety of our students, families, staff, and community first.

The closure of school will cause disruption to our steady and stable structures, especially for you as parents and guardians. Our team has already come together to begin planning for how we can best support our school community during this challenging time. Below I have outlined topics of concern that have arisen. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, and for that reason, our Board of Education members will be reaching out to each Long Lake Central School family in the coming days to check in and provide the opportunity for conversation. In the coming days we will also be working to provide an online option for students, families, and community members to submit questions. This will be posted on our website.

Continued Student Learning

It is our goal during this extended school closure that students will continue to practice, review, and move forward with their learning experiences. Our faculty has begun to work together to create age appropriate learning opportunities for students, including grades PK-4, 5-8, and 9-12 as the bands of age groups we are focusing on to determine the design and distribution of lessons. More information will be shared with families on Monday, with an anticipated start of online and remote learning opportunities beginning on Wednesday, March 18. On Monday, we will also communicate options for distribution and/or pick-up of student resources and supplies, and will make sure that all login information that is needed is shared with parents/guardians.

Food Service

During the extended closure of school, all LLCS families will continue to have the option to receive breakfast and lunch for their children. We have received approval through the Child Food and Nutrition Program to continue our meal service program. In the coming days, together Mrs. Snide, Mr. Geiger and I will be finalizing the details of the menu options and distribution requirements and options. This will be an opt-in service and we will provide information to all families in the coming days.

Thank you as always for your continued support. In these uncertain circumstances I feel steadied by the fact that I am surrounded by a resilient and supportive team of parents/guardians, teachers, staff, board of education members, and community members. Thank you for the role you play in finding our way through the days ahead.

We will continue to update you with more information as soon as we can. I plan to utilize the One Call Now telephone messaging system to share messages or alerts with you to ensure that each family receives the same message at the same time. Please anticipate this to be a mode of communication in the days and weeks to come. It is also important to note, for those enrolled in the text message option via One Call Now, that this service is limited in the amount of characters that can be used, so please expect phone calls for lengthier messages.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions, concerns and/or feedback. Thank you again. It takes a village now more than ever.

Sincerely,

Ms. Noelle J. Short

Superintendent/Principal

nshort@longlakecsd.org