Croton-Harmon Students Return To Classrooms April 20

CROTON-ON-HUDSON, NY — With the latest guidance from New York State education and health officials in mind, Croton-Harmon is re-opening classroom instruction on Tuesday.

"We can all agree that having all of our students back in school, together, has been and continues to be our goal in the Croton-Harmon School District," district officials said on the website. "Together, we remain committed to bring our students back to school five days a week; however, we must continue in a thoughtful manner, keeping the physical health, mental wellbeing and safety of our students and staff at the forefront."

Next week, there will be no school for students on Monday, which will be a professional development day for teachers making the transition. Tuesday will be a full day according to the district's amended reopening plan. Wednesday will be a half-day for students and an afternoon of transition work for teachers.

After next week, the amended model calls for remote learning on Wednesday afternoons for all students at Pierre Van Cortlandt Middle School and Croton Harmon High School. "Wednesday afternoons are currently utilized for many key functions such as specials, student meetings, the performing arts, and most importantly it is a dedicated time for personal teacher attention to remote learners," the plan states.

Planning for re-entry changed somewhat when the state revised its guidelines, allowing for less than 6 feet of distance between students. State health officials still stress the importance of layered mitigation strategies. District officials created a video to go over topics from safety practices to distance learning.

"Our goal is to keep all students with their current teacher. At this point we cannot rule out the
possibility of a teacher change based on the number of students that opt to return to full time
learning," officials said in the re-opening plan. "Our principal will discuss any specific issues directly with families. Our plan continues to provide interaction between our in-person students and our remote students as there is the potential to have live streaming in every classroom."