A "significant" number of public schools in Erie County's orange zone will resume in-person classes next week.
Williamsville, Hamburg, Orchard Park and Tonawanda City school districts are among those that announced Monday afternoon that they will reopen their schools for hybrid learning next Monday.
"You should know that a significant number of Erie County School Districts will also return to in-person instruction on this date," Hamburg Superintendent Michael Cornell said in a letter to parents.
Most school districts in Erie County are in areas designated as an orange zone, and they shifted to fully remote learning after the designation two weeks ago, as required by New York State.
They include: Amherst, Buffalo, Cheektowaga, Clarence, Cleveland Hill, Depew, East Aurora, Eden, Frontier, Grand Island, Hamburg, Iroquois, Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda, Lake Shore, Lancaster, Lackawanna, Maryvale, Orchard Park, Sloan, Sweet Home, Tonawanda, Williamsville and West Seneca.
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For many of them, the timing of their shift back to in-person learning was up in the air because of the strict testing requirements mandated by the state.
But the state Department of Health issued new guidance late Friday afternoon to districts that makes it easier for them to resume classroom instruction.
The new guidance calls for schools to test 20% of all students, teachers and staff over the course of one month. If testing generates nine or more positive cases in any school, that school will be required to close for in-person instruction.
"Based on current information and data from local, state and national health professionals, schools are a safe place for students. We know school-age children need to be in school, especially as it relates to the benefits to social, emotional learning and well-being," acting Williamsville Superintendent John McKenna said in a video message to the community.
School districts are coordinating the opening on Monday, in part because teachers and staff may live in one district and work in another district.
"It is important that we are part of a coordinated reopening with other school districts due to staffing implications that may arise depending on the status of other districts' ability to reopen," McKenna said.
"We believe that it is best for students to learn in person and we will continue to implement all of the health and safety procedures we had in place to open schools prior to this brief closure," Orchard Park Superintendent Matthew McGarrity said in a letter to parents.
But not all districts will resume face-to-face learning next week. West Seneca announced last month it would resume Jan. 4, and Iroquois told parents Monday afternoon that it would stick to its plan to return Jan. 4 as well.
"Our community continues to see a sharp rise in the number of COVID cases. The dramatic increase in positive cases also greatly increases the number of individuals being quarantined and isolated. That fact creates a concern for viable in-person instruction," Iroquois Superintendent Douglas Scofield said in a letter to parents.
Those districts planning on returning this month have been gathering consent forms from parents in order to begin the testing, which is expected to start for some this week.
The BinaxNOW Covid-19 tests involve inserting a swab into one nostril, circling five times, then doing the same in the other nostril. The swab is inserted about an inch into the nose – as opposed to other Covid-19 tests that involve inserting a swab 6 inches.
The swab is put into a reader about the size of a credit card, and a few drops of a testing solution are applied. The card is rotated three times. And the results are known in about 15 minutes.
