August 31, 2021
Byron-Bergen Central School District Family Members:
The Byron-Bergen team is excited for the 2021-22 school year. The District continues to prioritize the health and safety of all its members and the preservation of in-person instruction. The following protocols have been developed in consultation with the State Department of Health and the Genesee County Department of Health (GCDOH).
Instruction
The District is committed to the safe return of ALL students to in-person instruction. The District will proceed with an in-person instructional model for ALL students for the 2021-22 school year.
The District is in constant contact with the State DOH, the GCDOH, and regional school districts. The Byron-Bergen team has prepared contingency plans if circumstances necessitate adjustment to the current protocols.
COVID-19 Vaccination
The District will continue to support students, staff, faculty and administration who are interested in obtaining COVID-19 vaccines. Information regarding COVID-19 vaccines may be found at:
The District WILL NOT mandate COVID-19 vaccines for its students, staff, faculty, and administration.
Health Screening
The District will not require daily health screenings. Employees, families, and visitors should screen for signs of illness before coming to school or work each day.
Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms should stay home and contact his/her health care provider, regardless of vaccination status. Individuals who develop COVID-19 symptoms at school or work may be sent home.
Physical Distancing
The District will adhere to three (3) feet of physical distance within classrooms to the best extent possible.
Face Coverings
On August 27, 2021, Dr. Howard Zucker (New York State Department of Health Commissioner) issued a Commissioner’s Determination issued pursuant to 10 NYCRR 2.60, that any person over the age of 2 (including all students, personnel, teachers, administrators, contractors, and visitors) must wear masks at all times indoors in P-12 school buildings, regardless of vaccination status.
Per the above determination, the District will require universal masking indoors and on school buses regardless of vaccination status. Mask breaks will be incorporated into school schedules.
Students with medical or developmental conditions that prevent them from wearing a mask may be exempted from mask requirements, as documented by a medical provider. Please contact your child’s building Principal if this may apply to your child.
Students do/may not need to wear masks when eating, drinking, singing, or playing a wind instrument; when masks are removed for these purposes, we will implement physical distancing to the extent possible within these structures.
Transportation
The following protocols have been developed in consultation with the Byron-Bergen Central School District Transportation Coordinator:
- Capacity on District transportation will return to loading limits as prescribed by the sizes and types of the New York State Department of Transportation defined motor vehicles transporting school-age passengers to and from schools.
- Face coverings are required for ALL individuals riding District transportation. This is congruent with current public transportation procedures.
- Parents/guardians may elect to transport their students to and from school.
Food Service
Students will eat their meals in the District’s cafeterias during their prescribed lunch times.
Contact Tracing and Quarantine
The District will support the GCDOH’s COVID-19 spread mitigation efforts by implementing the following contact tracing and quarantine protocols:
- A close contact is an individual who was within six (6) feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of fifteen (15) minutes or more over a twenty-four (24)-hour period.
- Contact tracing will include the forty-eight (48)-hour period prior to the onset of symptoms of the confirmed COVID-19 positive individual or date of the confirmed COVID-19 positive individual’s test if asymptomatic.
- Close contacts will be quarantined per the GCDOH’s direction.
- An individual will be excluded from the quarantine requirement if:
- Both the infected individual and close contact individual correctly and consistently wore well-fitting face coverings the entire time of the close contact.
- He/she is fully vaccinated and asymptomatic.
- The District must have documentation of vaccination on file prior to the initiation of a contact trace for an individual to be excluded from the quarantine requirement.
- He/she was previously diagnosed with COVID-19 within the last ninety (90) days.
Extra-curricular Activities and Sports
The District is planning for ALL extra-curricular activities for the 2021-22 school year. Please note the following protocols:
- Masking is required on all transportation.
- Masking is required indoors.
- Masking is not required outdoors at this time.
- There are no spectator capacity limits for indoor or outdoor extracurricular or sporting events at this time.
Our goal is to keep students and staff healthy and in session, all day, every day, all year!
Please reach out to me with any questions, feedback, and/or concerns.
Sincerely,
Patrick McGee
Superintendent of Schools