Canisteo-Greenwood Central School District

Today, the NYS Department of Health Director Howard Zucker released the following statement: "With the end of the state disaster emergency on June 25, 2021, school districts are reestablished as the controlling entity for schools. Schools and school districts should develop plans to open in-person in the fall as safely as possible, and I recommend following guidance from the CDC and local health departments." This news took us by surprise and the Canisteo-Greenwood School District will be working over the next few days and into next week with local schools and the county health department to develop a re-opening plan. We will be sharing our plan as soon as possible. Please be patient as we work on a plan that is best suited for our children, staff, and community. Yours in service, Tom Crook

We know that many are anxiously awaiting word from the district as to what the beginning of the school year will look like. As of today, we have not received any guidance from the NYS Department of Health. Last Thursday, the State Ed Commissioner released a statement basically calling for schools to follow the new CDC regulations. However, there are so many nuances with that guidance that it still remains unclear due to different colored "zones" and who has authority to make the decisions. We have been in contact with Steuben County Public Health but they are in the same situation we are because they have yet to receive guidance . Rest assured, as soon as we get the official guidance from the NYS DOH, my team will put together the best plan we can for our students and community. We triumphed last year and we will do it again! Yours in service, Tom

Hello all! You have probably been wondering what has been happening at CG this summer. I wanted to reach out to you to give you some updates as to what is going on here in the district. CONSTRUCTION UPDATE – we are in the second summer of our capital project that addressed many of the needs of our buildings and students. The high school is going through the second summer of abatement, and we are close to having that portion of the project complete. If you remember, we had to add 40,000 square feet of abatement to the original scope of the project. Once the abatement of the ceilings is complete, the contractors will continue to install the new univents as well as the compressors for the air conditioning. - When the high school students return in the fall, there will be a fresh look to the front entrance and some of the offices will be in new locations. Prior to my arrival, there were many conversations about switching the nurse’s office with the main office. Since the abatement of the ceilings includes removing the interior walls that have been put up by the district through the years, we decided now would be a suitable time to make that switch. So, in the fall, upon entering the building the nurse’s office will now be located on the right side and the main office will be on the left. We will also be adding a check-in window between the sets of doors for ease of entering the building and checking in with the front office. - The elementary school is seeing some new flooring on the 2nd floor and continued installation of the air conditioning units in the classrooms. Due to last year’s efforts, we were able to commission some of the A/C units for summer school. Our students and staff have been able to enjoy the comfort of a cooled building. Everyone sends a big “thank you” for the approval of air conditioning for the buildings. CANISTEO SIGN – If you have had a chance to drive by the sign, you may have noticed that we have been spending some time up there this summer. We hired a company to come in and remove some trees that were blocking the view from the street and to cut all the undergrowth from underneath the letters to make them more visible. We have also cleared out the switchbacks for your hiking enjoyment. If you get a chance, please take a trip up there to see how good everything looks. Our goal is to make it a premier hiking experience for our community and the surrounding area. - Let us talk about trees. As you know, a few years back all the trees were replaced. The summer that they were planted was brutally hot and dry and we lost 81 trees that summer. Immediately, the district replaced those trees. The following year, 16 trees were lost and those were replaced. Luckily, we only lost 6 trees last summer. We had to order the trees from Ohio, and they were recently planted. So, as you look up at the sign you will see spaces. Please know that there are saplings in those spaces, and they will eventually catch up with the trees around them. Once all the trees have taken to the rocky soil, we will have a beautiful full sign like we once had. Please be patient with the growth of the saplings. o As you look up there you will also notice some dead trees. The plan now is the allow the neighboring trees to fill in that space to give it a fuller look before we take the dead trees out. o We have scheduled routine maintenance of the sign with alternating years of trimming the trees and removing the underbrush. - The district will be investing in some picnic tables and signage to create the perfect viewing area in the grass next to the entrance. OPEROO – As a parent in the district, I know how cumbersome it is filling out the paperwork for athletics and the beginning of the school year stuff. That is why we are implementing a program called Operoo that will allow parents/guardians to fill out the paperwork online ONE TIME. Once you have completed the forms for your child(ren), all you will need to do in the future is to verify that all the information is still the same with a click of a button. You will also be able to go in and change anything that would be important for us to know (new telephone number or address, etc.) and our student management system will automatically update. We are working feverishly to try to get this up and running for the fall sports. We will start with the athletic paperwork first and through the school year upload most of our paperwork onto the platform. Eventually, all school paperwork will be done electronically, and you will only have to fill in the information ONE TIME. It will stay with the student through their academic career here at CG. VARSITY FOOTBALL – If you happen to make it to any of our games this fall you may notice something different. Due to the number of athletes and their grade levels, we felt that to protect the students and the program, varsity football will be going to an 8-man team this fall. The only difference with 8-man teams is that there are less people on the field (thanks Captain Obvious), and that is about it. There are sectional and state titles for 8-man football in New York and many of the schools that we have played in the past are already playing 8-man (Perry, Red Jacket, etc.). This is not a permanent switch and when the numbers are where they need to be, we will move back to 11-man football. - JV football and modified will remain 11-man teams. - For this to work, we need all current players to participate. Not wanting to play 8-man because it is different is like a basketball player not wanting to play 3-on-3 because it is not the normal 5-on-5. Football is football. We encourage our athletes to stick with it and not wait until it is back to 11-man. As mentioned above, a Sectional title is possible. COVID PLAN FOR FALL – I wish I had some news to share with you. As I am writing this on July 23, 2021, the state has not released any guidance for opening in the fall. With a little over 6 weeks before we will return, this is disheartening but not surprising. It takes a lot of planning to follow their regulations, but I feel that we can do it. Last summer we had about 2 weeks to produce our plan and submit it to the state and we have a solid base plan to work from. - Masks – as of right now we are following the “summer” guidance where individuals are encouraged to wear masks but not required. I am not sure if this is going to be the same coming into the fall. My hope is that they allow schools to work with the local health department to decide. Steuben County is experiencing low infection rates at this time, and this should drive what our plans look like in the fall. However, whatever the NY Department of Health recommends, the county officials must follow. - Vaccinations – the FDA has yet to approve any covid vaccination. Any person that has been vaccinated has done it voluntarily from ages 12 and up. This will be a talking point for the state because now they are calling the pandemic “a pandemic of the unvaccinated” and will start to base their recommendations from this talking point. I cannot foresee the state requiring vaccinations this fall because it has yet to be FDA approved and according to federal law, you cannot mandate a vaccine if it is still under the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). I am by no means advocating a mandate, but just relaying to you what the conversations are around vaccinations. We hope you continue to enjoy your summer and any information that comes out, I will be sure to relay that information to you. Yours in service, Tom

Due to construction at the high school this summer, all offices are located in the elementary school for the entire summer. If you need anything, please report to the elementary school. Thank you!

It is not too late to run down to the bus garage for the Open House. Come check out the new upgrades.

Good evening, This is just a friendly reminder to all elementary parents. Since tomorrow is the last day for HS students; starting Wednesday, June 16th, the bus schedule will be off a little bit in the morning and in the afternoon. Without having to pick up HS students, please expect the morning pick-up time to be a few minutes early and your student(s) to be dropped-off in the afternoon a few minutes earlier as well. We recommend giving yourself a 10-15 minute window. Thank you for assisting us in an easy bussing transition the last few days of elementary school.

Good afternoon, Some of you may begin to see a news article circulating about one of our Board members. Here is the District's statement: The District received a complaint on June 8th, 2021 from a community member regarding a Board member’s alleged misconduct. On the same day, the District notified law enforcement and other agencies and is assisting them in the ongoing investigation. The District learned from the police last night that a Board Member, Jason M. Mullen has been charged with Unlawful Surveillance of Camera in the 2nd Degree and 2 counts of Tampering with Physical Evidence. There is no evidence to date that any students or staff have been physically harmed or that any misconduct occurred on school grounds related to the charges. The Board member has resigned from the Board of Education. Federal Law protecting the privacy of students prevents the District from providing any additional details at this time, as it could lead to the identification, or confirmation of the identification of the students. Yours in service, Thomas J. Crook Superintendent

Good morning, On Tuesday, the district was informed of a covid positive HS student. The student was last in school Monday. The district performed its contact tracing for quarantine and all of the affected families were notified. We wish this student a speedy recovery. Yours in service, Thomas J. Crook Superintendent

I just wanted to reach out to the CG families today to thank them for their support. After yesterday's masking guidance reversal, our kids did a FANTASTIC job today! I continue to be proud of how our community has handled the ebb and flow of constant change around Covid guidelines. We are almost there. All the staff at CG thank you. Yours in service, Thomas J. Crook Superintendent

Well, the NY state leadership is at it again. After Friday's public announcement that "if there is any data or science that you are aware of that contradicts moving forward with approach....we plan to make this guidance effective on Monday, June 7th", CG made the plan to follow this new guidance. As of yesterday, there was no word from the NYS Dept. of Health (or the Governor) and that is why I sent my message out last evening. Even this morning I received a statement that read "Gov. Andrew Cuomo has forecasted that he plans to issue an executive order today that will change policy on whether students and staff must wear masks in public schools, according to Deputy Secretary of Education, Daniel Fuller". In the same letter it also stated "Fuller’s statement that "We expect to update the existing guidance (today)" suggests that state officials do not expect the CDC to object". Everything was pointing in the right direction that CG had made the right call by no longer requiring masks per DOH guidance. Then the Governor had his press conference today.... He ordered that students still need to mask up INSIDE schools, but said that schools can choose whether or not to require masks outside. We will definitely choose to not require masks OUTSIDE starting today and moving forward. Since the Governor announced that schools still need to have students masked INSIDE, I am sorry, but starting tomorrow, students will need to mask up again inside. Primarily, the only time our kids are masked inside is when they are moving and within 6 feet of others. We only have 5 days left in the HS and 10 days in the elementary school left and we have been doing it all year. We are so close to the end. I have to say, it was nice seeing faces today and I am glad there was a glimpse of normalcy for the kids. I am extremely frustrated with the leadership in NY and they made a mess out of this and put all Superintendents in a very vulnerable position this weekend. The Governor lied in his press conference today stating that "there was never any confusion for schools. I told them I would let them know Monday". As your Superintendent, I wanted nothing more than to once-and-for-all provide the opportunity for my parents to choose for their own children. At least I was able to do it for one day. This breaks my heart to have to retract our messaging to the kids and staff, but NY botched their announcement Friday by releasing a letter to the press and getting everyone's hopes up to only pull the rug from underneath us once again. Nothing should surprise us anymore. Apologetically, Thomas J. Crook Superintendent

Here is this week's sectional schedule. Good luck to all teams! Tonight (6/7) - Baseball team @ Bloomfield Elementary School. 4:30 start Tomorrow (6/8) - Softball team @ Pembroke. 4:30 start Saturday - Boys and Girls Track Teams @ East Rochester. 5:00pm start

Good evening, Following Friday's announcement from the State Department of Health as well as communication with the Steuben County Department of Health, the Canisteo-Greenwood will be following the department of health new regulations to highly encourage masking but not require masking starting Monday, June 7th. This was not an easy decision because of the inconsistencies between DOH and SED, but we have followed the department of health guidelines since Day 1 of this pandemic. Those same people are now telling us that it is okay to no longer require masks in schools. With this announcement will come much emotion. Some will be elated and some will not. That is OK. If there is anything to be said about this announcement is that for the first time since March 13, 2020; you are now being afforded to make your own choice on whether to wear a mask or not. I ask that whatever anyone chooses for their child, that we respect that decision. Please have a conversation with your child about respecting another's choice to either wear a mask or not. In addition, there are no guarantees that sometime this week the CDC or the DOH will reverse this decision and we must be ready for that but until we hear different, we are following the DOH guidelines like we always have. Yours in service, Thomas J. Crook Superintendent

Good evening everyone,  As you may have heard, NYDOH released a letter this afternoon to the CDC stating that as of Monday, June 7th students or staff (vaccinated or non-vaccinated) will no longer be required to wear masks. This came as a shock to all Superintendents and not much has been communicated to us. I wanted to let you know that I am aware of it and will be investigating this weekend. Once it is officially approved by the CDC, I will reach out to all of you. Stay tuned... Yours in service, Thomas J. Crook Superintendent

This is just a friendly reminder to our baseball and softball senior parents, Senior Night for baseball is tonight (Tuesday) AFTER the game and softball is tomorrow night (Wednesday).

Good afternoon, The district was informed of a positive HS student this afternoon. All the affected families (7) for quarantine have been contacted. We wish a speedy recovery to the student. We have had a slight bump in cases the past two days, but all were in contact with a previous positive outside of school. Although quarantines are an inconvenience, they are necessary to curb the spread in school. We have been successful stopping a potential spread all school year and we are less than a month away from making it to the end. Thank you for your support all year in our efforts. Yours in service, Thomas J. Crook Superintendent

Good afternoon, Today we were informed by the county health department of 3 positive students (4th, 6th, and 9th grade). Each of the families affected by quarantine requirements have been contacted. We wish these 3 students a speedy recovery. Yours in service, Thomas J. Crook Superintendent

Good morning, We would like to thank all who came out yesterday to vote for the 2021-2022 Budget and other propositions. Here are the results: Budget Vote: 172 Yes, 31 No Library Levy: 154 Yes, 49 No Bus Purchases: 171 Yes, 32 No Board Members: Marcy Bradley and Fred Thompson were both re-elected to 3-year terms Yours in service, Thomas J. Crook Superintendent

Polls are now open for the Canisteo-Greenwood Central School 2021-2022 Budget Vote! Polls are open from 10am - 8pm today at Somers Hall in Canisteo and the Greenwood Fire Hall in Greenwood.

Good afternoon, Today we received word of 3 new positive cases (1 elementary and 2 high school). The elementary student was exposed to a positive family member and our contact tracing yielded 1 school quarantine. The 2 high school cases were siblings from the same household and since we were remote last week, no contact tracing was required. We wish all of them a speedy recovery. Yours in service, Thomas J. Crook Superintendent

Good afternoon, We were informed this afternoon of a positive 6th grade student. All that were involved in the district have been contacted. Due to the seating arrangements, everyone's awareness of the protocols, and vaccinations; there will be no one added to a quarantine list. We wish a speedy recovery to our student. Have a great weekend everyone. Yours in service, Thomas J. Crook Superintendent