Canisteo-Greenwood Central School District

Good morning, Over the weekend we received word that 2 of our elementary students have tested positive for COVID-19. The administrative team conducted the contact tracing and all affected individuals to be quarantined were contacted. This brings our active cases to 4 since we returned from the Christmas break. We will continue to monitor our situation this week. If at any time we feel that there is possible transmission in the school setting, we will move to remote learning to curb the spread of the virus. I know that this can be difficult for our families but keeping our kids and staff safe is our number one priority. Having the students in the building is best for everyone but it must continue to be done safely. Yours in service, Thomas J. Crook Superintendent

Good evening, We received word last this afternoon that one of our elementary students has tested positive for COVID-19. The student was last in the building Tuesday and the contact tracing has been completed. All of the affected families (15) and employees (3) have been notified. Yours in service, Thomas J. Crook Superintendent

We were informed this afternoon that one of our elementary teachers has tested positive for COVID-19. This individual has not been in the District at all this week, so there is no need for contact tracing. Stay safe everyone. Thomas J. Crook Superintendent

Good morning, This is Tom Crook, Superintendent at Canisteo-Greenwood. I know just before the Christmas Break, we decided to slide to 100% remote learning due to the number of positive cases CG had, the large number of quarantines and the lack of substitutes to cover our employees that were out due to being positive and quarantined. It was the first time since September that we had reached the breaking point like many of the districts around us. Currently, we have 2 positive cases (employees) where the individuals are still in their own quarantine but will be out before we are scheduled to come back on January 4th. As I am writing this announcement, we have not heard from the county of any more positive cases that would affect CG. With that being said, we have made the decision to return to in-person learning on January 4th. This decision does come with some reservations. Our recent slide into 100% remote on December 16th was the direct impact of the Thanksgiving holiday. My worry is that it will happen again after Christmas and New Year's. If we get to the numbers we did in mid-December, we will have no choice but to slide into remote learning again and would for a period of 2 weeks. The numbers in Steuben County are the highest that they have been since March and the positive cases do not seem to be diminishing. And after the holidays, the county is projecting that the numbers will remain steady or increase, but not decrease. But as I stated at the Board of Education meeting on Monday, December 11th, I must look at CG’s numbers and base our decisions from those. If we do not hear from the county over the next few days, we will have no positive cases of any of our employees or students and for that reason, we will return to in-person learning. And if we do hear of any positive cases, those individuals will be quarantined and will return when their quarantine has expired but because of the break, we will not have large quarantine numbers that would affect our opening. When we return on January 4th and the weeks following, it will be crucial that our families pre-screen their students before school EVERY DAY. If your child is showing any symptom, as minor as it may seem, please keep them home and immediately seek an alternative diagnosis or negative COVID test. As you well know, we need to be prepared for anything and it can all change with a phone call, but as of today we are returning January 4th. PS – Happy New Year! Yours in service, Thomas J. Crook Superintendent

Good afternoon. We received a call today from the county health department informing us that we have a positive 8th grade student. The investigation date provided to us by the county is for Thursday, December 10th. We have completed our tracing and our team has made the calls to the affected families. If you have not been called, your child has not been affected by this case. I have to say that this has been a pretty tough week for CG and our families. At Monday’s Board of Education meeting during my COVID update, we had 1 active case and a total of 11 for the year. After today, we will have had added an additional 8 active cases, bringing our total for the year to 19. Although the decision was tough going 100% remote, it is proving to be the right decision, at the right time. We had a good run up to this point but it seems to have caught up with us. With our cases this week, their timing with the Thanksgiving Break is undeniable. I will be keeping a close eye on our cases and any incoming new ones. Even though we will be on break starting next Wednesday, the county is still going to contact us if we have any positive students or employees. If it looks anything like it does today, it may be best for us to stay remote for a period of time after break to stop this cycle. I will let our CG data tell us whether or not we will need to do that, along with a conversation with the county health department. IF we do, I will let the families know well in advance so you can make the necessary arrangements. My goal from the beginning has been to have our students in-person, but I have to keep our families and staff safe too. It would not be an easy decision because I know the hardships that it will cause many of our families. As always, I will keep the community posted on all COVID-related developments. Stay safe and healthy, Thomas J. Crook Superintendent

Good afternoon, this is Tom Crook, Superintendent of Canisteo-Greenwood. We were informed late this morning that we have a positive 9th grade student. The county has asked us to investigate for Monday, December 14th. We have completed our contact tracing and our administrative team has started contacting the individuals affected by the case. If you do not receive a call today directly from an administrator, your child did not qualify to be quarantined. If your does child qualify for quarantine, they can still attend their sessions virtually. Stay safe and healthy everyone. Yours in service. Thomas J. Crook Superintendent

Good morning. Late yesterday afternoon we received word that one of our elementary teachers has tested positive for COVID-19. This individual became symptomatic last Sunday and has not been in the building all week awaiting test results. Our contact tracing goes back to Friday, December 11th and has been completed. For precaution, the district had already asked the individuals that we felt would be quarantined to stay home while the symptomatic teacher awaited the test results. Stay safe and healthy everyone. Yours in service, Thomas J. Crook Superintendent

Good morning all. Since we were already scheduled for a 100% remote day today and I asked the teachers to work from home, we will have our remote day as scheduled. It does not make sense for us to use a snow day when we already had everyone scheduled to be at home anyway. Let's save our days for when we are in-person and you get that true "snow day" call. I know this is somewhat "Grinchish" but I will make it up to you, I promise. Your Grinch Superintendent, Thomas J. Crook

Following our COVID plan and protocol, I am writing to you today to let you know of another positive case that was reported to us last night. It was reported that we have a positive high school teacher. Due to the timeframe of their symptoms and the last time they were in the building, there was no need for contact tracing. Stay safe everyone. Yours in service, Thomas J. Crook Superintendent

Due to the impending storm, all after school activities (swim practice and off-season workouts) are cancelled for this afternoon. Stay safe everyone.

Please take a second to fill out this quick survey regarding food during the CG remote learning. https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=MZKb3TIZiUGRKfxP6aax7ggn89mA4jFAv6knOJn3tfVUQlQ1T1pPRTc1SlpQRlpDTVhYQ0s1VDRWVy4u

Just a few announcements this morning regarding our remote scheduling: -BOCES students will not be attending in-person and are asked to report virtually. -Alternative Education students will be provided a device to attend their program virtually. -HS students are required to attend all of their classes through Teams according to the bell schedule. Attendance will be taken. -we are currently working on a food pick time for Friday (1-3pm). A survey will be going out later this morning to see how families would like food during the remote time. Please be on the lookout for a link to a survey sometime this morning that will be sent through our mass notification system. Good luck to all and stay healthy.

Good afternoon, this is Tom Crook, Superintendent at Canisteo-Greenwood Central School. Today, we had 3 new positive students reported to us by the county health department. It has been a wild day here at CG and we have completed our contact tracing. The quarantine numbers from the cases are up to 61, including some staff members. As I stated in a message last week, we were getting to a possible point where we would not have enough substitutes to be able to operate. I am sad to say that we have reached that point. Due to the number of individuals quarantined, Canisteo-Greenwood Central School will be shifting to 100% remote starting tomorrow, December 16th until the Christmas Break. We are expecting to see all of our students and staff returning on January 4th. Elementary students will be following a virtual schedule and will be communicated to the students through SeeSaw. High school students will be expected to follow their bell schedule starting tomorrow. They will report to each class through Teams. All students are expected to be in attendance (even quarantined students). Please refer below to a message that was sent out previously by Mr. Reynolds. 1. Students will attend their normal classes virtually Monday through Thursday, using their typical bell schedule as they would if they were still attending in person. These classes will occur on Microsoft Teams, may involve synchronous interactions with their teachers, and will require participation and the completion of all assigned work. Students should log in on their school laptop and use their school account. 2. All current full time virtual students will follow the schedules that were mailed out to them at the beginning of the year, attending those classes virtually, like all other students, as stated in item number 1. 3. Any student attending BOCES will be expected to attend, participate, and complete any online instruction provided by BOCES. All-Day BOCES students and students attending alternative education at BOCES will be provided a computer by the district. 4. On Fridays, students should expect to work with teachers and other staff for support, reinstruction, or the clarification and re-teaching of concepts as needed and as scheduled by the teachers. 5. Students in special classes with Ms. Denkenberger, Mr. Bosworth, and Ms. Creelman will complete instruction as directed by those teachers. 6. Any student that experiences a legitimate hardship based on their access to internet, bandwidth, or family situation must reach out to their teachers, who will make flexible accommodations as needed. The swim meet for tonight is still going to be held as scheduled. We cannot thank you enough for your continued support. Yours in service, Thomas J. Crook Superintendent

Good afternoon, this is Tom Crook Superintendent at Canisteo-Greenwood following up from our message earlier. Our contact tracing is complete and we are pleased to announce that there will be minimal impact due to the student being sent to the nurse's office upon entering the building. There are just a handful of people affected and those individuals have been contacted. I must tell you that we are potentially reaching a tipping point where if we have any more cases this week that require us to get substitutes, we may have to go remote for a few weeks. We are not seeing transmission of the virus in school, but it is the quarantine requirements that are the challenge for CG currently. Our protocols are working and it is still a safe place to send your children and we know how important it is to have school open.

Good afternoon, this is Tom Crook Superintendent at Canisteo-Greenwood. We received a call today from the county health department that one of our elementary students has tested positive for COVID-19. The administrative team will conduct the contact tracing today. If you do not hear directly from a CG administrator today, your child is not affected by the case. We know of one classroom and bus that will be affected at this time but the investigation has just started. Stay tuned for further updates.

There are 3 Verizon hotspot locations where you can drive up for Wi-Fi service for our virtual learners. Methodist Church-South Canisteo WLEA Greenwood School

COVID 19 Update: As you have seen over the past few days, CG has seen a minor uptick in cases (2). We will be keeping a very close eye on our individuals that are out with symptoms and awaiting either an alternative diagnosis or a negative COVID test. With our positive case this morning, we are at 10 positive cases since school started September 8th. If we begin to see a notable increase in cases, and we feel school is not a safe place to be, we may start discussions to go 100% remote up to the Christmas Break. This week will show us the true fallout from Thanksgiving if there is going to be one as projected. I believe through our masking, distancing, and sanitizing efforts we have done an excellent job of stopping the spread of the virus when we have had positive cases. To date, we have yet to see a positive case from any of our quarantined individuals that we designated as a school contact in the elementary school (and yes, I knocked on wood). In the high school, we suspect that there may have been one transference that occurred in school (our very first cases), but there is no way to verify that suspicion. This just goes to show that our efforts are making a difference and school is a safe place to be. Our school is healthy and our COVID plan is working. Contact Tracing: I know that this morning’s call threw everyone for a loop, including me. I apologize for the late notice and any hardships that it may has caused. The reason I had to close the elementary school is our contact tracing takes time. We must contact the positive individual and have a conversation with him/her regarding where they were and who they were around for the 3-day investigation window. We then must look at cameras and follow the employee around to make sure that we didn’t miss anything. If the employee is a teacher or aide in a classroom, the entire class will be quarantined. The county has a sheet that we must fill out with the contact’s name, telephone number, address, and if they are a student, the parents’ names. And then we begin making the phone calls to the families. The process takes on average 3-4 hours depending on how many people we have working on it and the number of contacts. If we were to have the students show up this morning and they ended up being a contact, we would have had to send them home after being here for a few hours and disrupt our families even more. It is not ideal to cancel school at 6:45 am, but it is the right thing to do for all our families and employees. With our latest 2 cases, we have 62 students and 9 adults quarantined. The teachers are quarantined with their students; therefore, they will be able to teach remotely during the quarantined time with their students. Currently, we do not feel it is necessary to close the entire school or district for 2 cases. As stated above, we will keep a very close eye on our individuals out with symptoms and if we feel it is getting to the point where it is not safe to have school open, we will go 100% remote. Quarantining keeps everyone safe from a potential spread and it has proven to work for us thus far. None of what we are dealing with COVID is ideal, but we are doing the best we can to keep our schools open and a safe place to be. Quarantining 71 individuals in less than 24 hours is not ideal and causes many hardships, and for this, I apologize. Through our investigations of the 10 positive cases, we have encountered since September, I feel (as well as the County Health Director) that Canisteo-Greenwood is as safe as it can be with this virus. If there ever comes a time where I do not feel that way, I will do what is necessary to protect our children and staff. Yours in service, Thomas J. Crook Superintendent

The contact tracing is complete for our case this morning and our affected families have been notified. If you did not hear directly from Mrs. Brownell this morning, your child has not been affected by the positive case and is safe to return. The Elementary School will be open tomorrow, Tuesday, December 8th.

For further clarification: Today's closure is for the ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ONLY. The High School is still open.

We just received word that one of our elementary teachers has tested positive for COVID 19. Due to the timing, we must close the ELEMENTARY school today, Monday, December 7th for contact tracing. We apologize for the late notice but we just received word of the results. It is ONLY THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.