Letter: Temporary Transition to Remote – Virtual Instruction

December 15, 2021

Dear Oswego City School District Community,

I am writing to share that due to a high number of staffing shortages (transportation, instructional and non-instructional staff) and a rise in COVID-19 cases (60 cases since Sunday of this week) and quarantines (75 current quarantines with additional pending cases so far this week) across the district, we will unfortunately be transitioning to remote – virtual instruction beginning this Friday, December 17, 2021, until Thursday, December 23, 2021, per the district’s reopening plan (pages 13 – 16).

Schedules
During this temporary transition all remote – virtual learning schedules (elementary and secondary) will mirror the schedules used each day in our schools. Accordingly, all parents and/or guardians are asked to have their students online at the following times each day: 7:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. for all OMS and OHS students and 8:45 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. for all elementary students.

Meals
Throughout this temporary transition, the district will continue to provide meals for all students in the following manner:

1. All students will be sent home with meals for Friday (breakfast and lunch) tomorrow afternoon. 
2. On Monday, December 20, 2021, and Wednesday, December 22, 2021, during the hours of 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. until 4 p.m., parents and/or guardians can choose to pick up two days’ worth of additional meals at the Oswego Middle School front parking lot or to have meals delivered to their homes.  All parents and/or guardians who would like to have meals delivered will need to inform the district by filling out this survey by no later than this Friday, December 17, 2021. Once we receive the results of this survey, the district will contact all parents and/or guardians to let them know when food will be delivered.

Athletics and Extracurricular Events
During this transition, all athletic contest and practices that would normally take place during the dates of December 20, 2021 through December 26, 2021, will be rescheduled.  At this time, we are anticipating that all athletics will be able to restart December 27, 2021.  Should we need to change or extend our restart date, the district will contact all athletic participants to inform them.

All extracurricular clubs will be delivered remotely - virtually beginning this Friday, December 17, 2021, and all remaining music concerts (OHS Choral Concert, OHS Orchestra and OHS Jazz Band Concert) will be done in a virtual format.  In the near future, the district will be working with our music department on sharing these virtual concerts with our entire community.

CiTi and Out-of-District Programs
All students who attend CiTi and/or out-of-district programs will continue to be transported to these programs each day. This includes: all CTE programs, P-TECH, STRIVE, CARE, Bridges, CTE Advantage, Project Explore and all other out-of-district special education programs.  All Synergy students will continue to receive their program remotely – virtually each day, as they have done throughout the year. 

It should also be noted, if there is a temporary change that will need to be made to a child’s pick-up and drop-off time, the transportation department will be contacting parents and/or guardians directly to inform them.

Special Education, Related Services, English Language Learners and 504 Accommodations
Throughout this transition, the district will continue to provide all special education, related services and 504 accommodations to all students who require them.  Should any parents have a concern or question about the delivery of these services, they should contact their child’s classroom teacher or principal.

Technology
Should any parent or guardian have a question or concern about their child’s assigned Chromebook, we ask that you reach out directly to your child’s school to inform them.  Should any parents and/or guardian need assistance with securing a hot spot, they should reach out to our technology department by calling 315-341- 2051.

While we understand the implications of this temporary transition for our entire learning community, please know that the district unfortunately had to implement this temporary change due to operational challenges that we are facing and the rapid spread of COVID-19.  It is the district’s goal to return our students to in-person learning as soon as we can.

In the near future, I will be back in touch with all parents and/or guardians to share additional updates.

Yours in Education,
 
Mathis Calvin III, Ed. D.
Superintendent of Schools