Superintendent Announces Masking through September, “this will again not be a typical summer transition back to school.”
Dear Families of Westport Students,
Greetings and Happy Summer!!
I truly hope that each of you are taking the time to rest, recharge, and most importantly, make some great memories with family and friends. As a parent, the time with my wife and three children feels like water through my hands...you cannot hold it, but you can feel it in the moment and you can remember that feeling forever.
We have entered the beginning of August and this is typically the time of year that we provide some brief updates to our faculty and staff, and to our families. However, as the summer unfolded over the past few weeks, it became apparent that this will again not be a typical summer transition back to school. With that I'd like to share that we will provide updates throughout the month as soon decisions are made, and as guidance is provided to schools from the Department of Public Health and the State Department of Education.
At the present moment, the Governor has extended executive orders through September 30. This includes the masking mandate for all schools through September 30. However, I want to caution the entire school community that there will likely be many changes in guidance provided to schools over the next few weeks. This is frustrating for parents and students. I can assure you that this is equally frustrating for faculty and staff.
At this point in time, we expect to follow the mandates that are required of public schools, but to emphasize as much normalcy as permitted within areas of discretion. Our year ended with some positive moves towards normalcy (i.e. changes to our elementary recess), and we will continue to move in that direction, where permitted, while maintaining a balance between safety and the social/emotional wellness of our students. .
There will be much more to come and I want to assure our families that we will build off of our success at the end of the 20-21 school year to make the upcoming year a positive experience for our students.
Be well, and continue to make more positive memories over the next few weeks!!
Tom Scarice
Superintendent
