Lyndonville school district, starting next week, will go remote-only until Jan. 4

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 December 2020 at 5:10 pm

LYNDONVILLE – The school district announced today that it will be going remote-only starting next week for the rest of December.

“As the number of positive Covid-19 cases continues to rise across New York State and Orleans County, it brings a number of challenges for our school district, including the ability to staff in-person learning with certified staff members,” Jason Smith, District superintendent, said in a letter to the community. “In addition, positive cases continue to grow and many staff and students are unable to attend in-person instruction given the close-contact quarantine mandate.”

Lyndonville will shift to remote-only on Dec. 14 and continue with on in-person classes until after the holidays on Jan. 4.

Batavia City School District in Genesee County also has switched to remote only due to the challenges of quarantining staff due to possible Covid exposures.

“I would like to thank you for your ongoing efforts to help minimize the spread of Covid-19 in our school and community,” Smith said in his letter. “With your assistance, we have been able to successfully keep our doors open and offer daily in-person instruction for all our students with remote instruction as an option.”

The district so far this school year has had three students and six staff members test positive for Covid.

“As you know, we have been in regular contact with the Orleans County Department of Health and are closely monitoring the rise of positive cases in our district,” Smith said. “Throughout the pandemic, we have had to make adjustments on a case-by-case basis to ensure the safety of our students and staff.”

Smith outlined these key details for the district as part of the switch to remote-only:

The last day of in-person instruction will be Friday, Dec. 11, for students in grades Pre-K to 5.
For students in grades 6-12, the Academic Assistance Day for Dec. 11 will go on as planned. For students who are not expected to attend the Academic Assistance, their last day will be Thursday, Dec. 10.
Free breakfast and lunch will continue to be available for all district students. During this closure, meals may be picked up each day from 9 to 11 a.m. in the parent drop off loop at the far cafeteria door.
On Friday, Dec. 18, food pick up will contain meals for 3 days. There will be no meals served from Dec. 21 to Jan. 1. If meal delivery is needed, call 765-3122 to make a request.
Students without internet access at home may request a Kajeet wireless hotspot by contacting Dr. Aaron Slack via email aslack@lcsdk12.org or by phone 765-3162.
If a student requires transportation to and from BOCES:
Walkers will continue to come to Lyndonville school district and board the bus to Orleans/Niagara BOCES. They will board the bus for the return trip to Lyndonville, and will walk home from school.
For students who ride the bus to Lyndonville, contact the Lynn Fetzner at 765-2701 and Lyndonville will send a bus to pick up the student and at the completion of the day at BOCES, will be transported home.