March 13, 2020
Today, Governor Tom Wolf announced that all K-12 Pennsylvania schools will be closed for 10 business days effective Monday, March 16. (www.governor.pa.gov)
For at least the next two weeks our district will be operating on a hard closure. There will be no classes, extracurricular activities, athletics, or field trips during this time. We are awaiting more information from the Department of Education as to whether our school calendar will be adjusted with the use of emergency make-up days and an extension of the school year or whether the days will be forgiven. The situation will be re-evaluated in 10 days, and we will communicate with families every step of the way.
Children look to adults for how to react to stressful events. It is important to remain calm and reassure your child(ren). As much as possible, try to keep to a regular schedule. A consistent schedule or routine provides comfort and a sense of safety for children. Also, in the absence of factual information, children often imagine situations far worse than reality; therefore, give your children factual information about COVID-19. The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) has a resource for parents with additional guidelines, which is located on the district’s resource webpage.
Please visit: https://www.iasd.cc/apps/pages/covid19resources
This resource page also includes how/where to access food banks in the event of a closure.
The purpose of this closure is to provide for social-distancing to fight the spread of the virus. During this time, if you can keep your family at home, please do so. If you must arrange for child care for your children, reach out to friends and family, but try to avoid large-group gatherings, and follow the guidelines provided by the Department of Health and the Center for Disease Control (available on the district website listed above).
For families who are seeking ways to be helpful during a closure, please consider the following actions:
1) Offer childcare for those you know who are not able to take time off work.
2) Donate to local food banks.
3) Support our local businesses where many of our families work.
We will continue to monitor the situation and communicate any updates. We anticipate that there will be many changes and updates, so please be understanding. Thank you for your support and patience while dealing with this matter.
Respectfully,
Michael Vuckovich
Superintendent of Schools