Old Rochester Regional School District cancels school for at least a week

Mar 13, 2020

In working with the towns, Boards of Health and other regional superintendents, Old Rochester Regional School District announced on March 13 that it will close all district schools and all school activities from Monday March 16 to at least Friday March 20. The school will update students and parents as to its next steps on March 20. 

“It is with an abundance of caution that we share the following information relative to school closure in an effort to mitigate the heightened regional risk of cross-contamination from outside the community,” the district wrote in a letter on March 13.  

The school district did not make the decision in isolation. “We have been working collectively with other towns and regions to develop a more comprehensive strategy to bring a faster result in keeping more people safe,” the school wrote. 

The five days will be made up as snow days, however school will run no later than June 24. 

As far as activities are concerned “We are working to reschedule things wherever possible in the coming weeks,” the school wrote in its announcement. “We understand that there will be questions about AP classes, college application deadlines and many other special events, but we cannot yet answer this at this time.”

During its closure, the school will be cleaned and disinfected using deeper disinfection equipment. Custodial staff will handle the cleaning. Essential administrators will also be at work.  

To see the full text of the letter, see the attachment above. The school also provided a resource for how to talk to children about coronavirus, found at: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/how-to-talk-to-children-about-the-coronavirus-2020030719111