July 12, 2020

Dear Parents and Community,

What to do about reopening schools is beginning to dominate the media everywhere. As with any hot button issue, the information is overwhelming -- and often, contradictory -- and it is hard to know what to believe. In Dobbs Ferry, continue to focus on our little corner of the universe, guided by the health and safety of our students and staff as our “north star.”

In an effort to help our school community stay informed about the District’s efforts to reopen our schools in the fall, we have created a new website to capture all of the resources, updates, and news around this issue. The “Reopening Dobbs Ferry Schools” website is active and can be accessed in multiple places on our school district webpages. This “go-to” resource for parents and community members will be updated frequently with information about the progress being made in our subcommittees as well as the names of those serving on the individual committees and an email address for each committee chairperson. We are organized around six focus areas - Health and Safety, Operations, Instruction, SEL Health/Wellness, Extracurricular Activities/Athletics, and Communications. 

One thing we know for sure is that public school districts will face staggering costs to reopen schools safely. A recent article in the New York Times summarizes the situation well. Meanwhile, here in New York State, Governor Cuomo has warned that school districts may face reductions in promised state aid during the middle of the year because of expected state tax revenue shortfalls. Public schools desperately need more assistance from the Federal government. I encourage you to make your voice heard in Washington and demand more federal financial assistance for school districts, using this fast and easy Voter Voice tool.

Tomorrow we anticipate the long-awaited guidance from New York State that we will need to incorporate when we submit our plans to the Department of Education by the end of the month. 

The challenges ahead are extraordinary and I know that our community recognizes that there will be no perfect answers. Please continue to extend your patience, confidence, and support as we work to make the decisions necessary to have our children and staff back in our classrooms in September.

Sincerely,

Lisa Brady, Ed.D.
Superintendent