April 8, 2020

Dear Parents and Community, 

It has been another busy week inside the ever-morphing education landscape in New York. The Governor has closed schools through April 29th and the long-awaited decision by the Board of Regents to cancel the June 2020 Regents Exams was delivered on Monday.

Here is what you need to know:

• All students who are registered for a course that ends in a Regents Exam this year will be exempted.
• If a student fails a course and makes it up in summer school, s/he will still be exempted from the exam.
• Students who intended to retake a Regents Exam to graduate are exempted
• Students who are exempted can still earn an Advanced Regents distinction.
• Students in language courses are exempted from the Checkpoint Exam.
• Students have the option to take a Regent at a later date if they choose.

Final course averages are now a local decision and districts can use any locally developed requirements for students to pass a Regents course. Standardized assessments for ELA and Math in grades 3-8 are also canceled for this school year. Although not the way that we would like to see this happen, the idea of a school year free from the shackles of standardized testing is liberating for students and teachers. We have long talked about how this would be a gamechanger for schools and I am hopeful that even amid these challenging days, teachers will be free to turn their attention and skills solely on teaching and learning without having to focus on standardized tests.

Beginning on April 13th, expect a more robust use of video lessons, an increase in live interactive opportunities and a noticeable shift away from simply sharing resources, assignments and static learning environments. The differences between synchronous and asynchronous learning are well explained here. Students will begin to interact with a more balanced blend between the two approaches.

Also on April 13th, please join me live on Facebook at 11 a.m. on Mondays and Fridays for updates and an opportunity to ask questions. I am increasing my use of video throughout this time away from school and trying new things to see what works best for parents and members of the community.

Lastly, please join us for our virtual Board of Education Meeting scheduled for April  21st at 7 p.m. I will be sending the Agenda Snapshot as I always do on the weekend before each meeting and will include a link to the Google Meet session. We will share information on our budget as it has been affected by the loss of state aid and continued plans for our upcoming Capital Projects.

On behalf of the Board of Education and all of us in your Dobbs Ferry School family - we wish you health and happiness during this week of observances.

Sincerely,

Lisa Brady, Ed.D
Superintendent