COVID-19 Update

Dear LREI Families, 

As you have no doubt heard, over the past week or so many states have or plan to change or end their mask mandates in businesses and schools. While NY Gov. Hochul said on Wednesday that she would leave the mandate for schools in place; she suggested that a change to the school mandate is likely to come in early March. We are excited to take advantage of these relaxed rules while also keeping in mind all that we have to do to keep the community safe and healthy. In our past two weeks of surveillance testing, we have had only three positive tests. This is a huge difference from even three weeks ago and we are feeling confident that it is time for some changes.  

Here are our plans moving forward:

• We will pause our surveillance testing program. While we are prepared to resume it as needed, we feel we can safely stop this regular testing in all three divisions. Please read all the way through this letter as testing requirements for upcoming breaks are below.
  • One exception to this is that we will continue to test unvaccinated students in the fours-sixth grades every other week.

• We will no longer ask students to wear masks when out-of-doors during the school day. We began allowing the children to be maskless again during recess last week, to their great relief. Students returning from isolation due to a positive case of Covid will have to remain masked indoors and out until day 11.  

• NY State continues to require that all students who participate in extracurricular activities be fully vaccinated. Fully vaccinated means having had all doses for which the student is eligible. This means that all middle school and high school students who participate in our athletics program and in our theater programs must be fully vaccinated (three doses) by the time we return from Spring Break to participate in these activities during the remainder of the school year – April, May, and June.

• Third – eighth and eleventh graders will need to be fully vaccinated (all doses for which they are eligible) in order to participate this spring IF we are able to schedule our overnight trips.

• Families of seniors – NYU is requiring boosters for all who use their facilities, this will include anyone attending graduation. All guests must be fully vaccinated by June 1, 2022, two weeks prior to graduation. More information regarding graduation will be sent home soon.

• We will continue to ask that families complete the Magnus health screening. Paying close attention to children’s symptoms remains an important step towards keeping the community safe.

• We will continue to have a strict policy concerning students and employees with symptoms of Covid-19.  Have symptoms? Stay home, please. Testing continues to be required to return after having symptoms.
• We will continue to keep windows open and air purifiers humming. We will remain vigilant about handwashing.

• President’s Day Weekend – We will send home rapid tests with each student. (Feel free to return the test if your family has a preference about which kind of test to use.) We ask that you test your child/children before school on February 23 and February 25. If negative, no need to send or bring a picture. If positive, please keep your child home and email nurses@lrei.org.

• Spring Break – Before Spring Break we will send additional rapid tests home with all students. Please test your children on Monday, March 28 and Wednesday, March 30 before school. If negative, no need to send or bring a picture. If positive, please keep your child home and email nurses@lrei.org.
  • It is likely that we will schedule surveillance testing for the week we return from spring break, in addition to the home testing described above.
  • If you are traveling for the break please consider having a PCR test on day five as a way of protecting your family and the school community.

If Governor Hochul announces that she is allowing the mask mandate for schools to expire or is amending it in some way, and NYC follows suit, we will be in touch with any new masking policies. It is unlikely that we will change our masking rules before Spring Break begins in mid-March.

We see masking as a tool that will allow us to return to gathering in larger groups, visiting museums and other cultural sites, etc. We will use them as the need arises and the situation suggests. Again, the same is true for our testing program.

It is important to note that the Centers for Disease Control continues to recommend mask wearing and some children and some adults will need time to adjust or will choose to continue to wear masks indefinitely. This is more than reasonable. We have lived through some very hard times and our experiences, while common in some ways, differ in others. We will support those who feel more comfortable wearing masks and will work to have the community be supportive of individual health choices within the school’s prescribed options.

There are steps that we will continue to take to ensure the health of the community going forward. A periodic return to mask wearing and/or testing may be among these. A reminder –  all students will have to be fully vaccinated to return in the fall. Again, fully vaccinated means having had all doses for which they are eligible. I realize that my comment above about respecting individual choices may seem at odds with this mandate. Important to note that an individual wearing a mask does not put the community at greater risk, while the same individual forgoing a vaccine does.