September 8, 2020
Dear Parents & Guardians:
I hope this letter finds you doing well as we approach the beginning of the new year school on September 14th. As we enter the 2020-2021 school year, we are most certainly challenged with ensuring the health and safety of our staff and students. Moreover, we continue to confront the social-emotional needs and educational goals of our students in spite of the dilemma presented by COVID-19. I am confident in the ability of our staff to face such adversity and provide our students with meaningful learning in a caring and nurturing environment. This year will not be easy, but as we know all too well, serving as an educator is rarely without hardship and complexity. Although COVID-19 will make the day-to-day tasks of running our schools more challenging, we will not allow this pandemic to detract from why we became educators in the first place; to teach and inspire students.
As you know, the Verona Public Schools will commence in Stage 2 of our district reopening plan as previously communicated. Details regarding our plan may be found on our district website or by clicking
here. All staff will report to their buildings each school day under Stage 2 of our school reopening plan to provide synchronous, live stream instruction from their classrooms based on our district plan. However, Verona High School will need to begin the school year fully remote/virtual for students and staff in
Stage 1. The widespread toll of the pandemic continues to directly and significantly impact governments, communities, and businesses around the world. As a direct result, Trane manufacturing in South Carolina has experienced reduced capacity in their manufacturing plants to deliver the unit ventilation system we expected in early September as part of school construction. The changes in the timeline are due primarily to temporary pandemic-related supply chain disruption and staffing shortages. As a result of manufacturing delays due to COVID, the delivery of the new ventilation equipment for Verona High School has been postponed, thereby requiring VHS staff to temporarily work from home. We have been informed by the manufacturer and installer of an anticipated installation date of October 2020 for an operational ventilation system, at which time staff will then report back to school to provide virtual instruction from their classrooms to students under Stage 2. In the meantime, staff will be required to synchronously teach from home using their district provided device. The school schedule for the majority of our students remains unchanged, with the exception of specific student populations which is being coordinated by Mr. Mauriello and the high school administration.
I want to thank you for your patience, cooperation, and support which are vital to our collective success in meeting the needs of our students and community. Please contact your building principals directly should you have any questions or need any assistance.
I hope you enjoy the remaining days of summer. We look forward to returning to normal as soon as possible. Stay safe and be well.
All my best,
