Dear HVRSD Families,
 
Thank you for your continued patience as we continue to work through our plans for reopening in September.  As you are aware, this situation is very fluid and guidance from the State and CDC is changing on a daily basis. We intentionally shared our draft plans well in advance of the required deadline to provide families an opportunity to have discussions and ask questions. District resources and presentations related to reopening are available on our website.  Please take note of several important updates: 
 
Updated Schedules - We have developed draft daily schedules for all grade levels to give families an idea of what a typical day will look like.  It is important to note that we have revised the elementary in-person schedule to an early dismissal/hybrid schedule.  We really hoped to provide a full-day, five day a week  program on the elementary level; however, concerns around lunch, recess, and mask stamina have become difficult to overcome. Additionally, it is likely that students will need to transition between remote and in-person programs on a regular basis due to short-term quarantines, so we are adding a remote component on all levels.  PLEASE NOTE: Further adjustments to all schedules may be necessary. 
 
The deadline for selecting remote learning has been extended to August 7. Use this form
 
Revised School Calendar - Due to the uncertainty of this school year, we are revising our schedule to provide more opportunities for staff professional development.  The first day of instruction for students will be Wednesday, September 9. This time will help our staff to better support our students in an in-person environment, a fully remote environment and during the transitions in between. 
 
Transportation Waiver- We are unable to transport all of our students using the social distancing guidelines provided by the Department of Health.  If you are able to transport your own child, we ask that you complete this form by August 7 so we can finalize our bus routes prior to school starting. You are asked to commit until social distancing guidelines are relaxed.  Unfortunately we do not have a specific date. 
 
Updated FAQs- We are updating our FAQs regularly based on questions we receive from parents. You can find the answers to many of your questions here.
 
Town Hall Meeting- We have scheduled a town hall meeting to review our district reopening plan for next Tuesday, August 4 at 6:00pm (Zoom link).  At this time, we will attempt to address many of the questions we have received.  You can submit questions in advance here and we will do our best to address them. Additional school-based meetings will be held in the coming weeks to answer your school-specific questions. 
 
We are working diligently to provide a safe and comprehensive educational program for all of our students when we return in September. Although there is no perfect plan, we feel we have developed a  strong plan that will meet the needs of our school community. I ask that you also prepare now for the strong possibility of either a State mandated closure prior to the start of school and/or intermittent short-term closures in your child's class or school due to a confirmed or expected case once we return to school. 
 
I thank you for your continued support and understanding as we work to finalize our plans.  Over the next month, we will be sending updates on a weekly basis, typically on Tuesday or Wednesday, if not more frequently as we prepare for our return to school in September
 
Sincerely,
Thomas A. Smith, Ed.D.