Pricey Editor,

Active COVID conditions in Ulster County and in the Onteora School District have never ever been bigger. The county graph is a lot more of a vertical line than a curve. And but for Onteora Interim Superintendent Marystephanie Corsones, it’s business as regular.

Deaf to the lots of moms and dads who have pleaded for a non permanent remote or hybrid option, Corsones only went distant from January 12th to 14th, “based on staffing restrictions and becoming ready to preserve the most secure mastering environment for pupils.” Unfortunately, I doubt university student safety has nearly anything to do with Corsones’ selection-building, as we are shifting suitable back again to in-person instruction soon after the vacation weekend, regardless of county COVID conditions continuing to skyrocket, with 1,266 additional situations claimed now (Jan. 14) than when OCS temporarily shifted just 3 times in the past.

In today’s letter to dad and mom, Corsones says, “We keep on to observe the information to aid our conclusions with the target of providing the safest and most strong learning natural environment for our college students.” I ponder what info she’s monitoring, as we’re now wanting at 7,000 energetic conditions countywide, and fifty percent-vacant school rooms as so several college students are in quarantine.

The learners who do show up at are frequently monitored by substitute lecturers with no grasp on the study course material (instructors, much too, are out with COVID and/or in quarantine). I comprehend the worth of in-particular person college, but for family members who can not danger sending their children to college at the extremely peak of this wave, lodging should be designed for an equally robust finding out modality for minimal at-residence instruction.

Brett Barry
Chichester, N.Y.

The author is an Onteora parent.