Attica Central School District

Message from the Board of Education: This morning, the Board of Education approved the resignation of Mr. Bryce Thompson, Superintendent of Schools, who will be retiring from the district effective December 31, 2021. The Board of Education thanks Mr. Thompson for his many years of service to the district. Superintendent Thompson’s decision to retire in December provides the Board with an opportunity to bring in an interim Superintendent to serve as a transitional leader for the District beginning January 1st while conducting a search for its next Superintendent of Schools. Genesee Valley BOCES Superintendent, Kevin MacDonald, will lead the Board’s efforts as our search consultant to fill both roles. The Board is committed to a thorough and thoughtful search process that includes stakeholder and community input. More information on the appointment of the Interim Superintendent and the Superintendent search will be communicated over the next several months.

ATTICA CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT NOTICE OF SPECIAL BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING A Special Meeting of the Attica Central School District Board of Education will be held on Wednesday, September 29, 2021 at 8:00 am in the Attica Senior High School Library, 3338 E. Main Street, Attica, NY 14011. By Order of the Board of Education Attica Central School District Rebecca Sphar, District Clerk

In an effort to provide access to positive COVID19 case information for the district, we have created a link on our website that includes any positive case report for any of our buildings. This site will be updated as positive cases and close contacts are confirmed. The link can be found on the homepage as well as the Quick Links. Please visit this site for up-to-date positive case information as daily notices will not be sent out.

Message from the Board of Education and the Superintendent of Schools: In light of the events that occurred at our Board meeting on September 9, 2021, we felt it would be helpful to share some information with you prior to our next scheduled meeting on September 23rd. School Board meetings are formal business meetings for the District where information is provided to the Board, reports are considered and, as necessary and required, resolutions are voted upon by the Board for approval. The Board includes a Public Forum session so that it can hear the views of citizens whom wish to speak. Because it is a public meeting of the Board, not a meeting between the Board and public, the Board does not typically engage in discussion of the issues raised during the public forum. As appropriate, the Board President or Superintendent may respond at a later time. Our longstanding process is outlined here - https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1280111/public_forum_form.pdf The community members in our district are known to practice civility and respect; however, some attendees at the September 9th meeting refused to follow clear protocols for mask wearing. The actions of these individuals disrupted the meeting to the extent that the Board was forced to consider only consent agenda items, executive session and then end the meeting. In doing so, the Board was unable to consider other business items scheduled for the meeting including budgetary matters, Genesee Valley Partnership (BOCES) business, matters included within the Superintendent’s Report, and consideration of items for new business. In addition to disrupting the meeting, the actions of these attendees also did not model appropriate behavior for our students who are required to comply with the Code of Conduct each day on school property. We understand that some community members are opposed to masks and want to express their opposition and frustration to the Board of Education. We also understand that other community members are in favor of masks. That being said, it is important for everyone to understand that at the present time, the Board does not have discretion about this particular issue. Our District, along with all other school districts, BOCES, and private schools in New York, are subject to a mask mandate imposed pursuant to emergency regulation and Commissioner of Health Determination. There are significant financial penalties for non-compliance. We cannot, and we will not, violate this mandate. As a Board of Education, we work collaboratively to act in the best interests of everyone in the District. Since last year, the Superintendent of Schools and Board of Education have advocated for local control over school operations so that we can make decisions in the best interests of our District based upon the conditions present in our community. We will continue to advocate for local control moving forward. We would encourage those who have strong feelings on these issues, whether in support of, or against, the current New York State requirements, to direct your advocacy efforts to our local legislators as well as directly to Governor Hochul’s office and the New York State Department of Health. We expect that those in attendance at upcoming meetings will comply with the required protocols for attendance as well as participation in Public Forum. Should attendees at future Board meetings disregard the required protocols or otherwise act to disrupt the meeting, we will have no choice but to consider alternate options in order to conduct meetings so that the Board of Education can focus on the important work of the District.

The Safe Stop App for tracking the buses is now back up and running, thank you for your patience.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we all navigate the return of all students to school. The first couple days of every new school year, the staff at the Elementary School spend some additional time at dismissal assisting the youngest children to their buses and coordinating all the children’s dismissal plans. This causes a delay in the buses departure from the Elementary School to the High School. The students in the Middle School and High School are not dismissed until the buses arrive at the bus loop. We understand this causes a backup at the parent loop and we apologize for the inconvenience. This delay is necessary the first couple days of school to ensure that children are where they are supposed to be. As we move forward in the coming days and everyone becomes more familiar with the routine, we are confident there will be minimal delays and the process will be much smoother. As always, thank you for your support.

A revised return to school plan can be viewed here: https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1526725/Reopening_Letter-_revised_9.1.21.pdf

On Friday, August 27, 2021 at around 5:30 PM, the following message was received from the New York State Department of Health: “Effective immediately, in accordance with the Commissioner's Determination issued pursuant to 10 NYCRR 2.60, any person over the age of 2 (including all students, personnel, teachers, administrators, contractors, and visitors) must wear masks at all times indoors in P-12 school buildings, regardless of vaccination status.” In response to this determination and effective immediately, Attica Central School District is requiring face coverings to be worn indoors by all individuals age 2 years and older, including students, teachers, staff and visitors, regardless of vaccination status. Any additional updated protocols will be provided as soon as possible.

Today we are releasing our Reopening guidance that has been constructed in collaboration with the Wyoming County Department of Health and the other public schools in Wyoming County. Our plans are nearly identical as we are using the same criteria in the Warning Matrix to determine what protocols must be instituted in response to any increase in the local/county positivity rate of the COVID-19 virus. Please remember that this guidance document is subject to change if additional mandates or protocols are directed by the CDC, NYS Governor or the NYS Department of Health. We will be watching and monitoring for any such changes as we start the new school year as conditions change due to the ongoing response to the pandemic. The plan can be viewed at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xB5iW5CaNuBlfhX3We93vbgekSZpM9wP/view?usp=sharing (Copy and paste the URL if necessary).

We are loving our new app! Access documents, news updates, and even emergency notifications, right from your pocket. Download the app on Android: https://bit.ly/3ycvqZ5 or iPhone: https://apple.co/3zNReuq.

Good morning-- The district is requiring that user agreement forms be completed for all technology devices assigned to students. Each student at all grade levels will be using devices either at home or in school, or both. The district has moved away from paper forms. A digital form is now available-- please complete for each child prior to opening day. The link is: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScGvXp0wlbYiUX8hR3ER4EMpurGRN2-iCfs_M5GNAI87JBVkg/viewform

Please visit the district website for a letter detailing plans for the return to school in September. You can also read the letter at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1G0s-8GW3E7-UT_SywKBWuVfn1Z_Ubqx8/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=112580897631019533599&rtpof=true&sd=true (Copy and paste the URL if needed)

Student meals for 2021-2022 will be free!

We’re thrilled to announce the new app for Attica Central School District! It’s everything Attica CSD, in your pocket. With the new app, you can access documents, events, news updates, and even emergency notifications. Download the app on Android: https://bit.ly/3ycvqZ5 or iPhone: https://apple.co/3zNReuq

Our 2021 Summer Learning Camp wraps up on Thursday, August 5th. If you are a parent or guardian of a child who attended camp, we love your feedback on your child’s experience this year! We appreciate your insights into our program and we recognize that our partnership in learning will help us to maintain and improve our program in the future. Thank you for participating in our Summer Learning Camp. We appreciate your support! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1GdCcBL51QuRfLRmdFP6FytHPW5WGMSj4zF-JntNsNAc/viewform?edit_requested=true

Fall Sports Registration is now open. The Familyid.com registration process for any 7-12 grade student that is planning on playing sports this fall is now open. The listing of fall sports includes boys and girls soccer, boys and girls cross country, football, football cheer, & girls volleyball. If your son or daughter is signing up, please make sure that you do so under the appropriate modified, Jv, or varsity level. The registration weblink for FamilyID is found on our district webpage. Under the Menu icon, click on the Athletics icon and choose Athletic Information. Jv & Varsity sports will begin mandatory practices on August 23 while the modified sports will start a week later on August 30th. Further details will be posted on our website regarding practice times. Thank you.

If your student still needs to turn in their device, please call ahead of time to make sure someone is at the main office to drop it off to. 585-591-0400 ES: 2235 MS: 1200 HS: 1408

Welcome to our new site!

Wednesday, June 23 and Thursday, June 24 will be 1/2 days of instruction for students.

Exceptional Athlete Recognition Night will be Monday, June 21st at 6:30pm!