SKANEATELES– In a letter sent out March 23, Skaneateles Superintendent Eric Knuth announced recent guidance from the CDC and the Onondaga County Department of Health has created additional opportunities to expand access to in-person learning at Skaneateles Central Schools.
“I am so pleased to share that all of our remaining students in grades 8-11 will be welcomed back to school five
days per week on April 5, 2021,” Knuth wrote. “This is the moment that so many of us have been looking forward to since our first day of school in September and despite obstacles that still exist, we are very grateful for the continued partnership and cooperation of our community.”

This follows the district’s recent decision to bring back the members of the senior class to five days a week of in-person instruction.

In his letter, Knuth said there still several points to keep in mind.

The letter said transportation remains a concern in that space is limited to 22 passengers on each the district’s 66 passenger buses.

“Thank you in advance to all of our parents and families willing to transport your children to and from
school each day,” Knuth wrote. “You have created the necessary space required to get everyone back to school.”

Knuth acknowledged there will be some who are not comfortable returning to class in person full time and said remote instruction will remain available for the rest of this school year.

COVID-19 testing also remains a priority.

“We have approached each decision this year using the data available to us,” Knuth said. “Weekly testing at our district office has revealed a stark turnaround in the number of infections present in our community. We have conducted well over 1,000 tests this year already without a single positive case reported. It is critical that the number of people testing each week remains constant as this service, provided by Onondaga County, is dependent on participation. In the last two weeks the number of individuals tested fell from over 300 to 117. Please continue to take advantage of our free testing program and help us protect this service for our community.”

Knuth said the work of many people went into making this return possible.

“Special thanks to our faculty, staff, administration, and board of education for all of the many hours of
work and tireless effort that made this possible for the children of our community,” Knuth said. “On behalf of all of us, welcome back!”