Beginning Tuesday, October 13, Tonawanda Elementary students and staff currently attending school in-person, will temporarily transition to virtual learning through Friday, October 23.

With a focus on the health and wellness of all students and staff, District Leadership and the Medical Advisory Board established a 14 calendar day transition guideline from in-person learning to temporary virtual learning should a school reach a sustained, in-person absence rate (3-day average) of 20% or more. Based on three classroom quarantines and several other student absences due to household and community exposures, Tonawanda will meet this threshold on Tuesday, October 13 (Monday, October 12 is a no school day).

Since the beginning of the school year, District Leadership and the Medical Advisory Board have been monitoring the prevalence of COVID-19 in our schools. For much of September, District disease data lagged that of our community and county, despite a dramatic rise in cases. Anticipating continued spread and in order to help our schools and families prepare for a possible disruption to in-person learning, an 80% average (3-day) attendance rate threshold was established to guide changes to our learning model. District Leadership and the Medical Advisory Board will continue to assess our approach and make changes as the District and Community disease data evolves over time.

"Over the summer and into this school year we have invested significant time and resources into ensuring continuity of learning as students and staff transition from in-person to virtual learning," said Superintendent Mark Hansen. "We know the staff at Tonawanda will continue to deliver a high-quality learning experience for our students and we look forward to welcoming the students back to Tonawanda Elementary on Monday, October 26."