WACS Superintendent Michael Cipolla spoke to parents via ZOOM concerning the protocols for reopening the school.

WESTFIELD — “Things tend to change as new guidelines come out,” said Westfield Academy and Central School Superintendent Michael Cipolla at a special informational meeting held Aug. 31 via ZOOM.

The purpose of the meeting was to update families on protocols for starting the school year. The information provided included the topics of daily screenings, illness, social distancing, face coverings, close contact considerations, and quarantine. Updates were also given regarding athletics and co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.

Cipolla told those in attendance that the district was ready for the opening of school on Tuesday.

“School will be open five days per week for in-person learning, following our traditional schedule. Remote instruction will not be provided while WACS is open for full-time, in-person instruction,” he said. “So we are going to discuss what next week will look like for our students.”

Cipolla said he would be sharing the most current information that is available. He noted that there were changes and, in fact, he said he had received new guidelines that very day.

“One thing we have learned in this past year is that we have to continue to share updates as soon as they come in,” Cipolla said.

The district is again requesting that families complete a daily questionnaire, Cipolla said. Visitors to the building will be screened upon entering. The district will require temperature screenings of everyone entering the building, including students, employees and visitors.

“This is a great resource for us,” he added.

Cipolla emphasized, however, that the building is open to everyone and the district will strive to avoid having to limit the number of people who can be there at one time.

“Right now our building, all in all, is open. At some point, if the COVID rates continue to climb, we will have to take a look at it,” he said.

Regarding illness, there will no longer be an isolation room.

“This year we will utilize our nursing room,” he said.

If a student feels ill, the area he or she was in will immediately be sanitized. Also, the board of education approved the creation of an additional position of Cleaner 1, and the person in that position will assist with high levels of sanitation and routine disinfection, he said.

“We are going to continue a high level of sanitation. That falls into our layered safety approach,” he said.

Cipolla said the CDC recommends three feet of social distancing, in addition to universal mask wearing.

“We are in the process of spacing students a minimum of three feet apart in the elementary school,” he said.

There has been a lot of discussion regarding face coverings, Cipolla told those at the meeting. As it stands right now, he said, school districts are mandated to require face coverings.

Cipolla reminded everyone that students were not required to wear masks in summer school. At their regular meeting on Aug. 9, board of education members voted to extend the motion made on July 8 that students do not need to wear masks outside. This would remain in effect until Sept. 1.

Also at their regular meeting on Aug. 9, district parent Katie O’Neil-Stratton addressed board members, requesting that they not mandate mask wearing, vaccinations or testing. Another parent, RaeKel Matos presented the board with a petition containing 121 signatures supporting family choice regarding mask wearing.

Cipolla emphasized that there has been a change in leadership in New York state and while Gov. Kathy Hochul is “open about the wearing of masks indoors,” at this point mask wearing is mandated throughout the state.

“As per state Health Department orders, any person over the age of 2 (including all students, personnel, teachers, administrators, contractors, and visitors) must wear masks at all times indoors in PreK-12 school buildings, regardless of vaccination status. Masking is required on school busses,” he said.

Exceptions to mask wearing include anyone with a disability that prevents them from safely wearing a mask, as defined by the ADA, Cipolla said. Further, mask breaks will be provided with distancing.

Regarding close contact, Cipolla noted that the guideline has changed — it is now defined as someone within 6 feet of an infected person for 15 minutes cumulative over 24 hours.

“If one is infected and both people were wearing face coverings correctly, that will have a determining factor on quarantine,” he added.

In the case of quarantine, Cipolla said that an asymptomatic person with a vaccine need not be quarantined. A person with symptoms should be quarantined, regardless of vaccination status, he said. Furthermore, a person who has had COVID is considered the same as a vaccinated person for a period of 90 days, he added.

In terms of quarantine and instruction, teachers will provide work for quarantined students. If there is a large scale quarantine, such as an entire class, the district will set up remote learning with the teacher, Cipolla said. Also, there is an exception to the general guideline that remote instruction will not be provided while WACS is open for full-time, in-person instruction, he said. Any person with a compromised immune system to whom COVID would be a serious deterrent should contact the principle to set up remote instruction, he added.

Cipolla also touched on the areas of athletics and co-curricular activities.

“We are in full swing with fall sports and it is going well,” he said. “Right now our fall sports are flourishing and we intend to keep moving in that direction.”

In response to a question regarding the use of lockers, Cipolla said that lockers will be used this year, and the school has enough of them to use every other locker.