Dear Staff,
As you know, we had a positive case of COVID-19 at 1713 Madison Ave. This prompted us to close the site and implement our safety plan. Thanks to all staff, students, and families, we were able to do so quickly and switch to remote learning for the week. We were fortunate that we had no students Tuesday (election day), Thursday, and Friday (family conferences), so the disruption was manageable.
Our first step in response to a positive COVID-19 case is to close school for 72 hours. This allows for cleaning and disinfecting before anyone returns to the building. In this case, we had the weekend as a buffer, but we decided to extend the time just to be safe and add additional cleaning. Cleaning measures, led by Del Cintron (Director of Facilities), have ensured all spaces are disinfected and ready for use.
Unfortunately, anyone who was exposed to the positive case must quarantine for 14 days. Thus, we have 12 students and 14 staff who will have to quarantine. Those students will attend remote learning during this time. If a second case were to emerge, the whole school would quarantine for the 14 days (fingers crossed that we don’t have one). The 1713 Madison closure does not affect the 219 Stanton or 60 MacDougal locations, both will carry on as usual. 1713 Madison has a planned reopening date of Monday, November 9. We will keep you posted if there are any changes to this plan.
Here’s the good news: we have had eight members of the impacted pod test negative. Many others are waiting for results. This is some indication social distancing and masks are having an effect. Safety protocols seem to be working. In addition, we have a high number of students and staff reporting their testing. While the Department of Health recommends we test 20% of staff and students each month, at Cooke, 26% of students and 24% of staff have been tested this month.
The difficulty now is reopening with 14 staff members missing. Everyone will be pitching in to help manage the daily routines of the school including recess, bussing and classroom proctoring.
Please continue to follow safety measures, wear your mask, and maintain social distancing, in and out of school! It is the only way we are going to be able to ensure a safe environment for all staff and students.
For your reference, please click here to review our re-opening plan.
Be well,
HUMAN RESOURCES UPDATE
Spring 2021 Title IIA SBL Catalog
This Friday, November 6, is the last day to sign up for Title II classes. Make certain you sign up by 3PM.
The following links are for the Title IIA SBL Catalog for Spring 2021, along with the program memorandum:
Spring 2021 Title IIA SBL program memorandum
Spring 2021 Title IIA SBL Catalog
MORE FREE classes available:
There are updates for our University of Buffalo and SUNY Empire class offerings for upcoming sessions.
Graduate courses
Graduate Courses are available at the University at Buffalo (UB) and SUNY Empire—for additional information visit: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/nonpub/ProfessionalDevelopment.html
University at Buffalo
As an eligible teacher, you can take select online courses through the University at Buffalo’s Graduate School of Education for professional development. To do so, you must apply for non-degree status with the Graduate School of Education. Available courses can be found at: ed.buffalo.edu/prof-development
- Deadlines for the Winter 2021 courses: December 15, 2020 (classes begin 1/4/2021)
- Deadlines for the Spring 2021 courses: January 14, 2021 (classes begin 1/22/2021) Complete the application at: ed.buffalo.edu/prof-development
If you have questions, please contact the Office of Graduate Admission at: 716-645-2110, or gse-admission@buffalo.edu
SUNY Empire
As an eligible teacher, you can take select online courses through the SUNY Empire School for Graduate Studies. To do so, you must apply for non-degree status with the Graduate School. Available courses can be found at: https://www.esc.edu/academic-affairs/catalogs-guides/
- Deadline for Spring 2021 courses: December 31, 2020 (courses begin 1/19/2021)
- Complete the application at: https://www.esc.edu/degrees-programs/nondegree-study/graduate-nondegree-study/. Select code TIIA from the affiliate partnerships drop-down menu.
If you have questions, please contact the School of Graduate Studies at: TitleIIa@esc.edu
Professional Development Resource Centers (PDRC) for NYC, Upstate and Long Island
The State Office of Religious and Independent Schools recently announced the creation of three Regional Professional Development Resource Centers (PDRC) serving New York State’s religious and independent schools.
These centers were established to provide respectful, culturally-responsive professional development to all religious and independent schools, using a variety of technical assistance, resources and professional development activities.
If you are attending the RISE conference, November 9, 2020-November 12, 2020, the Centers will have a shared booth. Stop in and meet the team. We have heard there may be a chance to win a giveaway.
For additional information, please visit their website at: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/nonpub/professional-development/pdrc.html
NYS Professional Development Resource Center for Religious and Independent Schools, NYC Region at Fordham University
Region served: New York City
NYS Professional Development Resource Center website
Catapult Learning
Region served: Long Island
Measurement Inc.
Region served: Upstate (Rest of State)
http://www.nysed-soris-upstate-pdrc.org/
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Elizabeth Santiso at: esantiso@cookeschool.org.
_________________________
Important Dates:
Wednesday, November 11 – Cooke is Closed for Veteran’s Day
Wednesday, November 25 – Half Day
Thursday, November 26 and Friday, November 27 – Cooke is Closed for the Thanksgiving holiday
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