Highland Central School District Will Only Open Remotely

Yesterday (August 20, 2020) the Highland Central School District joined a number of other local school districts by announcing that they will only be offering remote learning for the beginning of the school year. New Paltz, Newburgh, Arlington, Wappingers and Marlboro schools made their announcements earlier this month.

Classes in the Highland School district were planing on a hybrid plan which would have had students learning both in person at physical school buildings and via remote learning at home. The first day of school will be September 14th, but for now there will only be remote learning through October 5, 2020.

In a post that the district shared on their Facebook page that linked to a a more in depth statement, they said the reason for the change in plans was due to a staffing shortage. "After reviewing the survey results, based upon the number of students returning and our available staffing levels, we will not be able to provide in-person learning starting on September 14. Just as many of you are grappling with childcare issues, so are many of our faculty and staff."

The Highland Central School District plans to re-evaluate in mid-Septemeber, but for now they have to go with remote only. They also stated that they to we disappointed and that they want to make it clear that they realize this discussion is difficult on everyone. They also want parents and students to know that they are making every effort to get back to in person learning, the released stated that "Our administrative team has been completely dedicated to preparing our schools for a safe reopening. The effort being put forth is nothing short of herculean. Unfortunately, this pandemic continues to throw curve balls, and we still have many innings left in the game."