Dear Syracuse Academy of Science Families and Staff,

Yesterday, January 6, 2022, The Onondaga County Health Department along with the New York State Department of Health, updated their COVID-19 guidance for isolation and quarantine. As a result of these changes, the Syracuse Academy of Science will now be adhering to the new guidelines set forth. Effective immediately those persons that need to be in isolation or quarantine will only need to do so for five days if they exhibit no symptoms or their symptoms are resolving. This includes no fever for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications and no lingering cough. Please note that loss of taste and or smell can last weeks and does not need to be resolved before returning. 

Updated guidance: http://www.ongov.net/health/documents/IsolationQuarantineGuidance.pdf

The five-day period for isolation and quarantine begins the day you first began to have symptoms. If you exhibit no symptoms at all, it begins the day you took your test. Keep in mind that if you still have symptoms after day five it is recommended that you continue to isolate until your symptoms have resolved. 

• Students and staff that are NOT vaccinated must quarantine for five full days when they have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. A NEGATIVE TEST (RAPID OR PCR) DURING THEIR QUARANTINE DOES NOT GET THEM OUT OF THEIR QUARANTINE.
• Students and staff who are fully vaccinated and are eligible for their booster shot (5 months after second Pfizer vaccine or 6 months after second Moderna vaccine, or 2 months after Johnson and Johnson vaccine) AND HAVE RECEIVED THEIR BOOSTER, do not need to be quarantined. If they develop symptoms after exposure, they will need a negative test to return.
• Students and staff who are fully vaccinated and not yet eligible for their booster shot (see eligibility in the above paragraph), will also not need to quarantine

If a person is in isolation or quarantine, please fill out the legal self-attestation forms for Onondaga County for self-release. Fill out the form and turn it in to the school when your child is ready to return. The forms can be found here: https://covid19.ongov.net/isolation-quarantine/

When a person returns to school after isolation and quarantine, please make sure they are wearing a well-fitted surgical face mask that fits closely to their face. 

We also want to remind parents to keep their children home if they exhibit any symptoms of COVID-19 (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html). The Onondaga County Department of Health says that If your child is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 they will need to be tested for covid-19 or receive an alternate diagnosis from their doctor before returning to school. Symptoms of COVID-19, the common cold, the flu, and many other viruses look the same, therefore almost impossible to tell apart without testing. Onondaga County has set up a testing site just for students and school employees. Here you can get a PCR test and have results usually within 24 hours. Information on this testing site can be found here: https://covid19.ongov.net/appointments/ 

Your support and patience during these confusing times are always greatly appreciated. Our student's health and safety are of utmost importance to us. Please reach out to your student school for any concerns or questions you may have. 

Sincerely, 
Syracuse Academy of Science Administration

Dear parents and guardians,

Last week Governor Kathy Hochul announced a statewide goal of providing students the opportunity to be tested for COVID as school resumes after the Holiday break. There is no requirement that families test their children, but New York State is encouraging testing of students in order to keep students and school communities as safe as possible. 

At this time the Syracuse Academy of Science has received a shipment of these test kits. The state has provided us with one kit per student. Each kit contains two rapid tests with instructions on how to administer the test. 

It is important to know that rapid tests are very accurate when used on a person that is showing symptoms of COVID-19, but unfortunately, they are not as accurate on someone showing no COVID-19 symptoms. Given this fact, we recommend that you save these rapid tests for when your child actually exhibits COVID-19 symptoms. However, it is entirely up to you when you use them.

Please note that the school district is simply a conduit for distribution. We will not be tracking or reporting test results for any reason. We ask that if you use the test kit on your child and they receive a positive test result that you report to the Onondaga County Health department using this link: https://covid19.ongov.net/at-home-covid-test-results-screen/. 

Test kits will be distributed on Wednesday, January 5th, 2022. They will be sent home with each student at the end of the day. Parents are welcome to pick up a test kit for their child if he or she is absent. 

Please feel free to contact your child’s school with any questions or concerns. As always, thank you for your continued support during these difficult and complicated times. 

Syracuse Academy Administration and Health Services

Dear Science Academies of New York Community:

We are excited to share with you our reopening plan for the 2021-2022 school year. All of our schools will welcome the return of students for five days a week of in person instruction. 

Throughout the pandemic Science Academies of New York (SANY) has pulled together to meet the needs of our students and school community. When schools were closed by state officials in March 2020, SANY quickly shifted gears to remote learning. Our teachers, teaching assistants, school counselors, psychologists, administrators, supervisors, and clerical staff worked tirelessly to meet the learning needs of our students. 

We appreciate the support, trust, and cooperation of our students and families to operate schools safely during the pandemic. I certainly recognize that we have all given up a lot this past year, but as you read this reopening plan hopefully you will see that school activities are looking something closer to normal. 

There are a few important safety precautions that we will need to take such as wearing a mask when inside the school building, washing our hands, practicing respiratory etiquette, and staying home when you are sick or have symptoms. The safety precautions outlined in this reopening plan were created by reviewing recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, American Academy of Pediatrics, guidance from the New York State Education Department , guidance from Onondaga County, along with guidance from state and local health officials. 

We are grateful for the support of our community leaders, board of education, administrators and supervisors, school staff, public health officials, and school community during this challenging time.

We are hopeful that as conditions improve locally we will be able to revisit some of these safety precautions. We appreciate all that our students, families, and staff members have done and will continue to do to keep everyone safe as we move into the new school year.

Please be sure to review this updated Reopening Plan and contact your building dean with any specific questions or concerns regarding your child and the start of the school year.

Thank you again for your continued support of our students and staff.

Click here to read the Reopening Plan for 2021-22 school year.

Sincerely,
Dr. Tolga Hayali