KENMORE, N.Y. — The Ken-Ton School District announced Friday that it has paused plans for a phased-in reopening to its schools.
New York State designated much of Erie County as a Yellow Zone during the past week, meaning that school districts must test 20 percent of students and staff participating in in-person learning for the coronavirus.
"This is a very tall order, and I'm not quite sure we can accomplish it," Sabatino Cimato, the Ken-Ton superintendent, recently told 2 On Your Side.
Students in kindergarten and the first grade, who have been receiving in-person instruction, will continue to do so going forward. But the school district told parents to be prepared for a move to fully remote learning.
What will change is plans for groups with plans to return to school buildings, starting with grades two through five. Those students were supposed to return to in-person learning on Monday, but the district has since nixed those plans.
Those students will continue to learn remotely.
Ken-Ton school officials said they "will not be advancing the timeline" for students in grades 6 through 12 at this time.