HCSD COVID-19 Update
February 11, 2022

The Harrison Central School District and Rye City School District have joined forces and are asking for your support to petition New York State officials for intelligent, science-based changes to mask requirements in schools, continued support for testing, and increased support for mental health services. The recommendations ensure students will remain safe and improve the quality of their learning. 

• Link mask requirements to viral transmission levels and test positivity rates in schools/districts.  Only require masks if “transmission levels are deemed high” by the local Department of Health.  Note this pertains to the positivity rate in schools/districts since in-school transmission rates have been well below county and community averages. The New York State Department of Health should change the mask requirements in schools by February 21, 2022, the date the current mandate expires.

• Continue to provide adequate COVID-19 testing resources to schools so they can offer weekly COVID tests to faculty, staff, and students whose parents provide consent.

• Increase funding for mental health support for students.  Districts require ongoing, sustained resources to address the wide range of mental health needs of children and staff that have emerged or been exacerbated by the pandemic. 

Time is critical. Please make your voice heard by contacting Governor Hochul, State Legislators, the New York State Departments of Health and Education, and Westchester County Executive Latimer asking for their support. These changes require your support.

Take Action Now!
Click Here to Sign a Petition & Make Your Voice Heard

Through our testing partnership with Mount Sinai Hospital, the District conducted 354 PCR saliva tests on February 7, 2022, for faculty, staff and students whose parents provided consent, with one (1) positive result, which is a 0.3% positivity rate.  The positivity rate since the return from the December break has declined significantly:

The District will continue to provide COVID-19 testing to students, faculty and staff as one of several mitigation strategies to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and keep schools open for in-person learning.

Updated COVID-19 data can be found on the NYS COVID-19 Report Card, including lab-confirmed positive cases for students, faculty and staff in each school.  To access this information:

1. Go to NYS COVID-19 Report Card
2. Click on "Public Schools"
3. Type in "Harrison"
4. Click on the links for each school

Related Information:

• COVID-19 Positivity Data for Westchester County

As a result of the Harrison Central School District’s advocacy, New York State and Westchester County provided COVID tests to support Test to Stay and Weekly PCR Testing programs.  The District has received enough free test kits to support these programs and to provide one (1) free rapid antigen test kit (there are two rapid tests in each kit) for every student, faculty and staff member in the District.  Given the scarcity of COVID-19 tests, this could be a helpful resource for families, especially with the coming February break. 

Over 1,000 free rapid antigen test kits were distributed this week.  Parents who did not pick up a test kit but would like one for each child may contact the school's main office.

Since these tests are performed at home, the results cannot be used to clear your child to return to school or exempt them from quarantine, but they can be used to help your family stay safe and provide you with timely information if your child becomes symptomatic.  Consult with your pediatrician if your child becomes symptomatic or has a positive test result at home.

When individuals are vaccinated against COVID-19, they help to reduce the risk of transmission in school and avoid having to quarantine following exposure to a positive person.   Since all students are now eligible for the vaccine,  the District is renewing the request for parents to voluntarily provide proof of their child's vaccination by completing this HIPAA-protected COVID-19 Vaccination Survey.