July 15, 2020

Dear Lakeland School District Families:                                                

It’s hard to believe that we are almost half way through the summer of 2020, but I hope this message finds everyone healthy and safe, as this Coronavirus Pandemic continues to ravage our country and state. While summer seems to be flying by quickly, I wanted to let you know that we are focused on working on our Lakeland School District Health & Safety Plan for the start of the 2020-21 school year.

It is important to note that this has been a continuous and ongoing process, since the 2019-20 school year ended. We appointed a Pandemic Team that consists of a Board Member, Parents, Teachers, School Physician, School Nurse, Administrators, Food Service Director, Transportation Director and Maintenance Supervisor.   Our team has been following guidance provided by the PA Department of Education (PDE), PA Department of Health and the US Center for Disease Control & Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics. While our hope is to ultimately get all students and teachers back to school in the fall, our primary focus is to ensure that our plan is designed to protect the health, safety and welfare of all our students and staff.

As our team continues to meet and fine tune our plan, it’s important to note that this is a moving target, as guidance seems to change weekly and sometimes even daily.  Just when you think that the curve has been flattened, this pandemic seems to flare back up again.  PDE requires us to develop a three phase Health & Safety plan for reopening: Red, Yellow and Green. Each phase of the plan must include minimum safety requirements.

Once completed, the Lakeland Health & Safety Plan will be presented to the Lakeland Board of Education at a public board meeting (August 2020) and will require their approval. That will be the time for public comment on this plan. Once Board approved, we are required to submit it to the Pennsylvania Department of Education and post it on our website at www.lakelandsd.org. We appreciate your continued patience, as we work collaboratively to develop a comprehensive Health & Safety Plan that will work best for all of our students and staff members, based on the most recent and up-to-date guidance.

Sincerely,

William F. King

William F. King

Superintendent

Lakeland School District