August 2, 2022

Good Afternoon Wappingers CSD Community,

We have reached the halfway point of our summer break, and it is my hope that you are enjoying time with your family and friends–and that you are looking forward, as we are, to a very successful and productive 2022-23 school year!  For our families who are new to the District, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of you.  It has become a common practice for us to send periodic updates to our community pertaining to a wide range of topics that may interest you.  We hope that you find these updates helpful and informative, and we also appreciate your feedback on how we can improve our communication efforts.

This community update pertains to School Safety and COVID Protocols.  

With regard to school safety and security, in our June 8th Community Update we shared a list of items that we had begun to work on.  While the request for additional Federal funding for additional SRO programs has not yet materialized, we are pleased to report that we have and will continue to collaborate with our six local law enforcement partners to provide our ten elementary schools with an increased police presence throughout each school day.  Their detailed schedules will not be disclosed for security reasons, but we believe their presence will become noticeable immediately.  In addition, the District has secured the following services:

• We have engaged the services of the Putnam-Northern Westchester (PNW) BOCES Regional Safety Services program to conduct building safety audits of all of our schools.  This work will be carried out throughout the fall with recommendations for improvements being made along the way.
• We have ordered technology enhancements that will improve our current emergency procedures and communication systems, and we are looking forward to the implementation of these solutions.
• We have established a goal of focusing on Threat Assessment Training based upon the University of Virginia Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG).  This work will be ongoing throughout the school year and beyond.
• Training for staff will remain an integral part of the District and building safety plans, and new system enhancements and training opportunities with PNW BOCES will be utilized regularly.  

We will continue our regular practice of collaboration with Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro and Dutchess County Sheriff Kirk Imperati, the New York State Police, local municipal officials, and law enforcement partners that serve our District from the Town of East Fishkill, Town of Fishkill, Village of Fishkill, Town of Poughkeepsie, Town of Wappinger, and the Village of Wappingers Falls, as well as our security vendors to promote a safe school environment.

As for COVID protocols: masks will not be required for staff or students during school hours or for extra-curricular activities in our school buildings or on school property. In the event that the District is required to follow any additional COVID Protocols regulated by the Department of Health or State Education Department, we will certainly notify our community.

We hope you enjoy the rest of the summer break, and as always, thank you for your support of our students, staff, and District!

Sincerely,

Dr. Dwight Bonk

Superintendent of Schools