THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR

“GOOD MORNING TONNY AND DENNIS FROM WHITE PLAINS NY USA WHERE IT’S 46 SUNNY WPCNR DEGREES AT 7:50 A.M.. THIS IS THE WEEK WHEN ALL WHITE PLAINS SCHOOLS ARE OPEN AND THE RETURN TO IN-SCHOOL LEARNING IS WORKING. I INTERVIEWED WHITE PLAINS SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS DR. JOSEPH RICCA YESTERDAY AND HE REPORTS THAT 93% OF CHILDREN IN GRADES K THROUGH 5 ARE NOW LEARNING IN-SCHOOL AND 75% OF MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE BACK IN SCHOOL. HE GAVE PARENTS, KIDS, TEACHERS, ADMINISTRATORS AND STAFF A “A-PLUS”

• HE SAID ON behalf of the board of education, an enormous, thank you to our community of White Plains, this has been a long road, we didn’t get to where we are today without a ton of amazing support from everybody all throughout the Community. Despite the fact that we’re still dealing with  COVID we’re thrilled that we were able to welcome back all of our children and all of our Tigers to five day in person instruction.
• HE PRAISED PARENTS FOR BEING “COOPERATIVE AND UNDERSTANDING” TO ENABLE THE DISTRICT TO  OPEN FOR 4 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS NOW WITHOUT HAVING A MAJOR PROBLEMS
• ASKED WHAT THE BIGGEST ISSUE IS, DR. RICCA SAID THAT IF SOMEONE IN THE FAMILY SHOWS SIGNS OF BEING ILL WITH SYMPTOMS OF COVID, STUFFY NOSE FEVER THEY SHOULD NOT SEND THEIR OTHER CHILDREN TO SCHOOL UNTIL THE ILL MEMBER OF THE FAMILY IS TESTED.
• DR. RICCA SAYS WHAT HAPPENS IS  IF THE MEMBER OF THE FAMILY WHO IS ILL TESTS POSITIVE, THE CHILD YOU SEND TO SCHOOL EXPOSES THEIR WHOLE CLASS TO COVID. SO PARENTS HAVE TO BE VIGILANT  AND KEEP THEIR HEALTHY CHILD OR CHILDREN HOME UNTIL THE ILL FAMILY MEMBER IS TESTED NEGATIVE.
• DR. RICCA SAID 86% OF WHITE PLAINS TEACHERS ADMINISTRATION AND STAFF HAVE BEEN VACCINATED THANKS TO WESTCHESTER COUNTY AND THE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT FACILITATING VACCINATION APPOINTMENTS.
• COMPLIANCE BY STUDENTS WITH MASKING AND SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES HAS BEEN EXCELLENT ESPECIALLY IN THE HIGH SCHOOL.
• LOOKING FORWARD HE SAID THAT THERE WILL BE GRADUATION CEREMONIES AT LOUCKS FIELD FOR SENIORS AND MIDDLE SCHOOL AND WILL NOT BE AT THE COUNTY CENTER

HE REPORTED THAT ASSESSMENT TESTS AND REGENTCES WILL BE ADMINISTERED BUT WILL NOT COUNT TOWARDS GRADUATING OR MOVING TO THE NEXT GRADE. HE ADDED THAT PARENTS CAN DECLINE TO HAVE THEIR CHILDREN TAKE THE TESTS WITH ABSOLUTELY NO PENALTY OR NEGATIVELY AFFECTING THEIR CHILD’S PROGRESS..

HE SAID ALL GRADES WILL BE AUTOMATICALLLY MOVED TO THE NEXT LEVEL AND NOT HELD BACK BECAUSE OF CURRENT YEAR PERFORMANCE.

HE EMPHASIZED “THIS HAS NOT BEEN A LOST YEAR” FOR WHITE PLAINS STUDENTS.

DR. RICCA PROMISED A “ROBUST SUMMER SCHOOL. SOME STUDENTS WILL BE MANDATED TO ATTEND A SUMMER SCHOOL TO UPGRADE THEIR COMPREHENSION OF THE CURRENT YEAR MATERIAL. HE ADDED THAT PARENTS FEELING THEIR STUDENTS NEED MORE ENHANCEMENT AND REVIEW CAN DECIDE TO HAVE THEIR CHILD ATTEND SUMMER SCHOOL VOLUNTARILY. THEY SHOULD DISCUSS THIS OPTION WITH THE PRINCIPAL AND GUIDANCE COUNSELOR AND TEACHERS.

HE SAID REALISTICALLY THE SCHOOLS EXPECT AND ARE PLANNING FOR INCREASED TIME DEVOTED TO REMEDIATION FOR STUDENTS WHEN SCHOOL STARTS UP AGAIN IN THE FALL

I ASKED HIM ABOUT THE SCHOOL AID EXPECTED TO COME FROM THE AMERICAN RECOVERY ACT . DR. RICCA SAID THE SCHOOL HAS NOT BEN INFORMED EXACTLY HOW MUCH AID IS COMING AND WHAT THE RESTRICTIONS ON HOW IT CAN BE SPENT ARE. HE SAID THE MONEY WOULD BE SPENT ON FACILITIES AS LONG TERM ONE-SHOT INVESTMENTS THAT WOULD NOT REQUIRE INCREASED TAXES IF THE AID IS CUT BACK IN FUTURE YEARS

HE MADE A POINT THAT WHAT HAS MADE THE RETURN TO INCLASS INSTRUCTION ACROSS ALL GRADES SUCCESSFUL IS THE FACULTY STAFF AND INTERACTIONS HAS BEEN TO BE AS SUPPORTIVE AND SYMPATHETIC AS POSSIBLE TO FACILITATE THE RETURN EXPERIENCE. HE SAID HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS MIDDLE AND ELEMENTARY STUDENTS HAVE STEPPED UP AND BEEN VERY COMPLIANT WITH PROTOCOLS.

ON ANOTHER POSITIVE NOTE—THE RATE OF INFECTION CONTINUES AT SLIGHTLY LESS THAN 3% ACROSS WESTCHESTER COUNTY THROUGH SUNDAY THE FIRST TIME IT HAS BEEN CONSISENTLY THAT LOW SINCE NOVEMBER 1. IN FACT THE INFECTION RATE SATURDAY WAS 2.3%–IT HAS NOT BEEN THAT LOW FOR 5-1/2 MONTHS.

THE SUPERINTENDENT SAID THE PROPOSED SCHOOL BUDGET INCREASES TAXES 1.3% AND DOES NOT INCLUDE AND OF THE INCREASED STATE AID AS AN ONGOING EXPENSE.

DENNIS YOU CAN WATCH THE COMPLETE INTERVIEW WITH DR. RICCA ON WHITE PLAINS TV THURSDAY 8 PM AND SATURDAY 7 PM ON PEOPLE TO HEARD COUNTYWIDE ON FIOS CHANNEL 45 AND IN WHITE PLAINS ON OPTIMUM CHANNEL 45.”

•  The John Bailey WVOX WHITE PLAINS REPORT IS HEARD TUESDAYS AT 7:50 A.M. on the Dennis and Tonny Good Morning Westchester “The nicest two people on the radio” program on WVOX.COM, WVOX 1460 A.M..

WPCNR MEDIA NEWS. From Brian Kenney, Director, White Plains Public Library. April 15, 2021:

At last night’s meeting of the Board of Trustees, it was decided that the Library building would open to the public effective Thursday, April 29.
Some facts about our reopening:

• We are reopening with the exact same level of service we offered over the summer: A limited number of patrons will be welcome to browse the first floor collections and check out material, while the Trove will be open for appointments, one family at a time
• The Library hours will remain unchanged (Monday-Thursday, 10 am to 7 pm, Friday and Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, closed Sunday)
• Our Grab & Go service will end close of business, Wednesday, April 28. Effective Thursday, April 29 we will revert to having a Holds collection; as was true in the past, patrons will need to come into the building and check out holds material themselves
• All staff and patrons must abide by the protective practices outlined in the Addendum to our Code of Conduct.  Please review the Addendum. We remain committed to everyone wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing.

I will schedule a Town Hall meeting for Monday to answer questions regarding this reopening as well as to discuss the next fiscal year, beginning July 1.

Finally, on behalf of the Board and myself, a big thank you for everyone’s efforts at providing excellent services and programs this past year. It has truly been extraordinary. As part of developing a strategic plan, we have been interviewing patrons and collecting information through the survey on our website. Time and again, patrons have expressed their thanks for all you have succeeded in accomplishing throughout this difficult year. These three patrons said it best:

I am very pleased with how the library staff responded to the pandemic and developed tools for the public to use — to stay connected, to continue to be library patrons, to read, to listen, to learn. Some people needed resources for home schooling. The staff was great. The staff is great.

I love the White Plains Library. The staff is always polite and helpful. I really appreciate that the library found ways to accommodate lending books & providing programs during the pandemic. Thanks to your commitment to serving the community, I was able to enjoy good books during the pandemic. Thank you White Plains Library Staff, keep up the great work!

The library has done an amazing job responding to COVID. The expanded access to online streaming and materials, the zoom author discussions and classes, and the incredible responsiveness of the team have all been fantastic! THANK YOU!!!