Dear Schalmont families,

Schalmont would like to share with our families our plans for Monday, April 8, when the solar eclipse will take place.

After considering a number of factors, Schalmont has decided to cancel school Monday, April 8. We will use one of the days we would normally use for a snow day, which we have not had to use this school year due to the mild winter.

While much of the solar eclipse will take place after dismissal, we know some of our families may have concerns as the eclipse should peak locally around 3:26 p.m. when many of our elementary students will be on school buses.

Canceling school for the day will also allow families the opportunity to enjoy the solar eclipse, either locally where the Capital Region will experience a 97% eclipse or by traveling north to areas that will experience a total solar eclipse. We urge our families to please take all the necessary precautions by using special eclipse glasses or other methods to view the eclipse (additional info available here).

Our 9th grade field trip to Paul Smith’s College will continue as planned with more than 200 students signing up for an opportunity to experience a total solar eclipse. We thank our teachers who spent months planning this amazing opportunity for our students and appreciate their desire to proceed with the trip despite the cancellation of school.

Please know that we understand canceling school can be a hardship for many of our Schalmont families who have to make childcare arrangements or miss work. However, one of the biggest challenges for us is that so many other area school districts have decided to cancel school that day. We are concerned about our ability to adequately staff our schools on April 8 as many of our teachers and staff who have children in other areas school districts will need to be home with their children. Without enough staffing to ensure proper supervision and a meaningful day of instruction, we believe a full or half day of school is simply not possible.

We thank our families for your understanding and if you have any questions, please email me at treardon@schalmont.net.

Thank you.

Dr. Thomas Reardon
Superintendent