Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Capital Region Independent Media the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk school district is finalizing its reopening plan for the 2021-22 school year. Students and staff are preparing to return after a year of hybrid instruction, rotating students between virtual and in-person learning, designed to prevent the transmission of the COVID-19 virus. In the upcoming school year, RCS students will return to the classroom full-time. “We have been strategizing how we will provide quality instruction while keeping our students and staff safe,” district Superintendent Brian Bailey said in a letter to families on Aug. 23. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Aug. 24 mandated face masks indoors while on school grounds and buses, regardless of vaccination status, and face coverings outdoors are currently optional. Physical distancing will continue to be practiced in the district as the new school year begins, but recommendations by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been reduced from six feet to three feet. “The updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control has identified that social distancing at three feet will be acceptable in most situations,” Bailey said in the letter. “This will be helpful as we set up our classrooms. Day-to-day logistics such as arrival, dismissal, lunches, travel between classes, and the use or sharing of materials are being examined so that our schools may operate smoothly while maintaining a sense of community and normalcy." Students will return to their usual buildings when school begins September 8. Bus transportation will return to full capacity for the 2021-22 school year and masks must be worn at all times by everyone on the bus, according to the district. Windows will be opened, weather permitting, to increase air circulation and to discourage the potential spread of the coronavirus. Read the full story in the Ravena News-Herald.