A teacher at St. James Elementary School was confirmed with COVID-19, but district officials say they're taken every precaution for reopening. Photo from Google Maps
For one staff member in the Smithtown Central School District, the beginning of the school year has been put on pause.
Mark Secaur, deputy superintendent, sent out a letter Sept. 2 to notify the community that earlier that day the district was notified of a St. James Elementary School staff member who tested positive for the coronavirus.
According to the letter, the person was last in the building Aug. 27. In accordance with the district’s reopening plan, the case was reported to the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, which will investigate and initiate contract tracing.
“Remember that our best chance to limit the spread of this virus is to work together and follow appropriate New York State Department of Health guidance,” Secaur wrote.
Two other districts on Long Island, namely Islip and Bellmore-Merrick, have also announced they had teachers who were confirmed with COVID-19 before the school year’s start.
Smithtown students are set to be back in school Sept. 9. Click here for more on Smithtown’s hybrid learning plan.
Parents and children rally in front of the Smithtown school district’s administration office Aug 20. Many in the community are asking for five full days of in-person instruction. Photo by Rita J. Egan
Smithtown families are keeping their eyes on district administrators.
Parents and children rallied in front of the Smithtown school district’s administration office Aug 20. Many in the community are asking for five full days of in-person instruction. Photo by Rita J. Egan
Two dozen parents and children gathered in front of the Smithtown administration building on Jericho Turnpike and New York Avenue for the fourth time in a month Aug. 27. The families were representing the Facebook group Smithtown Parents Watchdog Group: Holding our Board of Education and Administration Accountable! The group was formerly known as Open up Branch Brook and Nesconset El! which was initially started to persuade the Smithtown board of education to reopen up the closed elementary schools. The parents are in support of five days in person for K-12 and believe the opening up of the two elementary schools would allow for proper social distancing, even though the district has stated that it would not. Currently, Smithtown Central School District students will start the school year off following a hybrid model where they will spend two or three days a week in-school and the other days learning remotely.
The Facebook group’s founder, Stacy Murphy, said the group members feel there are other issues to keep their eyes on and decided to change the Facebook group name. The timing of the Aug. 27 rally was to coincide with the board’s Zoom meeting at the same time. Murphy said parents have been frustrated that the board members won’t agree to an in-person meeting even though gatherings of 50 people are allowed, and the attendees could socially distance in a room that can hold 2,000 people.
“They’re using what our country went through, and our state went through, to be their shield of defense to hide,” she said, adding she wonders how much longer they can hold solely virtual board meetings.
Murphy said she feels that with the increased number of parents getting involved more will vote in school board elections and run for the board themselves next year. The mother said another issue parents have is that students will be required to bring their Chromebooks back and forth from home to school.
“You’re telling me when my second- and fifth-grader are in class they’re going to have their face in a screen again, because 50% of the time isn’t enough?” she said. “I want them writing and looking at their teacher’s face and their classmates.”
Murphy and others are asking the district to have a benchmark date for considering when schools can go to a five-day plan.
Parents and children rally in front of the Smithtown school district’s administration office Aug 20. Many in the community are asking for five full days of in-person instruction. Photo by Rita J. Egan
Republican state Senate candidate Mario Mattera stopped by the rally. He said his family, especially his daughter, who is a senior and captain of the kickline team, is upset when they hear surrounding districts such as Three Village and Hauppauge have a five full-day in-person option. He said he believes students need interactions with teachers and friends, and with parents and school administrators working together, in-person can be accomplished safely. He added he worries that children will fall behind in their studies or suffer emotionally.
“Our educators are doing a great job, but it’s not the same unless you’re in that classroom,” he said.
As a parent, Mattera echoed Murphy’s sentiments that the hope is the board will closely evaluate the situation and offer full in-person classes sooner rather than later.
Parents rallied in front of the building once again Sept. 1 to protest the school’s updated mask policy. In an Aug. 31 letter to the district community, families were notified that masks would now be required all day, even when social distancing is capable. Signed by Russell Stewart, interim superintendent, and Mark Secaur, deputy superintendent, the letter stated that mask breaks would be provided and there would be partitions to every student desk.
“We will be monitoring our processes and reviewing feedback and data daily,” Stewart and Secaur wrote. “Additionally, we are convening an advisory committee to look back at regular intervals and make recommendations for transitioning to a full return to school for all students.”
Police are seeking a woman for allegedly stealing from an East Northport Store. Photo from SCPD
Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police 2nd Precinct Crime Section officers are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate a woman who allegedly stole merchandise from an East Northport store in August.
A woman allegedly stole miscellaneous items from Ocean State Job Lot, located at 3083 East Jericho Turnpike Aug. 14.
Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward for information that leads to an
arrest. Anyone with information about this incident can contact Suffolk County Crime
Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-220-TIPS, utilizing a mobile app
which can be downloaded through the App Store or Google Play by searching P3 Tips, or
online at www.P3Tips.com. All calls, text messages and emails will be kept confidential.
Last week, the Town of Huntington announced the Long Island Power Authority agreed to provide an additional $3 million
to the town if a settlement were to go through. The money is in addition to the proposed settlement for the Northport Power Station tax certiorari case, according to a town press release.
After an Aug. 10 town public forum held at Heckscher Park, LIPA agreed to extend the deadline for the town to accept the latest settlement proposal on the Northport Power Station tax certiorari litigation to Thursday, Sept. 3, when the town will hold a public hearing via Zoom on the issue.
After the hearing, the board will vote on the settlement. According to town and LIPA officials, the additional $3 million is to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on Huntington residents.
“We recognize the challenge of the pandemic on the town’s finances and have accommodated their request for additional assistance in the first three years of the settlement,” LIPA officials said in an email statement. “The Northport-East Northport school board voted overwhelmingly to settle this long-standing litigation, and we believe we have made a fair offer for the town to move forward.”
Town Supervisor Chad Lupinacci (R) said in the release that the $3 million in additional payments will be made by LIPA to the town of $1 million per year in 2021 through 2023.
“While we were fortunate to be in a strong financial position when COVID-19 hit, the long-term impacts of this unprecedented economic crisis on our local economy and future government operations are not fully known,” the supervisor said.
Councilman Mark Cuthbertson (D) said he would continue to analyze the settlement “but any money that will go to the taxpayers is certainly a welcome development.”
Councilwoman Joan Cergol (D) said the money will soften any financial impacts of COVID-19 “and is certainly worthy of consideration in helping to protect and preserve vital town services and programs that our residents depend on and deserve, especially during these, and continuing difficult times.”
The proposed deal would reduce LIPA’s annual tax bill on the Northport power plant from $86 million to $46 million by 2027.
The public hearing will start at 6 p.m. on Sept. 3. Public comment may be submitted ahead of the forum at huntingtonny.gov/lipa-forum. The forum will livestream on Optimum 18, FIOS 38 and at huntingtonny.gov/featured-programs, where residents may sign up to speak during the forum.
The Town Board’s vote on the LIPA proposal will take place immediately after the public forum ends, and in addition to being livestreamed on Optimum and FIOS, it can be viewed at huntingtonny.gov/meetings.
Writer Stefanie Werner, right, and her mother, Diane. Photo from Stefanie Werner
By Stefanie Werner
My mother, Diane Werner, was by far the most influential person in my life. She was a teacher for more than 30 years, most of which was spent in the social studies wing of Ward Melville High School and was the inspiration behind my career choices. During her tenure in Three Village she was a highly respected educator and mentor with a passionate nature that empowered even the most resistant student to not only show up for class, but more importantly, achieve to the best of his or her abilities. Her sudden death only five years into her retirement produced an immense outpouring of love and compassion that exemplified how much she meant to her students and the community at large.
Fast forward 14 years and we find ourselves at a crossroads in the Three Village community. In these unprecedented times, my mother’s voice echoes in my head a trillion times a day. I hear her telling me to fight for what I believe in, to advocate for my child and to use my voice to defend that which I believe to be just. As we debate the guidelines for our return to school in September, I wish that my mother was here to add her two cents —more like twenty — to the on-going deliberations. She would be confounded by the dissension that has arisen in the community regarding the safety protocols required for our school reopening plan. Her mind would be awhirl with thoughts of how parents, teachers and community members should be united in this cause, creating a universal practice, not drowning in a “you do you, I’ll do me” mindset. Mrs. Werner would be feverishly scribbling lesson plans in her college-ruled spiral notebook, all the while remaining vigilant in her pursuit to educate her students despite the nonsensical squabbling of parents over mask mandates and plastic shields. Social distancing and face shields would be no match for the force that was Diane Werner at the head of a classroom, and no one would be more determined to keep kids safe and learning.
Although most of the old guard is gone from the halls of Ward Melville High School, many of my mom’s former students are now parents in this district. A handful of her former colleagues are now administrators making the most important decisions that have ever confronted Three Village Central School District. Nineteen years may have passed since Diane Werner blissfully strolled into the sweet land of retirement, but she left behind a legacy of strength and determination the likes of which this district needs to channel right now. The students of this community, including the grandchild my mother never met, deserve a comprehensive, rock-solid plan that exemplifies the need for a safe and secure learning environment during this global pandemic. In her day there would have been no flip-flopping on mask enforcement, and no questions left dangling at board of education or district meetings. Of course, she would have appreciated the debate, she did teach You and the Law and Mock Trials after all, but in the end, the result would be the same. Mrs. Werner would pull on her orange mask (her favorite color), walk into room 239 (her footsteps were distinct), make sure that every desk was 6 feet apart and students were masked, sign-in to Google Classroom (although she preferred chalk) and rock this place like nobody’s business. I am my mother’s daughter, and I will accept nothing less than 100% for mine. And mom would have given nothing less for yours. Miss you mommy!
Stefanie Werner is a mother, teacher and social worker. She is a lifelong resident of the Three Village community and a graduate of SUNY Oneonta, Long Island University and Stony Brook University.
Harlan Fischer, above, stands by two of several pieces of artwork displayed in his Setauket office. Photo by Rita J. Egan
Setauket recently welcomed a new financial services office to the area, but the company’s president is no stranger to the Three Village community.
Fischer along with his Branch Financial Services associates Stephanie Gress and Kristen Domiano. Photo from Branch Financial Services
Harlan Fischer, president of Branch Financial Services, recently moved his offices from Smithtown to Setauket. His business, which was located on Route 111 for 25 years, and before that, for 21 years in Hauppauge, has now found a home at 21 Bennetts Road.
The Head of the Harbor resident and his wife of almost 47 years, Olivia, are known for their involvement in the art community across the North Shore, and both are familiar names at The Jazz Loft in Stony Brook. For the past three years, the couple has sponsored a monthly concert series at the music venue and museum, which is currently closed due to the coronavirus.
Loft founder Tom Manuel said the Fischers were its first donors. The musician still remembers the day in 2015 when he was in Stony Brook village performing to raise money for the renovation of the venue’s future home. He said a man with a dog walked up to him and they began talking about jazz. The man turned out to be Fischer.
“I was just thinking, ‘Wow, how interesting that there’s this guy that kind of digs what we’re trying to do,’” Manuel said. “Little did I know he’d already read about us, and he came there on purpose. I just thought he was passing by.”
He said Fischer gave him an envelope with a check inside, but Manuel didn’t open it until he was home, thinking it was maybe worth $50. Later he opened the envelope and found the check was for $1,000.
“My eyes were as big as saucers,” he said.
The Jazz Loft founder said that with Fischer’s interest in jazz and the couple’s love of art, the venue is a perfect match for them.
“They’re doing it because it’s a passion,” he said. “It’s not just that they’re looking for a place to make a tax-deductible donation.”
Fischer and his wife’s philanthropy goes beyond The Jazz Loft. While the financial adviser spends the day discussing finances with clients — people from all over Long Island as well as 26 states — his interests lie elsewhere when the workday has ended. Both he and Olivia through the decades have developed a shared love of art.
Fischer said, for him, it began after a 1988 car accident when he was hit by a drunk driver. He realized he could have been killed, and up until that point his life was mostly about work.
“All of a sudden it got me in touch with my mortality,” he said.
“All of a sudden it got me in touch with my mortality.”
— Harlan Fischer
He was talking to his physical therapist who told him about the Rotary club. Not only did he join the organization, but he also went on to become the president of Smithtown Rotary from 1997to 98. Through the Rotary he became involved in various community projects, but when a friend told him how the Smithtown Township Arts Council was looking for a board member, that’s when he found one of his true passions. Fischer told his friend he knew nothing about art, but it turned out the board was looking for a businessperson like him. Fischer decided to join and a year later became its president.
During his five-year tenure, he said he learned a lot about art, thanks to Norma Cohen, who was director of the council back then. He and his wife began collecting artwork, especially contemporary studio art glass pieces that fill the couple’s Head of the Harbor home.
Olivia Fischer said the couple’s interest in art grew together and the two began raising money for various organizations, including hosting fundraisers in their home.
Through the years, the Fischers have been members of many art organizations as well as sponsored many events. Among their philanthropic activities have been being members of The Long Island Museum’s Directors Advisory Circle and sponsoring the East End Arts Music Masters Mentorship Program for high schoolers. The financial adviser is also a former board president of the Art League of Long Island, and in 2000, he was named The Times of Smithtown Man of the Year in Business.
In addition to their work in the world of the arts, the Fischers have rescued dogs and are in the process of adopting their 11th one. In late 2018, the Town of Smithtown recognized them for their $7,600 donation which enabled the Smithtown Animal Shelter to build a dog park that bears their name, the Olivia and Harlan Fischer Recreational and Development Park. The Fischers have also backed Little Shelter Animal Rescue’s annual Pet-A-Palooza in Huntington.
Fischer, who is in his early 70s, said he feels 10 years younger and has no plans to retire, especially in his new office that features some of his art collection. He added that he’s fortunate to work with good people too, which helps with leading a busy life.
“I can’t ask for more than that,” he said.
Success and enjoyment in life are something he believes people find when they feel passionate about what they are doing. He also believes in good timing, which has become a common theme in his life not only with finding ways to give back but also in his career life.
After spending four years in the Air Force and almost a year in Vietnam, he wound up in retail despite having an engineering degree from Northeastern University. He was running the Levitz Furniture & Showroom in Farmingdale when he told someone he no longer wanted to be in retail, and it was recommended he consider the financial field.
“Timing is everything in life,” he said. “Just being at the right place at the right time and saying the right thing. You make a right turn instead of a left turn, your whole life can be different.”
A drone view of Lake Avenue. Photo from Town of Smithtown
For St. James residents, navigating Lake Avenue this summer has been a bit tricky due to road closures as the revitalization of the thoroughfare has been underway the last
few months.
Currently, drivers along Lake Avenue will find a road closure by the railroad station, above. Photo by Rita J. Egan
Despite the road closures, much of the work along the roadway has been completed before schedule due to many more staying at home during the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this summer, the Town of Smithtown announced that the Lake Avenue Revitalization Project was about eight to nine months ahead of schedule.
In 2018, a chunk of the town’s capital budget was assigned to the St. James downtown business district improvements, with $4.6 million in bonds set aside for the revitalization of Lake Avenue, of which more than $2 million was to be used to fund water main replacement.
At the end of July, work on the sewer line and water main was nearly completed but temporarily stalled at the intersection of Lake and Railroad avenues as the town waited for permit approval from the MTA to work on the section that is underneath the railroad tracks. Smithtown spokesperson Nicole Garguilo said that the MTA has approved the work, and the sewer line and water main installation are estimated to be completed before Labor Day, Sept. 7.
The sewer line currently will not be hooked up, even though if approved by the township, the proposed Gyrodyne Sewer Treatment Plant, on the Flowerfield property on Route 25A, could possibly be connected to the new sewer lines in St. James.
Parts of the avenue saw the completion of new sidewalks this year, above. Photo from Paul Rosano/Facebook page Voices of St. James
Additional work along the avenue has included decorative crosswalks, new drainage systems, sidewalks and concrete curb work. Lake Avenue is also being repaved and concrete had to be dug out in some spots before new gravel and asphalt were put down. The paving job is projected to be completed north of the railroad tracks before the new school year begins. As for the rest of Lake, repavement will be conducted block by block and should be done by October.
Once the roadwork is completed, Victorian ornamental street signage will be added and utility companies will remove old poles and replace them with new ones.
Garguilo said once the town receives approval from Suffolk County for the intergovernmental purchase of the former Irish Viking bar, work can begin on a new park and off-the-street parking lot at the location.
The town has recognized the headaches the construction has caused, but the administration is excited about the upcoming completion. Garguilo said the value the work gives back to the community as well as businesses in the near future will be “crystal clear.”
“All will be forgiven when people see the finished project,” Garguilo said.
Staff members and volunteers at Frank Melville Memorial Park often have found animals with hooks caught in wings, beaks and legs, such as the swan above. Photo from Frank Melville Memorial Park
At Frank Melville Memorial Park, remnants of fishing gear have created a nuisance that has led to wildlife injuries and even death, even though the activity isn’t allowed at the private park.
Recently, a cygnet, above, drowned after becoming entangled in fishing line. Photos from Frank Melville Memorial Park
Recently, park personnel discovered a dead cygnet in the millpond. The young swan was pulled from the water, and it was entangled in a fishing line with a large lure hooked into its neck. Anita Jo Lago, the park’s wildlife coordinator, said most likely the cygnet, after becoming entangled in the fishing line, drowned.
“It was a rainy day so I think that’s what delayed people seeing it,” Lago said. “Finally, when the rain stopped, we had a park visitor who saw it and reported it. If it was a sunny day, we would have known earlier and maybe have been able to untangle it before it drowned.”
Lago called the death of the cygnet, who was just about to learn how to fly, horrific.
“It was so avoidable just with help and courtesy from fishers,” she said. “Please don’t fish, and when you do, have some responsibility.”
Lago visits the pond every day to check on the wildlife. The incident isn’t the first time that animals were injured after fishers left gear behind. Lago said there have been snapping turtles with lines around their necks and hooks up their noses. Many of the creatures also have ingested hooks and lure, and she said two years ago a heron’s leg was amputated from a line. Geese have been found wrapped in netting, and dogs regularly step on hooks during walks around the park. One time a cygnet’s chest was sliced by a fishing line to the point where the internal organs could be seen. She added that when ingested, fishing lines move up and down and sever an animal’s intestines.
“When bobbins are laying on top of the water, the cygnets go and they eat them,” she said. “They think they’re toys or food.”
The staff has conducted cleanups to rid the pond of debris and posted signs in the park and messages on social media forbidding fishing, but Lago said the fishers keep coming into the park to fish. She said the millpond is only 2 or 3 feet deep, which isn’t as deep as the average pond, so it means fishing lines just sit on top. Line also gets tangled in tree branches that she said are difficult to reach from land or even in a boat.
“I get very anxious when I see the wildlife swimming in that area, and they’re so fast,” she said. “They think that the lure is a leaf or piece of vegetation.”
At one time, fishing was allowed in FMMP. Kerri Glynn, director of education for the park, said in 2005 Phil Brady, at the time a junior in Ward Melville High School, asked her if the park could start an educational program to teach Boy Scouts how to fish responsibly, including keeping track of and cleaning up one’s gear.
“We had a fishing club run by a wonderful young man, and it definitely kept people on the straight and narrow for several years but then we started having these issues,” Glynn said.
She added that after Brady went to college, the club lasted a while longer but then ran its course. It was then that board members decided to prohibit fishing at the park, once again, due to lure and filament accumulating, and they would try to guide people to other spots where they could fish. She said it seems as if many fishers aren’t paying attention to what they leave behind.
Staff members and volunteers at Frank Melville Memorial Park often have found animals with hooks caught in wings, beaks and legs, such as the swan above. Photo from Frank Melville Memorial Park
“We were always aware it was problematic,” the park’s education director said. “We tried to deal with it in a responsible way, and in a way that allowed people to continue to fish as long as they were responsible fishermen. That didn’t happen. They just took advantage and didn’t pay attention to the rules or anything else, so that’s why we had to shut it down.”
John Turner, a local environmentalist and former director of Brookhaven Town’s Division of Environmental Protection, said he has seen similar situations on Long Island.
He said at many fishing locations such as Stony Brook, Port Jefferson and Mount Sinai harbors as well as West Meadow Beach there are filament receptacles. While fishing isn’t allowed at FMMP and there are therefore no containers, fishers can hold on to discarded fishing lines and then dispose of them the next time they go to one of the other locations. Turner said the filament is then collected and recycled into new fishing line.
He added that, besides a fisher disposing filament properly, there are ways to decrease the odds of having fishing line and bobbins getting caught in vegetation.
“It’s being aware of the environment around you and putting yourself in a place to fish that’s not likely to cause any entanglements or snares,” he said.
Turner said when people come across an animal in distress to try to move it to a quiet and sheltered place if possible and then call a wildlife rehabilitation center. He said it’s possible to help a small bird when a line is around its beak or limb by calming down the animal, holding the beak and cutting the line.
He added that it’s frustrating that many feel they don’t need to follow the rules of private parks such as FMMP when the foundation’s board is serving the community by making the grounds available to the public.
“These regulations and rules are put together thoughtfully and with recognizing that you’re trying to balance sometimes competing activities, competing uses, and you’re trying to strike a balance,” he said. “If the foundation says that fishing is not an activity that’s appropriate then the public needs to really respect that and not just decide to do what they want to do.”
The park’s board has asked that if people see anyone fishing in the park to call 631-689-7054.
After an Aug. 10 Town of Huntington public forum held at Heckscher Park, Long Island Power Authority agreed to extend the deadline for the town to accept the latest settlement proposal on the Northport Power Station tax certiorari litigation to Sept. 3.
“After receiving assurances from LIPA that the Aug. 11 deadline to accept the latest settlement proposal on the Northport power plant tax certiorari litigation would be extended to Sept. 3, the Town Board rescheduled both the second public forum on the LIPA proposal and the special Town Board meeting where they will vote on the offer for Thursday, Sept. 3,” a statement from the town read.
The second public forum on the proposal was originally scheduled for Sept. 16, and the Town Board meeting to vote was Sept. 29. Back in July, town Supervisor Chad Lupinacci (R) said he had hoped scheduling the two public forums and vote, despite being after the original deadline, would show LIPA “that they know all parties involved are serious and we are vetting this agreement out.” In turn, the goal was for LIPA to extend the settlement proposal deadline. While LIPA officials said in a statement they believe their offer is fair, they agreed it made sense to work with the town.
“LIPA’s settlement is a fair compromise, and it is the only option that will continue low taxes for the Northport community, protect Huntington residents from over $800 million of potential tax refunds, and begin the transition to a sustainable tax base and clean energy future for all Long Island residents,” a statement from LIPA read. “We believe the Huntington Town Board made a good faith effort with their decision to provide a second public forum, along with a vote on the Northport Power Station settlement agreement on Sept. 3. Because of this, LIPA has agreed to extend the terms of our settlement offer through the board’s Sept. 3 meeting.”
The proposed deal, which was approved by the Northport-East Northport school board last month, would reduce LIPA’s annual tax bill on the Northport power plant from $86 million to $46 million by 2027. The tax impact on residents would be lessened compared to the implications of a court verdict in LIPA’s favor, though several local state officials and candidates have decried what they see as LIPA’s attempts to reduce their own tax burden at the expense of homeowners.
Lupinacci said in an email statement Aug. 20 that a ruling against the town would not only devastate the school district but the whole town.
“Our residents and businesses cannot afford that type of financial loss, especially with how we have been hit by the COVID-19 crisis,” he said. “We requested litigation be paused during the pandemic and LIPA rejected that request; now time is running out for us to make a decision. I came into office in 2018 and promised to fight for a better deal than was on the table; we achieved that and then some, including terms no other municipality has ever received from LIPA in a tax certiorari litigation, thanks to the vigorous advocacy of our legal team on behalf of our residents. This deal protects us against tax challenges during the entire seven-year term of the deal, which could be extended to protect us for 12 years, and LIPA has agreed to pay $14.5 million directly to the Northport-East Northport School District, which is an unprecedented offer of funding that could be used to help preserve educational programs while the district plans for its future and offset potential tax increases to residents.”
The Sept. 3 public forum will begin at 6 p.m. and will occur entirely online using a Zoom video conferencing platform. Public comments can be submitted ahead of the forum at huntingtonny.gov/lipa-forum. The Aug. 11 forum video can be viewed on the town’s website, huntingtonny.gov.
Many students in Huntington’s North Shore school districts will experience a mix of in-person and online learning to start off the school year.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) gave the green light for schools to reopen come September during a media call Aug. 7.
“You look at the infection rate — we are probably in the best situation in the country,” Cuomo said.
The governor recommended that school districts offer community discussion to find common ground for families and teachers. School districts in New York state were required to submit reopening plans by July 31 unless administrators filed for an extension.
Huntington Union Free School District
In a July 31 letter to Huntington school district families, Superintendent James Polansky said the 2020-21 academic year would begin with a hybrid model where students would be assigned to cohorts in each school. Each cohort will have days when they attend school in person and when they study remotely. Kindergarteners, however, will attend every day.
“The plan is set to work in ‘phases,’ which will support the incremental shift to more frequent in-school learning for a greater number of students at times when it is safe to do so,” Polansky said in the letter. “Recognizing the concern on the part of some families regarding those medically at risk or experiencing anxiety in the household, we will also offer the option of a full remote (distance learning) program.”
Out of 1,692 parents surveyed earlier this summer, in-school learning was slightly more preferred than a hybrid model, and more than 20% preferred in-school over remote learning.
According to the district’s reopening plan, students in grades 1-6 will be separated alphabetically into two groups. Those with last names starting with A to K will attend school Tuesdays and Wednesdays, while those with last names L through Z will go to classes in person Thursdays and Fridays. The cohorts will alternate attending school on Mondays.
Finley Middle School and Huntington High School students will return to school one or two days per week in four separate cohorts. When not physically in school, students will learn virtually with teachers livestreaming their instruction and mirroring the same in-school, period-by-period schedule.
The superintendent added in the July letter that classrooms and other spaces were set up to maintain the required 6 feet of social distancing. Students will be required to wear masks but will have mask breaks during the day. Learning spaces will also include translucent barriers to help prevent the spread of aerosol particles.
Families are required to take their child’s temperature before the student leaves home, according to the reopening plan, and the parent or guardian will also be required to answer screening questions on an electronic application. Staff members will be required to do the same before they report to their buildings.
Northport-East Northport Union Free School District
Superintendent Rob Banzer wrote in an Aug. 2 letter to the community that a team of administrators and teachers created plans for three different possible scenarios. The plans included an in-person option, the continuation of 100% remote learning and a hybrid approach. The district was given an extension by the state to submit its recommended plan by Aug. 7 instead of the original deadline of July 31.
After Cuomo’s Aug. 7 announcement that school buildings could open, the district decided to go ahead with its hybrid plan. According to the reopening plan, all students will be divided into two cohorts, blue and gold. Students in the blue group will attend school in person on Mondays and Thursdays, while the gold group will report to buildings Tuesdays and Fridays. Remote learning will take place when they are not in school. Special education classes and English language learners will attend school every day but Wednesday.
“I cannot emphasize enough the importance of flexibility, adaptability and resiliency as we move towards the opening of school,” Banzer wrote.
All students and staff members will be required to complete a daily health-screening questionnaire, according to the plan. In addition to students and staff members being asked to distance at least 6 feet, there will be physical barriers in some cases. The plan also includes that masks will be worn on buses and when 6 feet of distance cannot be maintained. In addition to meals, students will not have to wear masks when sitting 6 feet apart in classrooms.
Commack Union Free School District
While elementary school students will attend school every day in person, secondary students will be in buildings every other day. The recommended plan depended on the district resolving transportation issues, which according to the Commack schools’ website, was accomplished recently.
The district offered families to opt out of transportation for the upcoming school year. The number of riders needed to be reduced was 50% to allow all elementary students to attend school daily, according to the district’s reopening plans.
“The Commack School District is committed to bringing all elementary students back into their school buildings this fall,” the plan read. “Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the number of elementary school riders by 50%. If we fail to reduce our elementary ridership by 50%, elementary students will not be able to attend ‘brick and mortar school’ daily, and students would attend every other day engaging in remote learning on the days they are not in a school building.”
Currently, buses that usually seat 64 can only transport 22 to allow for social distancing.
Elementary school students in Commack will be divided into groups A and B, with A taking core classes in the morning and then lunch and gym, art and other enrichment classes in the afternoon. The B group’s schedule will be the opposite.
High school and middle school students will have capacity in the building reduced to 50% and students will attend schools on alternating days. There is also a plan for teachers to change classrooms instead of students to minimize traffic in hallways. An every other day school schedule will be applied where the A group will attend school Monday, Wednesday and Friday on the first week and Tuesday and Thursday the next week. Students in the B group will attend Tuesday and Thursday the first week and Monday, Wednesday and Friday the second week.
Students will be required to wear masks when not seated at their desks and every desk will have a plastic sneeze guard. According to the district’s Q&A on its website, parents and guardians are encouraged to take children’s temperatures at home and will complete an attestation on a COVID app confirming that their child does not have a temperature above 100 degrees. Students’ temperatures will also be taken upon arrival at school with a temperature scanner.
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