Bellerose Elementary might be closing in Northport School District. Photo by Lina Weingarten
Members of the Northport-East Northport Board of Education discussed their opinions and preferences surrounding the district’s proposed future plan, ultimately approving a motion to implement one of the scenarios in the 2021-2022 school year.
In a Dec. 3 virtual board meeting and workshop, the board unanimously approved a motion to implement Adapted Scenario A for the upcoming year — which involves closing Dickinson Avenue and Bellerose Avenue elementary schools. According to the Northport-East Northport district website, it also converts the remaining four elementary schools to grades K-4, and both middle schools will house grades 5-8. The high school remains the same, with grades 9-12.
“The priority throughout this entire process, going back over a year ago now, was to maintain the diversity and excellence of the educational program, and that includes class size goals,” Superintendent Robert Banzer said at the meeting.
The front of Dickinson Elementary School. Photo by Lina Weingarten
Scenario A was developed in consultation with the SES Study Team, which began in June 2019, and reviewed by the Community Advisory Committee. Since its inception, Banzer said, the district heard from nearly 1,900 participants within the community, after asking what priorities the district should consider throughout their planning.
“I do want to thank everybody for your participation in this process and giving us and the board the opportunity to hear from you,” he said.
According to the district, the savings that could be saved from utilizing Scenario A would be between $5.2-6.6 million.
The board also decided that the Brosnan building will continue to house administration unless a guaranteed buyer purchases the building, which would generate significant funds.
This planning process was implemented to create a “roadmap” for future decisions surrounding the district in a cost-effective way but will continue to benefit students and members of the community.
The district also noted on their website that many factors influenced the decision to implement the Future Study — primarily declining enrollment and the pending LIPA settlement.
They stated that since 2014, district enrollment has declined significantly from 5,748 students in the 2014-2015 school years, to 5,138 in the 2019-2020 school year. The decrease of 610 pupils equates to a -10.6% change over the past six years.
According to the district’s website, the LIPA suit settlement, agreed upon by the Town of Huntington Board in September 2020, will result in a reduction of LIPA’s tax payments to the district from $86 million to $46 million over the next seven years. This settlement will result in an increase in property tax payments for community home and business owners. The Future Study will help to mitigate this increase.
Local school districts are still maintaining low COVID-19 numbers, while the rest of Suffolk County is nearing 6% in some areas. According to district leadership, that’s because schools have been constantly evolving their plans to keep students, staff and the community safe.
Centereach High School in the Middle Country School District. The district superintendent is just one of many continuing to keep students safe. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Middle Country school district covers a large jurisdiction, Dr. Roberta Gerold, superintendent of schools, said. In non-COVID times, there are roughly 11,000 students within the district, though now approximately 7,500 are in buildings due to hybrid and remote learning options. The district has only had 102 positive COVID cases since the start of school, a 1.3% infection rate — with 52 of those cases coming from Thanksgiving break.
“We have such strong guidelines we’re containing it, not spreading it,” she said. “We know where [students and staff have] been and who they’ve been with.”
Like all the other districts, students are required to wear a mask at all times, except during mask breaks. Social distancing has been implemented with barriers on desks, and teachers are asked to keep their windows and doors open.
If a student is showing symptoms, they are immediately placed into an isolation room and brought home.
But that barely happens, according to Gerold. “The community is doing a good job because they’re not sending us positive kids,” she said. “We’re not getting a lot of cases in the schools.”
Ronald Masera, president of the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association, said that over the summer, local superintendents began putting together plans to better prepare their districts.
“When the pandemic started, there was a feeling of uncertainty,” he said. “But now what we’ve found is we could place a great deal on social distancing.”
Because they have been implementing and following CDC guidelines, he said they’re not seeing spread within the schools.
“Controlled environment helps keep the community safe,” he said. “Even if we see the community numbers rise, I think the government, politicians, leadership and superintendents know how important keeping schools open is.”
A representative from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) office agreed, and said the new guidelines released last month are to keep the doors of local schools open.
“We encourage them to not be closed, but to test instead,” they said.
Guidelines now require mass testing in schools in red, orange and yellow micro-cluster zones before they reopen, followed by vigilant symptom and exposure screening conducted daily. Impacted schools can reopen as early as Monday, however students and faculty must be able to provide a negative COVID-19 test result prior to going back to the classroom. New York State will provide rapid test kits for schools wishing to participate.
After a school reopens in a red or orange micro-cluster zone, vigilant symptom and exposure screening must be conducted daily. A quarter of the in-person learning school community — both students and faculty/staff — must be tested per week, and the school should ensure that it provides opportunities to test on school grounds, or otherwise facilitates testing and accepts test results from health care providers.
If the school does not hold a testing event or provide testing on school grounds, test results provided to the school as part of the 25% testing of the population must be received within seven days.
The governor’s representative said that no regions have hit the 9% emergency number, which would close the county again. Schools, however, have flexibility regarding choosing a comfortable closing percentage.
“They can use their own metrics to close down districts or schools as long as those metrics don’t go against the state mandate of 9%,” the representative said. “A lot of things are state law governed. Schools are done by the locals, and we wanted to be within the local district rules.”
The latest number of confirmed and new COVID-19 cases in the Town of Brookhaven, according to the Suffolk County Department of Health Services on Dec. 7 is 17,307, while a school district like Shoreham-Wading River has seen just a total of 43 positive tests for students and teachers/staff as at Dec. 8.
“I would like to thank our parents, staff and students for implementing the required COVID-19 health protocols this year. The daily temperature checks, health screening forms and conversations about washing hands, wearing masks properly and socially distancing have been really effective in keeping or schools open, healthy and safe,” said Superintendent Gerard Poole in an email statement. “The district is fully prepared for a shift to distance learning if a closure is mandated. We have a great distance learning plan and have already shifted this year successfully for a day or two when necessary due to COVOD-19 related school closures.“
File photo of Port Jefferson Superintendent Jessica Schmettan. Photo by Kyle Barr
Port Jefferson Superintendent Jessica Schmettan said that they are hopeful to remain on their current course, but are prepared to pivot their instructional models as directed by the governor’s office.
“Moving forward, our schools will continue to follow the guidance provided at the local, regional and state levels, including any prescribed steps needed should our area become designed a yellow, orange or red zone,” she said. “We are grateful to our students, staff and community for their unwavering support of and adherence to our initiatives. Their collective efforts have helped to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 within our schools and allowed us to keep our buildings open for in-person instruction.”
Marianne Cartisano, superintendent of Miller Place school district, said schools, to date, are the safest places for children to succeed academically, socially and emotionally.
“We are also fortunate to have the acknowledgement of social responsibility in our community, coupled with everyone’s common goal to keep schools open,” she said.
The latest number of confirmed and new COVID-19 cases in the Town of Brookhaven, according to the Suffolk County Department of Health Services on Dec. 7 is 17,307, while a school district like Three Village has seen just a total of 72 positive tests for students and teachers/staff as at Dec. 8.
“Our district continues to follow the guidance of the Department of Health Services and the Centers for Disease Control to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” Cheryl Pedisich, Three Village superintendent of schools, said. “We are fully prepared to implement any prescribed measures to keep our schools open, safe and operating in the best interest of all of our students and staff.”
Elwood school district Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Bossert said he agrees with statements made by Cuomo and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, in a recent joint press conference.
“Governor Cuomo used the words ‘amazing and astonishing’ to describe how low the infection rates are in schools as compared to many of the communities surrounding them,” Bossert said. “We agree that our schools are safe places for students, faculty and staff. The guidelines that have been put in place in collaboration with the Suffolk County Department of Health are designed to keep students and staff safe and school open.”
Bossert said in addition to mask wearing, distancing and appropriate hygiene, it’s important for those who are symptomatic or think they have been exposed to someone positive for COVID-19 to stay home.
“We are so very thankful to our parents and community members for demonstrating an understanding of the role we each play and acting out of an abundance of caution when making decisions about their children,” he said. “We are confident that we can keep students safe in our school buildings — where we know they will enjoy the greatest benefit of our instruction program, socialization with one another, and have positive interactions with their teachers.”
Smithtown school district superintendent, Mark Secaur, said he is planning for several different scenarios, including the potential of COVID testing in schools, or going back to completely remote.
“Based on the relative safety of our students and staff, providing education for those two things has been at odd at times,” he said. “But it’s the balance we have to navigate because of the pandemic.”
“We have proven that schools are safer than the outside community,” Secaur added. “Kids have been amazing. They’re excited to be with their friends again, and the kids have been more resilient than some adults.”
Amy Laverty, the previous Pre-K through 8 assistant principal, was named the new principal of the Enda Louise Spear Elementary School Dec. 8. Photo from PJSD
At its Dec. 8 meeting, the Port Jefferson school board voted to appoint a new elementary school principal to replace Thomas Meehan, who is set to retire Dec. 31
The board unanimously voted to appoint Amy Laverty as the new principal of Edna Louise Spear Elementary School on a probationary basis effective Jan. 1, 2021 with an annual salary of $138,500. Laverty previously held the position of the assistant principal for Pre-K through eighth grade.
Laverty joined Port Jeff in 2019 from the Northport-East Northport School District. Before that, she was a classroom teacher at various elementary levels in the district’s Ocean Avenue Elementary School. She has a master’s of arts in liberal studies from Stony Brook University and a bachelor’s of arts in child study and students with disabilities from St. Joseph’s College. She holds initial certification in school building leadership and professional certifications in early childhood/childhood and students with disabilities. She also received an educational leadership advanced certificate from LIU Post.
“In addition to her strong instructional and curricular background, Ms. Laverty clearly articulated her vision for the building, outlining specific goals she would like to accomplish,” Superintendent Jessica Schmettan said.
At a previous board meeting, trustees honored Meehan for his decade of service to the elementary school. Schmettan spoke highly of Meehan’s decade of service at the helm of the elementary school, citing his skills and initiatives such as instituting the school’s Grade 5 Safety Patrol Leadership Program and collaborating with the Port Jefferson Fire Department in the annual 9/11 ceremony. She also spoke of his relationships with both the Royal Educational Foundation and the PTA over the years resulting in the raised garden beds for science and nutrition lessons, a gaga ball pit for physical education and socialization, and a book vending machine which encourages reading for education and fun.
Meehan is affectionately known as “Mr. Port Jefferson.” He is a graduate of the Port Jefferson School District, as well as a member of the fire department, is a part of the beach community and regularly hikes around the village. But most importantly, he is lauded for his commitment to the students of the district.
“It’s always about our students,” Schmettan said. “He knows all of our elementary children and their families by name.”
She added that he isn’t afraid to jump into the gaga ball pit, shoot a few hoops, examine a science project, join in on a music lesson, direct a bus, investigate a furnace or read a class a book.
“He truly is a master of all talents,” she said.
Schmettan and the board presented him with a gift and applauded his leadership
and service.
“It was an honor for me to be principal,” Meehan said. “It meant so much to me and my family.”
Unlike other neighboring districts, Comsewogue is holding off on plans to bring more kids into school until late February or early March, citing the steadily increasing COVID-19 numbers on Long Island.
Superintendent Jennifer Quinn said the decision was made partially based on a survey released to both parents and students as well as by the reopening committee that comprises staff, parents and students. She said the Suffolk County Department of Health also suggested now was not the best time for bringing in more students.
“We said since the beginning, our plan is fluid,” she said in a phone interview. The district has changed several things since schools opened in September, including accepting rapid testing where initially the district was wary of the tests’ veracity, bringing back music class, hot lunches and allowing more students to use playground equipment and have more students together during gym.
In the November survey for district residents, the results of which were posted on its website, Comsewogue got responses from a little under 750 students. Of those, 88% said their mental well-being was average or better, on a scale of 1 to 5.
As for remote work, survey results show about 40% of students spend more than three hours on remote work a day, while 30% say it’s two-to-three hours, and about a quarter of students said they spend less than that. The vast majority of students said an earlier deadline on remote assignments would not make life easier.
The district said it expects the average remote workload should be between 3.5 and 4.5 hours, excluding AP classes. District officials said the survey results show they are doing the best job they can under the circumstances.
“We don’t want our students staring at the computer screen all day,” said Jennifer Polychronakos, assistant superintendent for instruction.
A total of 40% of students said they would be comfortable returning to in-person learning without social distancing and masks, while 60% percent said “no” or “not at this time.”
The district also got responses from 160 district parents, of which almost 90% said their children are coping with current learning standards, based on a scale of 1 to 5.
Around 70% of parents said they would not like to see students return to school without masks or social distancing.
Quinn said the question was composed to effectively say the district could not hold students in-person all at once and still maintain social distancing.
Other schools are pushing ahead with reopening plans. The Port Jefferson School District has tentatively set an early January date for bringing students in for four days a week. The Rocky Point school district this week started bringing back students for four days of in-person learning.
At Comsewogue, Quinn said she and other people on the reopening committee are concerned about rising COVID infection rates and hospitalizations. Back in July, New York State set the limit that the infection rate could be at to reopen was 5%.
The superintendent cited Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, who said Sunday, Nov. 29, the U.S. was expecting a difficult Christmas time in terms of both COVID-19 infections and related deaths.
“The risk of making someone sick is a concern for us right now,” Quinn said. “You listen to Dr. Fauci who said our country might be closed — I want to keep our schools open.”
The district is hosting a board of education workshop Dec. 3 where the superintendent said in a call to parents, they will be discussing what the district will do if the area is designated a yellow zone by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), entailing 20% weekly testing of in-person students and faculty in schools. The next board meeting is scheduled for Dec. 7.
A proposed plan was introduced during the Nov. 24 board meeting to bring all students back to the classrooms full time. Photo from Smithtown Central School District
During the Nov. 24 Smithtown Central School District Board of Education meeting, which was held via Facebook Live, school board members addressed an aspirational timeline to have secondary students return to school in-person full time early next year.
Since September, middle and high school students have followed a hybrid schedule, while primary students returned to five-day, in-person classes in October. Superintendent Mark Secaur discussed the proposed plan, which is contingent on whether or not the district falls in any of the state-designated restricted yellow, orange and red zones. An area falls into one of these zones if deemed a micro-cluster due to higher infection rates than the state average.
During the meeting, Secaur said in order for schools to stay open, if the area falls in the state’s yellow zone or higher, at least 20% of students and staff would need to be tested for COVID-19.
The plan called, “The Path Towards a Full Return” includes a staggered return of secondary students to the classroom five days a week. The approach will allow the school to assess infection rates in the district and give them time to take items such as desks and other equipment out of storage.
Secaur said face coverings will still be required and mask breaks will be kept to a minimum and only when people are separated by 6 feet or more.
“We have always hoped to move toward a full return and have been consistent in sharing the parameters that could allow that to happen,” he said. “Our collective work has resulted in a safe school environment. We have complied with the expectations. All of us. And done all that is necessary to create an environment that is arguably safer than the general environment.”
He added that while there have been sporadic cases in the Smithtown school district, there has not been an outbreak.
The superintendent said the proposed plan allows for a three-week buffer between when students return from winter recess and the beginning of full-time, in-person instruction.
“With this buffer we will have a better grasp as to whether or not the virus is under control, both in and out of school settings,” Secaur said.
The superintendent added if the area is put in any of the zones, the plan will be put on hold . He added that everyone in the district needed to agree to make the sacrifices necessary.
“We must all be disciplined and make safe decisions for ourselves, our loved ones and those around us,” he said. “We know it is not easy. As Teddy Roosevelt stated, ‘Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty.’”
According to the proposed plan, students in grades 6, 9 and 12 will return Jan. 25; grades 7 and 10 Feb. 1; and grades 8 and 11 Feb. 8. A remote option will remain with live-streamed instruction and remote support.
Earlier this year, in response to hybrid learning, parents started up a Facebook group in support of all students returning to school full time. Members of Smithtown Parents Watchdog Group, formerly known as Open Up Branch Brook and Nesconset El, over the last few months have held about half-a-dozen rallies in front of the district’s administration building on Main Street and New York Avenue demanding their children be able to attend school in-person five days a week.
The members of the group were happy to hear the news during the virtual BOE meeting. In a message to TBR a few days later, the Facebook group’s founder Stacy Murphy applauded the parents’ stamina.
“We know that it’s because we never let up, and the parents who truly kept making their voices heard are what made a difference,” she said.
Other Nearby Districts Revise Protocols/Quarantine Students
Rocky Point High School. File photo by Giselle Barkley
Rocky Point schools have moved to keep students for in-person learning four days a week.
Starting Nov. 30, Rocky Point middle and high school students are to go to school Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, with Wednesday remaining as a dedicated virtual day.
The decision to push this part of the reopening plan to after Thanksgiving was made earlier this month, Nov. 4, according to a letter to parents signed by Superintendent Scott O’Brien.
“What is most important is that any change we make is done carefully, and with health and safety at the forefront,” O’Brien wrote in his letter.
The live-streaming component of what the district called “Phase II” began Nov. 9 to log into a period-by-period class schedule.
Those students who are switching to virtual from in-person learning, or vice versa, also have a start date of Nov. 30.
“With a recent increase in the number of positive COVID-19 cases in our district and the surrounding area, it was necessary to reallocate our transitional resources to address cleaning and disinfecting due to recent positive cases,” O’Brien wrote in his letter.
Since September, Rocky Point has seen 25 students test positive for the coronavirus while nine staff/teachers also tested positive as of Nov. 30, according to the state’s COVID Report Card.
Other neighboring districts have similar rates of infection, with school districts overall having much lower infection rates than the general populace. Shoreham-Wading River, with its plan of having students in school five days a week resulting in an infection rate of 1%, that currently being 22 students and six staff members.
The SWR district did have to close the high school and quarantine over 100 students and several staff members a month ago after two students who allegedly attended some kind of social gathering tested positive.
Still, Superintendent Gerard Poole said in a letter posted to the district website that they have revised protocols so that schools will not be closed the day a positive case is reported if contact tracing can be performed in time, along with the needed cleaning and disinfecting.
“The intent of this revision is to reduce the number of school closures,” Poole wrote. “Please know that the decision to keep a school open, as opposed to closing for a day, will always be made carefully with the health and safety of our students and staff as the priority.”
Meanwhile in Miller Place, the district said Monday the district contact traced three Miller Place High School students, one North Country Road Middle School student and one staff member from there who have all tested positive for COVID-19. None were symptomatic when last in school, and all have since been quarantined.
Miller Place Superintendent Marianne Cartisano said in a letter posted to the district website that the positive cases were relayed to the district through the Safe School Helpline.
“We have also been working with multiple staff members and community families who have been identified as close contacts of persons testing positive for COVID-19,” she wrote. “If required, staff have been quarantined as close contacts.”
The Town of Smithtown Youth Bureau has partnered with the Smithtown Horizons Counseling and Education Center and the Town of Smithtown Youth and Community Alliance to host a free virtual screening of the anti-bullying documentary “The Upstanders.” The screening will take place on Thursday, December 3 at 6 p.m. via Zoom. “The Upstanders” is a 55 minute film, to be followed by a Q & A session featuring a panel of professionals from the film.
“Families can watch the film together and discuss their own thoughts about bullying, perhaps even bringing to light a bullying situation that a young person may be experiencing.” – Stacey Sanders, Smithtown Youth Bureau Director
Students can earn community service credit through the Town’s Youth & Community Alliance for registering and participating in this virtual community education event. Interested participants must register, watch the film and subsequent Q&A session, then email the Youth Bureau at [email protected] to request certificates be emailed to them.
“This film is a perfect way to really address many of the Youth and Community Alliance’s primary areas of focus: Substance Abuse; Healthy Relationships; and Bullying.” – Kelly Devito, Smithtown Horizons Youth Services Coordinator
About “The Upstanders”:
The Upstanders is a new documentary film by IndieFlix Foundation about resilience and the power of connection to end bullying. The film explores cyber-bullying, bullying among friends, families, co-workers and the brain science behind it all.
This film is appropriate for anyone 13 and older, and is a good conversation starter when viewed as a family. Even with less social interaction temporarily due to coronavirus limitations, cyberbullying still persists. “The Upstanders” is relevant not only for those who personally experience bullying, but also for adults and students who witness or become aware of bullying (bystanders). “The Upstanders”encourages people to stand up when they see or become aware of something wrong happening, and explains how people can be upstanders in a safe way.
The film also encourages viewers, young and old, to seek balance in their life, particularly with their use of social media. Although potentially addictive and a vehicle for bullying, social media can be a positive form of communication. “The Upstanders” is about resilience, connection and fostering healthy communication, on and off-line.
SWRHS junior Jake Field and Alisa McMorris and John McMorris, parents of Andrew McMorris. Photo from SWRCSD
Shoreham-Wading River High School junior Jake Field conceived of a thoughtful school community addition for his Eagle Scout service project to mark his final rank in the Boy Scouts. Jake designed and built two benches to honor the memory of former student Andrew McMorris. His passionate project included a plaque that incorporated Andrew’s love of art, music, scouting and aviation. The benches were placed at Albert G. Prodell Middle School, where Andrew was a student.
Field said his project was a lot of work but he found it quite worth it. Field’s ability to plan, develop and organize the donation of the benches with Prodell Principal Kevin Vann and Superintendent Gerard Poole point to the leadership skills he obtained in his years as a Boy Scout. Once the district’s building and grounds crew prepped the location at the school, Field and his family met with Alisa McMorris and John McMorris to place the benches that will serve as a place for gentle contemplation in perpetuity.
A video of two Shoreham-Wading River students using racial slurs and making racially derogatory comments on social media has led to significant backlash online and from district leaders.
A post Jovan Bradley put on Twitter about his interaction with two SWR students. Both student’s faces were intentionally blurred. Image taken from Twitter post
The video in question was on a platform called Omegle, which pairs random people for video chat. That interaction was then published to other social media apps TikTok and Twitter Nov. 10.
The video shows two unidentified young men, who have been named students in the Shoreham-Wading River school district, paired on the social media platform with a man named Jovan Bradley, who according to his Twitter profile lives in Poughkeepsie. Bradley started off the conversation with a greeting, then the young men started with “My N*****” and “What’s up, N****.” The video continues with one of the two young men calling Bradley “slave” and saying, “I’m going to whip you” and mimicking cracking a whip.
Bradley, who is mixed race, later posted a video of the interaction to Twitter and TikTok. In it, he repeatedly asked the young men, “Why?” The Twitter video has been viewed over 38,000 times. The TikTok video has been seen over 417,000 times as of Nov.16.
The names of the two young men have not been released or could not be independently confirmed by press time. People on social media went on trying to find the names of the two students, but some supposed names of the two young men involved have been mistaken for other social media profiles.
Superintendent of Schools Gerard Poole released a statement Nov. 12 saying the video was “reprehensible” and that it was “in clear violation of the core values of our school district.” Poole said the matter will be addressed with both students for further disciplinary action.
The superintendent added that the district is rooted in teachings of “tolerance, acceptance and the importance of embracing diversity,” and they have tried to “cultivate a sense of unity and inclusion in our school community.”
Like many North Shore school districts, Shoreham-Wading River is predominantly white. The district is 87% white, 1% Black, 8% Hispanic or Latino and 2% Asian, according to New York State Education Department data. Long Island has a long history of de facto segregation, and advocates most commonly express this discrepancy by comparing districts like those on the North Shore with places like Brentwood, which is predominately Black and Latino.
Bradley posted to Twitter that at least one parent had contacted him with an apology by one of the students. The other student has yet to send an apology, according to the Poughkeepsie man’s latest TikTok post. Bradley has posted that he has gone on Omegle to debate people and also publicly shared his response to the apology Nov. 13, saying he hopes the young man takes “positive things from this experience” and that he hopes the young man sees fault with his actions “at a human level.”
“Take this experience to continue to educate yourself on what has and is happening in our country,” Bradley said in his post. “I do wish you a bright future if you can make those changes. Everyone deserves a second chance.”
The Port Jefferson school board voted Tuesday to start its 4-person in person learning schedule Jan. 11 next year. Photo from meeting video
In its Nov. 10 meeting, the Port Jefferson School District Board of Education decided to open up the middle and high schools for more in-person learning starting in January, though plans may be complicated by rising infection rates.
The board voted 4-3 against a plan to start rolling in students on a staggered, weekly basis Dec. 8. The board then voted 5-2 to have all students in grades six through 12 start back Jan. 11. Trustees Rene Tidwell and Ryan Walker both voted “no” on the plan.
Superintendent Jessica Schmettan said this would also mandate the installation of desk shields. The district already authorized the purchase of desk shields at $135,000. Those shields are expected sometime around the third week of November. In addition, ICT students will begin four-day instruction immediately.
In this plan, Mondays would remain a remote-learning day with office hours and asynchronous instruction. Tuesday through Friday would then become in-person for all students. Desks and desk shields would be sanitized at the end of each school day, and then on Mondays any lingering haze left from the sanitizer would be removed.
“We got a lot of parent feedback as to why 11th-graders should be in as it helps their college careers, why middle school students should be in — we recognize that all students benefit from in-person learning,” the superintendent said. “The how and the when is something we’re having a lot of discussion on.”
She said it would take from five to 10 days to install all desk shields in the two schools.
A survey of 513 parents in the district revealed that just over 88% said they would like to send their child to four days of instruction. Another 7%, or about 36 families, said they were using the full remote option and would continue that way.
In that same survey, 65% of parents said they would like to see students go to four days as soon as possible. While other families wished the district to start this plan in January or February, a little over 10 percent, or about 56 families, said they wished the school to continue with the hybrid model.
Almost 60% of parents surveyed want children to return all at once, while another 24% want kids phased in with smaller groups.
Students were similarly polled, and most, just over 67%, also wanted to be back in school four days a week, though only 42% said it should be as soon as possible.
While most school staff would like to see children back in school for more days, just a little over 50% of the 94 surveyed want to see students brought in with staggered groups.
A representative from the Port Jefferson Teachers’ Association also spoke at the meeting, asking the district to bring in experts from local hospitals when considering reopening, and mentioned the district would gain little if it brought back students after Thanksgiving, as it would only be a limited number of days before Christmas.
“Overwhelmingly, our staff want our kids back in the building — they want them back four days a week,” the superintendent said. “The biggest question becomes how and when.”
Tidwell expressed some concerns over how well students will be protected by the desk shields, noting that they do not necessarily stop all of the aerosolized virus. She said it’s likely to also see upticks in cases after the holidays, and the district should hold off until after December or after the holidays.
“We can’t ignore what’s happening in Suffolk County,” she said.
Currently, the infection rate in New York has breached 3%, higher than any other time it’s been in the past few months. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) has said the jump in infections may be because of Halloween, but state officials also blame restaurants that sell alcohol, gyms and home gatherings. New restrictions are already in place.
Walker said he trusts the administration to do what needs to be done, but the board would have to be conscientious before the decided date. He said he would like to see the school district go ahead with these plans.
“My position really hasn’t changed,” he said. “When we come up with a date, we look at the data immediately preceding that date to see if it’s safe. If we don’t think it’s safe, we’re not going to go ahead with it. What I worry about though, if we do decide on a date, if nothing changes from where it is currently … are we then going to push the pause button again and again and again? If you’re not secure in sending your kids in now, I don’t think possibly you’re ever going to be secure in bringing in your kids.”
Board vice president, Tracy Zamek, said the toll of keeping kids in this current model is doing harm.
“Our kids are not doing well, in my opinion,” she said. “If the school is ready and the numbers are OK, then we need to get the kids back in.”
Assistant superintendent, Christine Austen, said the schools’ social workers are working on reports for how students are currently doing.
Schmettan said other districts in the area have set dates and then pushed back those dates, and they could do the same thing.
“The really difficult part, we can set that date for whatever the date may be but infection rates, closures — things are going to change,” she said. “Regardless of whatever benchmark or milestone we shoot for, there is a possibility it is diverted.”
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