Comsewogue is Ready to go Back to School

By Deniz Yildirim 

What is school going to be like? This is just one of the many questions people are asking as September approaches. Despite being erroneously listed as a school district who has not submitted a back to school plan by New York State, the district had actually submitted a plan to the state weeks ago and has been communicating with the community about its plans throughout the summer. 

As of right now the Comsewogue school district plans to open and is offering families the choice to go back live or virtually. Once parents make a decision, administration will be able to determine how many virtual teachers they need and will then go about appointing teachers to these positions. This year will be unlike any other as the school takes creative steps to put both students’ and teachers’ health and safety first. 

Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Quinn and her team have been working tirelessly to create two plans, one for elementary and another for secondary to best meet the needs of all students. These plans have been explained in detail in videos posted on the district’s website. Elementary students who opt for live instruction will be in school everyday and classes will be split into two groups so that there are no more than 15 students in a classroom. To reduce the students exposure, groups will remain in their classroom all day, and lunch and special areas will be coming to them. Secondary students (those in grades 7-12) will follow an A/B schedule and come to school on alternating days, and their days at home will be spent participating virtually and completing work on their Google classrooms.

Though there are still a lot of questions (How will recess be managed? And How long should students stay home if they show symptoms of COVID?). It’s clear that everyone is working hard to make decisions based on research and health guidelines. 

Deniz Yildirim is a librarian at the Terryville Road Elementary School.