Tags Posts tagged with "Education"

Education

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Miller Place High School. File photo by Kevin Redding

The Miller Place School District is tentatively planning on a 5-day in person learning experience for elementary students come fall, while secondary school students will deal with two days of in-person instruction, one day of live online learning and two days of remote learning.

All school districts were required to release their reopening plans July 31 to New York State for review. Like all reopening plans, these are tentative based on a final decision by New York State officials. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has yet to make the final decision for districts, but has promised to do so by Aug. 7.

In a letter to parents breaking down the district’s 35-page plan, Miller Place will have classes down to an average of 17 at the elementary level. The middle and high school plan would mean the total number of students in class is reduced by 50 percent throughout the school year.

“If Governor Cuomo does not allow full on-site instruction for our K-5 students, they will be placed on a hybrid model of two-day on-site instruction, one-day live remote instruction and two-day remote learning,” the letter signed by Superintendent Marianne Cartisano stated.

According to the district’s plan, this past May Miller Place purchased Dell laptops to supplement existing devices so now each student has access to a computer at home. This fall, each student and teacher should have access to a device they can use in school and from home. For the online learning component of this fall, the district has gone with Google G-Suite, and teachers and admin are expected to take six hours of professional development prior to the start of the school year.

Students in both elementary and secondary will be expected to have physical education, music, art and other special courses, though it did not state whether this will be held in classroom or outdoors, as other districts have explicitly planned on doing.

Compared to other neighboring districts, Miller Place will not explicitly have students in special education classes in school five days a week. Instead, students’ times and coursework will be determined on an individual basis, with plans drawn up for each child in conjunction with parents and members of the school’s Committee on Special Education. Students will use their school-provided laptops from home, and on-site instruction will be provided two days per week with access to district technology within the building. Special education teachers will still be individually responsible for each special needs students both at home and in school.

As far as before and after school programs, the district said it plans to again partner with SCOPE for these plus the Pre-Kindergarten program.

Miller Place said for those vulnerable students who cannot participate in in-person learning for medical reasons a full-time online learning may be offered in a program facilitated by district personnel, by Eastern Suffolk BOCES or home tutoring instruction. These programs will offer a basic and generic schedule for students to complete their instructional program and course requirements, though it did not offer specifics of what that may entail.

The district will not provide a separate learning experience for parents who do not want their kids to attend for the part time in-person instruction. However, the district has provided resources for parents looking to homeschool their children at millerplace.k12.ny.us/Domain/75.

Miller Place’s survey sent to parents in July received 1678 responses. Of those who responded, close to 88 percent or 1,472 parents said they would have their kid attend school in person for at least some part of the school year. At the same time, most parents said they were not in favor of having children wear masks during normal instruction.

Though many students would, the majority of parents, about 60 percent, said they would not be able to have their child driven to school each day, and would need to take public transportation.

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Rocky Point High School. File photo by Giselle Barkley

Rocky Point plans to have its elementary students in all five days of the week, while middle and high schoolers will trade off between in-person learning and online education Monday through Friday.

Releasing its plan on its website July 31, Superintendent Scott O’Brien said in a letter to the district dated July 31 that school principals will be creating videos for students, families, teachers, and staff that will highlight the new procedures and expectations for procedure at bus stops or walking in hallways.

“While I recognize that the reopening of schools, if approved by the governor, will look different than in years past, I assure you that our buildings will continue to be welcoming places of learning, excitement and joy for our students,” the superintendent said. “Just as we have reimagined our methods for delivering instruction, we will continue to find new ways to inspire and nurture all of our students.”

All school districts were required to release their reopening plans July 31 to New York State for review. Like all reopening plans, these are tentative based on a final decision by New York State officials. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has yet to make the final decision for districts, but has promised to do so by Aug. 7.

After school starts in September, elementary students in grades K-5 will be attending school five days a week in classrooms with a significantly reduced size to allow for social distancing. Specials, such as physical education, music, art and library will be put into the normal classroom or be held outside, weather permitting. Recess and lunch will be a combined period in the classroom or outside. Students will be issued a Chromebook for use both in and out of school.

Otherwise, students in middle and high school will be split into two groups for students with last names A through L and M through Z. The first attends in-person classes on Monday and Tuesday and the latter on Thursday and Friday. Outside the classroom on off days, students will be expected to log onto Google Meet before the end of the school day and complete assignments based on their regular schoolwork. On Wednesdays, all students will be home where the school will be given a “deep cleaning.”
Students in special education or English as a New Language classes will attend school Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

Though parents have asked if there are any options for remote learning for parents who keep their children home, the district said in its FAQ that there will be no model other than the one offered. Parents who don’t want their kids to be in school in the way described will be forced to homeschool instead.
Survey results for the district also reveal not only what expectations parents have for the upcoming school year, but also just how badly they were impacted by the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The survey included 898 responses from parents out of a school district of around 2,950 students. In those results, nearly 13 percent of respondents said they lost their job or work because of the pandemic. 3.4 percent lost a loved one to COVID-19. Over 20 percent said they have suffered depression, anxiety isolation and stress. 8.6 percent said they have had difficulty paying bills.

On the side of working parents who would need childcare in case of distance learning, nearly 16 percent said they require childcare. Another 21.7 percent said a flexible schedule would make setting up childcare difficult.

Still, a solid 78.3 percent of respondents said they would send their child to school if it were 100 percent in person. 84.8 percent said they would send their kids back in some sort of hybrid model.

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File photo of Port Jefferson Superintendent Jessica Schmettan. Photo by Kyle Barr

Among three potential plans for reopening, the Port Jefferson School District has decided on a model that would have elementary students in full time and middle school and high school students splitting their week between in-class and online learning.

All school districts were required to release their reopening plans July 31 to New York State for review. Like all reopening plans, these are tentative based on a decision by the state. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has yet to make the final decision for districts, but has promised to do so by Aug. 7.

At its July 29 meeting, school officials and board members heard of the three options the 68-member reopening committee has been working on the past several weeks. The presentation, shown by Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction Christine Austen, included a fully online standardized learning experience, a hybrid model and a full-time in-person experience. 

What the district has tentatively settled on could mean increased costs to the small district on the Sound. Having grades K through five in class all the time will mean extra costs in redesigning the classrooms, hiring extra teaching assistants and other such costs associated with keeping students distanced. Superintendent Jessica Schmettan said it could be an approximate $230,000 addition out of this year’s $44,739,855 2020-21 budget. That money,  according to Schmettan, would come from the district’s reserve fund balance.

Otherwise, students in the middle and high schools will have days of the week split between two days in school, one day at home being taught over the internet live with their regular teachers and two days of what amounts to classwork, or so-called “asynchronous learning,” also over the internet.  

Students will be broken up into two groups to be put on alternating schedules, purple and gray for students with last names A through L and M through Z. District officials said they would work to make sure each group was balanced.

Though some on the board asked about students wishing to be in class together with friends, Schmettan said the biggest issue was making sure siblings were in the same group, so as to not add extra difficulty with parents taking children to school. 

A student’s grade level will determine how many hours of asynchronous learning for each student. The district has come out with a one-to-one Chromebook program, and officials also said it will work to make sure those lacking access to stable internet connections can access the online portions of their schooling.

At the same time, students in special education and in English as a New Language in the elementary school would also be there full time. However, special education and ENL, among other extra help groups in the middle and high schools, will spend four days in school and one day at home for asynchronous learning, as better to comprehend what’s expected with online learning in case schools shut down again.

In a survey sent home to parents, school officials said 12 percent of parents have said they do not plan to send their kid into school in the fall, while another 13 said they need more info before making a decision. Also in the survey, 45 percent of parents said they were comfortable with their kids taking the bus to school. The rest said they were uncomfortable or unsure about having their children take the bus. 

The district plans to send out further surveys after Cuomo releases final guidelines to confirm which parents will be sending kids to schools and which aren’t. Port Jeff also plans to survey staff to confirm who is in line for when school starts up again Sept. 8.

In the case that a student or staff member does get sick, Austen said the district will work with New York State or Suffolk County contact tracers, though it will also be incumbent on the district itself to identify who was close to the person confirmed with COVID-19.

A previous version of this post shared the wrong name of Port Jeff’s assistant superintendent. This version corrects this error.

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One of the hardest questions for district officials is how will students use the bus alongside social distancing. Stock photo

New York State has asked school districts to come up with plans to reopen their schools, but based on state guidelines, reopening may be in a form some parents may disagree with, based on districts’ own surveys.

Assistant Superintendent Joe Coniglione and Superintendent Jennifer Quinn look at the sprouts of sunflowers in Jackie’s Garden. Photo by Andrew Harris

New York is requiring school districts submit reopening plans to the state by July 31. The state Education Department released new guidelines July 16 for school districts to help guide that decision making, though many such districts have already had committees established to help guide those plans. 

The Education Department said schools will have to perform COVID screenings of staff and students, maximize social distancing and create methods for isolating sick students before being sent home. It suggests districts use additional space, whether that’s underutilized real estate or gymnasiums, as places for teaching.

Still, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has said students can come back for in-person learning if their region remains in Phase 4 of reopening with an infection rate below 5 percent on a 14-day average. Schools will close again if the region breaks a 9 percent infection rate after Aug. 1. 

Though many school districts have sent surveys to parents asking what their plans for their children are, few have released their results so far. Those that have show some majority of parents want their kids back in the classroom come fall. Superintendent of the Hauppauge School District Dennis O’Hara said during a Newsday-hosted forum last week that among 2,300 respondents, 90 percent said they would like to see their children back in school. 

The Comsewogue School District is one of the few to have publicly released the results of that survey, which show the majority of parents say they will be sending their kids back into school this fall. 

The Comsewogue School District, which includes over 3,700 students, received 1,187 responses to its survey. The district reported almost 60 percent of respondents, or 699, would send their children to school; 181 said they would not; while 307 were still undecided. 

In that survey, 361 parents said they would need childcare provided by the district.

“I think we have to get a plan in place that is comfortable for parents, but what is right for one family might not be right for another family,” said Comsewogue Superintendent Jennifer Quinn. “We’re going to give parents the opportunity to make the decision that’s best for them.”

Quinn added the district expects 80 percent of its students to come back for the fall semester. Finalized plans will reveal what can be done for the 20 percent whose parents decide not to send them back.

Comsewogue’s reopening committees were formed earlier in the spring and have met with the teachers unions and administrators. Those suggestions will circle back, and tentative plans will be presented to teachers at each building and then later to the community.

The district plans to host two Q&A sessions for parents of kids in grades K-6 July 27 at 7:30 p.m. and July 28 at 11 a.m. via Zoom. Information on joining these meetings can be found on the district’s website at www.comsewoguek12.ny.us. Comsewogue plans to host future meetings for grades 7-12. The district will announce when its final plan has been approved and finalized on the district’s website and social media before the end of the month.

“We’re trying to bring back as many kids as we can, as often as we can,” Quinn said. 

What that will look like is still to be determined. The district can confirm that all special education and English-language leaner students will be back in school every day in the school week. Quinn said the district hopes they can bring elementary students back full time, though that is more circumspect for the higher grade levels. If the committee determines they cannot safely have all kids back in school full time, they will be put on an alternating A-day, B-day schedule.

“I don’t think it’s ideal, but we’re going to have to do the best we can,” the superintendent said. 

For students who may have to continue learning online, at home, Quinn said there are renewed efforts to further develop distance learning, particularly with a heavier emphasis on interaction with fellow classmates and teachers.

Perhaps the most challenging conundrum is transportation. In the survey, a plurality of 42 percent of respondents said their children would take the bus, while 24 percent said they would take personal transportation, while 33 percent were still undecided.

Yet how a district can possibly work out a bus fleet that can maintain social distancing and get all kids to school on time will still be a major challenge. The district hopes that many more parents will personally transport their children.

“We really want our kids back for the first day of school,” Quinn said. “There’s an emotional component to this and the pandemic, with kids not being in school and not being with their friends and teachers … we’re confident if we can bring them back in small groups, we can meet their needs.”

Stock photo

Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced a new executive order June 8 that New York State would be extending the deadline for mailed in absentee ballots for school budget and board of education votes to Tuesday, June 16.

Many districts are still collecting ballots via drop off to district offices on June 9 by the end of the business day at 5 p.m. Absentee ballots can still be mailed to districts and will be accepted until June 16 at 5 p.m.

This also comes with the announcement the state would allow school districts to conduct graduations ceremonies, though they must be outside, adhere to social distance guidelines and must contain 150 people or less. Some school districts said those figures may be too restrictive.

“The recent approval for small gatherings for graduation, while welcome news, requires seniors to be separated into multiple different ceremonies,” said Shoreham-Wading River Superintendent Gerard Poole in a public letter. He asked residents to encourage local and state leaders to revisit the matter.

Suffolk County legislature's online meeting May 19.

“Hello?” “Can you hear me?” “Would that person please mute their mic?” “We can hear your dog barking/child yelling/lawn mower going …” and on and on.

These are comments well known to anybody who’s been paying attention to government meetings, of municipalities large and small, in this time of pandemic. When Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed an executive order which temporarily nixed the requirements for local governments to hold in-person meetings, many organizations quickly had to come up with some sort of workaround to still hold their legally required meetings, though staying as socially distanced as possible while still remaining open for public view.

The Town of Brookhaven during its most recent online meeting.

Zoom meetings, YouTube Live video, these are the new tools for conducting government business, but not all are equal in just how “open” these meetings are.

New York Coalition for Open Government, a small nonprofit organization, known until recently as Buffalo Niagara Coalition for Open Government, came out with a report May 12 grading different levels of government on their transparency, with all meetings being held online. The New York State Committee on Open Government, which is run from Albany under the Department of State, has opined that governments would still have to host visible livestreamed meetings to conform to both the governor’s executive order and the current Open Meetings Law. Some governing bodies have interpreted the governor’s order to mean a body could meet without allowing public access. The coalition organization instead points to opinions by the committee and people from the governor’s office that says agencies and all local governments should allow access to livestreamed meetings.

Kristin O’Neill, assistant director for the state Committee on Open Government, said in a phone interview that local governing bodies “must afford remote access to the meeting while the meeting is going on.” This does not have to be a video livestream, but it must allow the public the ability to listen to that meeting. She said it is not enough to post a transcript or video after for the public to listen to or read.

The nonprofit’s report found only four of 21 governments surveyed from all of New York state had met all their criteria, including having all meetings livestreamed, having videos/audio posted online after the meeting and having all meeting documents posted online prior to the meeting.

The coalition included another metric though it’s not required by the Open Meetings Law, specifically asking whether a government was soliciting public comments that are heard and/or seen during the meeting.

The open government coalition president, Paul Wolf, an attorney in upstate New York, said he feels it’s important for local governments to be judged on their willingness to listen to the public, despite it not being required by law.

“All right, there’s a pandemic going on, but you” can still hear from the public and hear their concerns,” he said. “[We had] some pushback and controversy on grades, but you have to somehow rank people and and have some calculation who’s doing good.”

Suffolk County and the Town of Brookhaven were given “B” rankings by the committee, noting both were not addressing public comments in their meetings. As of their last meetings in May and early June, both town and the county board meetings still were not enabling public comment.

“It’s good to push for this stuff, and that seems to be one of few ways to get elected officials’ attention that seems to prompt some change,” Wolf said.

That’s not to say it hasn’t been difficult for local government to make the adjustment to online meetings. Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer Rob Calarco (D-Patchogue) said the governing body had to figure things out on the fly. The last time all legislators were together for in-person meetings was March 17. He added it took time to get proper guidance from the state regarding hosting meetings. So far during the pandemic, the legislature has only allowed comment during public hearings.

Town of Smithtown’s online meeting May 21.

Calarco said some legislators have made comments that current meetings have not been sufficiently open.

“I get that, and it is important for us to be transparent, but we have been trying to do it as effectively as we can,” he said. “For local government [having public comment] is an integral part of how our meetings operate — for residents to have ability to speak to us in public fashion.”

The next general meeting, June 9, will be the first time in two months the legislature will have a timeslot for public comment. People can visit the legislature’s website at scnylegislature.us and scroll down to the link for submitting public comment.

Brookhaven, on the other hand, is looking more toward a time when they can host in person meetings again, according to town spokesperson Kevin Molloy. He said Brookhaven has had to work through technical difficulties, but is complying with the law and the parameters of the governor’s executive order, adding there were no current plans to createa a public portion during online meetings.

The town allows for comment on public hearings, which can be submitted either in writing or with the person joining the town’s online meeting in video form. Molloy said the town has tried to push back non-time sensitive public hearings until later dates.

We’re certainly trying to improve it, that means improvements in technology and the board is always trying to improve access to public,” Molloy said.

Despite this, different levels of government, including school districts, have found varying levels of success keeping their meetings open and responsive to the public.

TBR News Media has run through all school districts, villages and towns in our coverage area to check if its meeting four simple criteria. The point is not to degrade some and promote others, but to offer a means of comparison and give examples for how they can improve their openness to the public. Because of this, we have eschewed a letter grading system for our local governing bodies.

Port Jefferson Village is allowing for public comment via chat on YouTube but, as it has done in the past, has only hosted public portions every other week. Though this may have worked until now, the circumstances of the pandemic mean it may be time to change that policy.

School districts were perhaps the most consistent among municipalities for providing documentation and at least some communication of meetings and inquiries from residents. The Comsewogue school district has hosted a bevy of online options for students and district residents, including a website dedicated to offering stress relief for students, multiple Zoom meetings directly with students and a video of the budget hearing. However, the district has not posted any of its online board meetings after the fact to its website.

Grading Criteria (according to New York Coalition for Open Government)

  • Are meetings being live streamed?
  • Are meeting videos/audio posted online after the meeting?
  • Are all meeting documents being posted online prior to the meeting?
  • While not required by the Open Meetings Law, are local governments soliciting public comments that are heard/seen during the meeting?

Suffolk County 3/4 (As of June 9, this changed to allow a public comment period)

Meetings are being livestreamed through county website

Meetings video/audio/documents available after meeting

Meeting documents available before meeting

Public are allowed public comment only during public hearings

Town of Brookhaven 3/4

Meetings are being livestreamed and can be accessed by cable Channel 18

Meetings video/audio/documents available after meeting

Meeting documents available before meeting

Public are allowed public comment only during public hearings

Town of Smithtown 3/4

Meetings are being livestreamed

Meeting video/audio/documents available after meeting

Meeting agenda available before meeting

People are allowed public comment only during public hearings

Town of Huntington 3/4

Meetings are being livestreamed

Video and documents are available after meeting

Meeting agenda available before meeting

Public are allowed public comment only during public hearings

Village of Shoreham 2/4

Meetings are held by Zoom with notifications sent to residents

Video/audio of meetings not available after meeting

Some documents are available before meetings, but agendas are not

Public can make comments during meetings

Village of Belle Terre 3/4

Meetings are held via Zoom with notifications sent to residents

Meetings video/audio is not readily available post meeting

Meeting documents are posted before meetings are held

Public is available to make comments during regular meetings

Village of Port Jefferson 4/4

Meetings are being livestreamed

Meetings videos/audio/agendas posted online

Meeting documents posted before meeting

Comments being posted through YouTube then addressed by board, but only every other meeting

Village of Old Field 3/4

Meetings are being livestreamed with links sent to residents via Zoom

Meetings audio/video not posted online though minutes are

Meeting documents not posted before meetings

Trustee meetings regularly allow two public comment periods

Village of Poquott 3/4

Meetings can be accessed via dial-in code

Meeting video/audio of latest meetings not available

Documents are posted prior to meetings

Public is able to make comments during meetings

Village of Head of the Harbor 3/4

Residents can access meetings via links through notices

Meeting video/audio not available online

Documents are posted prior to meetings

Public is allowed comment during meeting

Village of Lake Grove 2/4

Meetings are being livestreamed via Zoom

Meetings audio/video not posted online

Documents are posted prior to meetings

Could not determine if public can comment during meetings

Village of Nissequogue 3/4

Meetings are being livestreamed

Meeting video is available after meeting

Documents are not posted before meeting

People are allowed public comment during meeting

Village of the Branch 3/4

Meetings are being livestreamed via Zoom

Meetings video/audio is not posted to the website after the meeting

Documents are posted to the website prior to meetings

People are allowed to comment during public portions of the meeting

Village of Asharoken 4/4

Meetings are being livestreamed via Zoom

Meeting minutes/agendas available after meeting

Meeting agendas are available after meeting but not video

Agenda available before meeting

Residents can ask questions prior to or during meeting

Village of Lloyd Harbor 4/4

Residents can listen in to meetings

Notices are present prior to meeting

Meeting agendas are available after meeting

Residents have been told they can comment during meeting

Village of Northport 4/4

Meetings are being held over teleconference call

Meeting audio not posted online after meeting

Agendas posted to website prior to meeting

Website says residents can ask questions of board via the web page

Shoreham-Wading River School District 4/4

Meetings are held publicly online via Zoom

Video of meeting posted after date held

Agendas are posted before meeting

Residents can comment during meetings

Rocky Point School District 2/4

Up until budget hearing, has not been having public board meetings online

Audio of meetings available on website

Board agendas posted prior to meeting

Public not able to comment on meetings up until budget hearing

Miller Place School District 3/4

Meetings held via Zoom

Video/audio of meetings not posted after meeting

Agendas posted prior to meetings

People may comment during meetings via chat

Mount Sinai School District 4/4

Meetings livestreamed via Zoom and on Facebook

Video of meeting posted afterward

Agendas posted prior to meetings

Questions from audience addressed during meeting

Port Jefferson School District 3/4

Meetings are being livestreamed

Meetings audio/visual/documentation available post meeting

Meeting agenda available before meeting

Public is not able to make comments during meetings

Comsewogue School District 2/4

Public has access to meetings via livestream

Meeting audio/video not available post meeting

Documents are available prior to meeting via BoardDocs

Questions are not being addressed at meetings

Middle Country School District 3/4

Meetings livestreamed from Google Meet

Meeting video is available post meeting

Documents are available prior to meeting via BoardDocs

The district has dispensed with public input

Three Village School District 3/4

Meetings are not being livestreamed

Meeting video available after meeting

Documents are available prior to meeting

Questions are not being addressed at meeting

Smithtown School District 4/4

All meetings are streamed live via Facebook

Videos available after meeting

Documents available before meeting via BoardDocs

Public can submit comments prior to meetings

Hauppauge School District 4/4

Videos streamed via Facebook Live

Videos available after meetings

Documents available on website

Residents can ask questions via Google Docs attached linked to the agenda

Commack School District 4/4

Meetings are publicly streamed through the district website

Meeting videos are available after meeting
Meetings documents are available prior to meeting via BoardDocs

Members of the district can ask questions via email,

Kings Park School District 4/4

Meetings are publicly available via Zoom

Meeting videos are available after meeting

Documents are available via BoardDocs

District allows for comments on call during prearranged comment period

Elwood School District 4/4

Meeting videos streamed live to YouTube

Meeting agendas available via BoardDocs

Videos are available after meetings

Questions are answered during latter section of meeting

Huntington School District 4/4

Meeting videos streamed live via Zoom call

Meeting video is available on the district website

Meeting agendas are available via BoardDocs

Residents can ask questions during Zoom meetings

Harborfields School District 4/4

The district livestreamed meetings via Vimeo

Agenda is available prior to meeting on district website

Video is available after the meeting dates

Residents can ask questions via email, and questions are answered at a determined time in the meeting

Northport-East Northport School District 4/4

Meetings are being livestreamed via IPCamLive

Videos are available after meetings

Agendas are available beforehand via BoardDocs

Questions can be sent via email and addressed during meeting

Cold Spring Harbor School District 4/4

Meetings are being livestreamed via Zoom

Videos of the boards hearings are available at the district’s YouTube page

Board agendas and documents are available at its meeting portal page

The board advises sending questions via email, which are addressed during the meeting

This article has been amended June 16 to update information about the Suffolk County legislature.

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Jennifer McGuigan's five children work on their schoolwork at home. Photo by McGuigan

By Deniz Yildirm

With the arrival of the Coronavirus, New Yorkers have been forced to practice social distancing and with that, so called distance learning. Distance learning is a relatively new phrase which means a method of studying in which lectures are broadcast and classes are conducted over the internet. And while many teachers at Comsewogue are familiar with online tools, there is still a steep learning curve. 

Don Heberer, the District Administrator for Instructional Technology and Frank Franzese, the district’s Educational Technology Specialist teacher have been working tirelessly to help teachers and students shift to distance learning. 

“Everyone is putting in long hours” Franzese said. “There’s no such thing as a one way email. Every teacher is trying to give their classes a first rate education using technology, even when it’s stressing them out. So I’m going to do everything I can to help.”

Despite the speed of setting up this distance learning, the quality of work is really outstanding. “I’m so impressed with the level of collaboration and dedication my teachers have to making this work and connecting with students.” said Terryville elementary Principal Annemarie Sciove, who has has two young children and said she understands how important it is for children to feel connections with their teachers and the challenges of working from home. Despite this challenge, third-grade teachers Mrs. Sciarrino and Ms. Benson are working together to create some of the most comprehensive google classrooms for their students. So far they’ve uploaded countless resources and worksheets even though it’s their first time using google classroom. Sites like xtramath.org, storyonline.net and classroom.magazine.com are just a few of the websites they’ve shared with students to help them continue to grow at home. And even though spring break has been cancelled, these teachers have found a way to make this week extra special by planning a “virtual vacation.” Students will “visit” special places via youtube and google earth then report back to their teachers. 

“It’s a great learning experience and a warm up to our country report project in May,” Sciarrino said. 

Teachers have also been uploading videos of themselves, including teachers Mrs. Dunn and Mrs. Zoccoli who have created videos for their classes where they are offering support and encouragement. 

Physical education teacher Mr. Chesterton posted a video challenging his students to a jumping jack countoff (he got up to 50 while one student reported 100). This kind of teaching is really meaningful to the kids who are stressed out and missing school. 

Just ask Jennifer McGuigan, like so many parents she is facing the challenge of supporting her five children (the oldest John in college, 11th-grader Joe, ninth-grader Lydia, seventh-grader William and fifth-grader Lila.

 “I want them to know it’s okay and it’s easier to do that with the support of the teachers,” McGuigan said. “It can be a lot sometimes, every one of them has at least five classes they have to check in to but it’s a welcome distraction.” 

She also says it’s helpful to establish a schedule and reiterate that no one is looking for perfection, teachers are just looking for students to do their best. 

Superintendent Dr. Quinn couldn’t agree more, as she’s recently said in her call home, “We’re in this together.”

Deniz Yildirim is a librarian at the Terryville Road Elementary School. For students, she has posted a video showing how they can make a temporary library card so they can borrow ebooks.

The College Board has said they are pushing back this year's SATs to August. Stock photo

The College Board has canceled the June 6 Scholastic Achievement Test and SAT Subject Tests.

The Board hopes to restart the test in August and will offer the test every month through the end of the calendar year, if it’s “safe from a public health standpoint,” the board announced on its web site.

The new schedule includes an additional date in September, as well as the originally planned Aug. 29, Oct. 3, Nov. 7 and Dec. 5 test dates.

Students can register for these tests starting in May.

Given that the College Board has canceled several tests this spring, the board is planning for a significant expansion of their capacity for students to take the tests once school reopen. They are calling member schools and colleges, as well as local communities, to add to testing capacity to give every student who would like to take the test the opportunity.

Students can get early access to register for August, September and October exams if they are already registered for June and are in the high school class of 2021 and don’t have SAT scores.

In the event that schools don’t reopen this fall, the College Board will provide a digital SAT for home use that will be similar to the digital exams three million Advanced Placement students will take this spring.

The College Board and Khan Academy are providing free resources online, including full length practice tests and personalized learning tools.

In May, students registered for June can transfer their registration to one of the fall SAT administrations for free. Students who want to cancel their SAT registration can get a refund through customer service.

The College Board has said they are pushing back this year's SATs to August. Stock photo

In response to schools closing around the country and to the ongoing isolation caused by the coronavirus Covid-19, the College Board has canceled face-to-face Advanced Placement exams, replacing them with a 45-minute only exam students can take at home.

The Advancement Placement tests often offer high school students the opportunity to receive college credit for subjects they have mastered.

The College Board is providing free remote learning resources. Beginning Mach 25, students can attend free, live AP review courses, which AP teachers across the country will deliver. The classes, which can supplement any online teaching students receive through their schools, will be available on demand and will focus on reviewing the skills and concepts from the first 75 percent of the course. There will also be some supplementary lessons covering the final quarter of the course.

The College Board will also unlock any relevant free-response questions in AP classroom for digital use, so students can study practice questions that are similar to the ones that would appear on the exam.

Any student registered for an AP test can choose to cancel at no charge.

The College Board decided to change the format of the exam after surveying 18,000 AP students, 91 percent of whom wanted to have the chance to take the exam.

To be fair to students who may have had more time off from school amid the virus outbreak, the College Board plans to focus the exam questions on topics and skills most AP teachers covered in class by early March.

The College Board indicated colleges supported this solution and are committed to ensuring that AP students receive credit for scores that meet their requirements. Colleges have accepted a shortened AP exam for college credit when groups of students experienced other emergencies, the College Board explained.

Students can take the exam on any electronic device. They will also be able to take a picture of handwritten work.

The College Board uses a range of digital security tools and techniques, including plagiarism detection software, to discourage and catch any potential cheating.

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The Alfred G. Prodell Middle School could go from eight perioids to nine. Photo from Google Maps

Citing that 25 percent of middle school students don’t have access to their full potential, the Shoreham-Wading River Central School District is considering bumping up from eight to nine periods in a school day at the middle school, but doing so could mandate an earlier start time for some students.

Alfred G. Prodell Middle School Principal Kevin Vann said at the Jan. 7 board meeting the middle school program committee has come to the conclusion a nine-period school day would mean students have additional time for electives, for specific classes like earth science or for more students to participate in clubs or in musical classes, which would be moved into the middle of the day if the board were to accept the proposal. The principal added that such a change will allow students to free up time for further electives once they enter high school.

Vann said according to their data, 25 percent of the overall middle school students are currently unable to participate in activities they would otherwise be able to with the additional period. Other neighboring districts like Three Village, Port Jefferson and Mount Sinai all have nine-period days in the middle schools.

With the change however, all students would need to be in the school during the early morning period of 7:20 a.m. Currently students taking one of the musical electives or seeking extra help come in during that time.

The board will also need to look at the cost and potential impacts of such a change before coming to a decision further down the line.