Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced during his briefing last Wednesday that the final decision on schools reopening will be announced in the first week of August.

“I understand many people are anxiously awaiting a decision on school reopening,” he said. “New York has 700 school districts statewide that range from rural to suburban districts and we have been spending the past weeks and months in discussion with all stakeholders on what September looks like. As in every other decision on reopening, our first responsibility is health and safety. All schools are required to submit a reopening plan by the end of July.”

In the Wallkill Central School District, Assistant Superintendent for Support Services Brian Devincenzi has been working with a health and safety team to determine how to incorporate social distancing if the district brings back grades K-6 in a self-contained setting. Bringing grades 7-12 back would be more challenging, as classes transition every 40 minutes. The district is taking ideas from models that other states are recommending, since they may see similar recommendations from the state.

Other factors that must be taken into consideration are transportation and food service.

“Mr. Devincenzi has been doing a great job coordinating with our transportation and food service providers,” said Superintendent of Schools Kevin Castle.

In addition, Devincenzi has also been obtaining masks and cleaning supplies, as well as coordinating with custodial workers and working with the district-wide nurse practitioner to identify isolation rooms and monitoring protocols.

The district is also strengthening its online learning program if distance learning returns in the fall. There are teams working on district learning for high school, grades 7-8, grades 5-6 and grades K-4. Castle added that once health and safety and online learning plans are complete, they will be shared with the board of education and community.

The Board of Education will review the draft reopening plans for September during a special meeting on Monday, July 27 at 6 p.m. Due to the COVID-19 concern in New York, the public will not be able to attend in person; however a live stream of the meeting will be available on the district’s website.

Like Wallkill, the Valley Central School District is exploring the many different variables related to opening school in September.

The district currently has three possible reopening scenarios. This would include regular school with health guidelines and checks in place. The plan would involve regular school with a regular schedule while implementing required state and local health guidelines. Another option includes a modified school schedule (e.g., school every other day) paired with online learning, that allows for social distancing. The last scenario is a continuation of a full-time distance learning environment.

“The reality is we do not know which of these scenarios we will be faced with in September,” the district said on its website. “It may be that we are pivoting between some version of all three scenarios throughout the year.”

After the Spring 2020 term, the district surveyed students, parents and teachers regarding their online learning experiences. The key takeaways were that there needs to be more authentic learning experiences, more structure, more interaction and more student accountability. The district is working to develop a more effective and powerful model of distance learning that includes more interaction with classmates and teachers.

Valley Central posted a survey on their website asking parents about their comfort level under each scenario and their top concerns. The survey closed Friday.

“The district will use the survey responses to better inform its decisions, however, the district is not able to guarantee that each comment will be addressed in its final 2020-2021 school plan,” the district said.

The Pine Bush Central School District has been developing plans for the upcoming school year by consuming a number of reports that have been issued by other states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

They also designed three surveys that would provide them with feedback for the upcoming school year: one for parents, one for faculty and the other for students. Surveys were due last Tuesday.

“Your feedback is critical for us to have, as we craft our return to learn plans for the fall,” said Superintendent of Schools Tim Mains.