One Upstate School District Is Doing Only Remote Learning Until October – Others Delay Start
For most of these summer school administrators, teachers and parents have had one big question on their minds, "How do we reopen schools in the safest possible way for students, teachers, and staff?" Of course, that's just one part of the equation. The other part is, "How do we still offer quality education and school experiences with remote learning?" Not easy questions to answer.
That's why some schools have decided they need a little more time to make sure they get it as "right" as they can for the fall. Several school districts including East Greenbush, Troy, Niskayuna, South Colonie, and Guilderland have decided to push back their state date to Sept. 14. CBS 6 News reports that Wynantskill Union Free School District is moving their start date from Sept. 8 to Thursday, September 10.
Probably the biggest and most significant change comes from Ballston Spa Central School District announced they plan to start in September with only remote learning and then will hopefully be able to welcome students back to the classroom sometime in October.
My wife is a teacher and one of the reasons some school districts have pushed back their start date is to give teachers and administrators time to actually try out their safety guidelines and see what works and what needs to be adjusted. Most teachers have been away from school since late march so just being back in a classroom setting is going to take some getting used to again. Plus, Governor Cuomo officially gave schools reopening guidelines a few weeks ago so they haven't had a lot of time to prepare.
South Colonie Superintendent Dr. Perry posted an announcement on their school district website saying: “The delay in the first day of school will allow the district to bring in teachers and staff for professional development and to plan for the upcoming school year. There will be a lot of new procedures in place and we want to make sure our staff is prepared to welcome students back to the classroom and make adjustments as needed throughout the school year in the event we need to remove to all remote learning.”
If you're wondering whether or not your school district is changing their start date check your district's website. Or if you have a teenager like I do, just ask them...they know everything.