Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Friday extended the mandatory school closure through the end of the academic year, and issued a call to action to school districts to start now to develop plans to reopen with several missives in place for September.
“We must protect our students. We must protect our educators,” Governor Cuomo said in his announcement. He said state officials do not think it’s possible to reopen schools this year "in a way that would keep our students and educators safe.”
Many educators on the South Fork were not surprised to receive word of the extended closure.
“I think he realized the task was bigger to try to bring kids back than keep them out,” Debra Winter, the Springs School District superintendent, said by phone on Friday. “There are still lots of things for us to consider. Am I comfortable where we are right now? Do we have to look at creative ways to keep everyone interested? Yes.”
Robert Hauser, the Bridgehampton School superintendent, was also not surprised.
“It’s good that we now have guidance. . . . I think [the governor] realizes the urgency, and he also realizes that we cannot, from a school district perspective, operate in two-week increments,” he said. “As the window closes toward the end of the school year, there are just too many unknowns that need answers.”
Governor Cuomo said that in developing plans for reopening, schools must monitor the spread of Covid-19 and consider social distancing. That includes classes and extracurricular activities, lunch, special education, and other factors. One of the governor’s questions was, “How do we instill parent confidence and reinforce student safety?”
“If you go by the tone of what he’s saying, and the pattern, September is not going to look the same,” Mr. Hauser said. “It’s going to be different — it’s just the big ‘how?’ ”