SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Governor Andrew Cuomo announced last week that he would like to see schools across New York open five days a week if possible. Administrators of the Syracuse City School District don’t think they are ready for that yet however.
Our classrooms are full on a regular normal day,” says Mary Wade, Head of Family Engagement. “We really just don’t have the capacity physically to have kids come back full time.”
Jason Armstrong, principal of LeMoyne Elementary School, agrees with Gov. Cuomo’s statement but acknowledges that it will be hard work and a logistical battle.
“We’re on board for it, but we know there’s a lot of work to do and we’re wondering if the district infrastructure can keep up with the changes we make at the school level. “I think its realistic but I think we have to look at the value, and how valuable will it be to to open five days a week at the time we can open.”
The Syracuse City School district currently has different accommodations for students to participate in in-person learning, virtually, or a hybrid system. Special education students are allowed to come to school four days a week. Half of regular students show up virtually, with the other half using a hybrid system. There are about 20,000 students in the entire school district.
Wade says that the biggest challenge of schooling during the pandemic has been attendance and engagement. She and her colleagues have had to find new ways to keep kids interested.
“Only about 20% of kids are in schools. We’re giving away prizes. Currently I’m dropping toys off to kids who went to school 75 out of 75 days. I’m literally trying to pay them off and engage them.”
Despite the uncertainties about the future, Armstrong is pleased with how the district has handled things.
“It’s been great. We have different committees that get together and try and anticipate issues, barriers, and problem solve put things in place. I think the district did a great job of organizing themselves to be like a united front, and looking for consistency and trying to get consistency across the whole school district.”
The district is currently working on vaccinating teachers and administrators to speed up the re-opening process.
For more information of how the district is handling the pandemic, visit: http://www.syracusecityschools.com/districtpage.cfm?pageid=11278
VIDEO STORY:
.@NYGovCuomo announced this week that he would like schools to re-open five days a week. What do Syracuse City School District employees think? My story for NCC News: #bdj4642 pic.twitter.com/4PNkR36osr
— Marco Moy (@Marco_Moy81) February 26, 2021
