OWEN VALENTINE: Schools all around Central New York are preparing to bring the majority of their students back for 4 or 5 days a week which means there are a lot of changes that need to take place in the classroom.
OWEN VALENTINE: The transition to full time in person learning officially begins april 5th. Before then, schools need to either space all desks six feet apart or gather enough dividers for their classrooms. Third grade Liverpool teacher Cassidy Hall says it is going to feel like early September.
CASSIDY HALL: They’re gonna be excited to see each other, it’s gonna feel like the first day of school again. So I’m prepared to just go over those expectations. There’s going to be a lot less room around here because we’re going to be moving desks with dividers. We’re gonna have to adjust. The first few days are gonna be new and then they’re gonna get right back into it.
OWEN VALENTINE: Hall stresses the benefits of being back in person.
CASSIDY HALL: They are all just so excited to be together and they’re so good with the health and safety precautions so I’m not worried about that. Just excited for them to get back and be with their friends. Also they just learn so much more productively and they’re more engaged in school than at home so I think they are ready to come back too.
OWEN VALENTINE: Third grader Lily Randall is not the biggest fan of learning remotely either.
LILY RANDALL: ‘Cause it usually glitches and it like logs us off the meet and it’s just so mean.
OWEN VALENTINE: Now here at Elmcrest Elementary, only three percent of survey respondents said they would like to continue learning at home. That means the overwhelming majority of students are looking forward to getting back into the classroom for a multitude of different reasons.
LILY RANDALL: I get to meet other friends, and I get to see Ms. Hall every single day of the week. Not just Tuesdays and Fridays. So that would be fun!
OWEN VALENTINE: Now not everyone is completely on board with five day a week in person learning. One of the main groups you can see concerns from are parents whose children have been virtual learners for the duration of the year so far. Making the jump from zero to five days in person was one of the biggest concerns raised by those groups. Reporting in Liverpool. Owen Valentine. NCC News.
LIVERPOOL, N.Y. (NCC News) – In just under three weeks, Onondaga County schools can reduce the required social distancing from six to three feet. For many, this means almost all students can return to in-person learning, but that does not come without challenges.
In order to cut the social distancing in half within the classrooms, each desk requires a three sided divider, in addition to the existing safety protocols. Getting those dividers is one of the main things that could hold schools back from the anticipated changes starting April 5.
Elmcrest Elementary, a school in Liverpool that will bring over 400 students back, currently does not have any of the three sided dividers needed to reduce the spacing within classrooms.
Like many other local schools, Elmcrest sent a survey to parents and guardians to determine the number of students that would return to in person learning. 97% of the over 400 responses received said the student would return to five day in-person learning, the school said.
Despite the challenges leading up to bringing this many students back, students and teachers alike are looking forward to returning to learning a little bit closer to normal.
