COVID 1 Year: Area School Districts Continue To Make Best Of Tough Situation, Always With Eyes On The Future
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- More students are returning to the classroom. But with masks, social distancing and random COVID-19 testing, school is now a very different experience.
CBS2's Hazel Sanchez has more on how students, parents and educators have adapted and, in some cases, struggled to make it work.
For most families like the Lees of Manhattan's West Side, working and learning from home has become the norm. They were adjusting when we CBS2 met them at the start of the pandemic.
CONTINUING COVERAGE: Schools: The New Normal
Now, one year later, 5-year-old Kady Lee joins thousands of New York City public school students who are back in the classroom full time. Her 8-year-old brother, Shane, is hybrid. Both are following strict mask and social distancing rules.
"I had to look at a screen all day and now I have a neck problem," Shane said.
"I just really want everything to go back to normal," Kady added.
A YEAR IN THE PANDEMIC: REMEMBRANCE & RESILIENCE
- A Look Back On What's Been Lost And How Tri-State Has Persevered
- Timeline Of Virus' Swift Impact Across The Globe
- Long Island Nurse Who Documented Painful Journey Warns Fight Is Not Over
- Essential Workers Risk Their Own Safety To Keep Supplies And Services Running
- Area School Districts Continue To Make Best Of Tough Situation, Always With Eyes On The Future
- Daughter Looks To Carry On Father's Legacy At Arthur Avenue Restaurant
- Unemployment Forced Many In Our Area To Reinvent Themselves, And Gain Perspective Along The Way
- Food Insecurity Grows Throughout Tri-State Communities, 'The Face Of Hunger Has Changed'
- The Sports World Stopped, But Hope And Progress Are Beginning To Win The Days
- 'Long Haulers' Still On Long Road To Recovery, 'A Complete Lifestyle Change'
- Vaccines Offer Shot Of Hope, Despite Ongoing Distribution Struggles
Getting back to normal has been challenging for the Department of Education and its more than 1 million students, primarily bridging the digital divide. Private and public partnerships allowed the DOE to distribute more than half a million devices with internet.
When schools reopened in the fall, air purifiers were distributed to classrooms with poor ventilation, including teacher Alexis Neider's classroom at the Neighborhood School in PS 69 on the Lower East Side.
But her classroom and many others are still relying on open-window ventilation, even during the freezing winter months.
"If we have to be there, we have to be cold," Neider said.
READ MORE: New York City Schools To Eliminate Entry Exam For Gifted And Talented Programs
Parents must consent to random weekly COVID-19 testing to return to in-person learning, with only 20% of students tested.
High schools remain fully remote.
"We are really advocating for 100% of children and staff to be tested every week," Neider said.
COVID VACCINE
- New York State book online here or call 1-833-NYS-4-VAX
- New York City book online here or call 877-VAX-4NYC
- Track NYC Vaccinations By Zip Code
- Nassau County more info here
- Suffolk County more info here
- Westchester County more info here
- New Jersey book online here or call 1-855-568-0545
- Connecticut book online here
Joanna Tsimpedes is the assistant superintendent for Paterson, New Jersey schools, which have been fully remote since the pandemic began.
"To be honest, we never thought it would be March 2021 and we would still be in the same situation," Tsimpedes said.
Thanks in part to funding from the CARES Act, all 26,000 of its students from pre-school through high school are equipped with a Chromebook with internet.
St. Francis De Sales Catholic Academy in Belle Harbor, Queens was able to safely reopen in the fall for all of its 560-plus students -- K-5 full time, 6-8 hybrid. Despite its reopening success, Principal Chris Scharbach said his students, like many others, are still making up for lost time.
"There are definitely academic gaps that have to now be filled in this school year and beyond," Scharbach said.
CORONAVIRUS: NY Health Dept. | NY Call 1-(888)-364-3065 | NYC Health Dept. | NYC Call 311, Text COVID to 692692 | NJ COVID-19 Info Hub | NJ Call 1-(800)-222-1222 or 211, Text NJCOVID to 898211 | CT Health Dept. | CT Call 211 | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Some schools have adjusted well to this new normal, but there is still much to be done to make sure children can succeed moving forward.
Educators say the key will be investing in remote learning, training and technology, and possible in-person summer programming.
"And really not just tackling the academic piece, but the social emotional as well -- extracurricular, fitness, getting these kids up and active," Tsimpedes said.
READ MORE: New York City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza Stepping Down
With the resignation of Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza, New York City public schools will now look to his successor, Bronx Executive Superintendent Meisha Porter to lead students into the new normal in education.
"I see so many opportunities to leverage the work that has started to really move our school system forward," Porter said.
COVID-19 uncertainties have left so many lessons to learn along the way.
