BUFFALO (WBEN) - School districts around New York State were directed by Governor Cuomo to submit plans for reopening come September, and those plans are due by July 31.
The state tasked districts to create protocols for three separate scenarios: an in-person model, an online model, as well as a hybrid model, meaning a combination of in-person and online instruction.
"The one thing that you'll notice in our district plan is the result of a lot of feedback and input from our stakeholders and from those who do the work in our schools every day," said Hamburg Superintendent Michael Cornell. "We've had 80 or so people working on the development phase of our planning, and we'll have another 60 or 80 working on the implementation phase in early August."
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Some school districts, such as Lancaster and Orchard Park, have released their plans on their district websites.
Lancaster COVID-19 Reopening Plan Draft
Orchard Park COVID-19 Reopening Plan Draft
The general consensus in talking to local school officials is they anticipate a hybrid model of education come the fall.
"I believe it can work - it's going to take a lot of cooperation, patience and adaptability - we feel it's the best way to come back," said Niagara Falls Superintendent Mark Laurrie. "To be off of school for six months and to then bring 7,500 students and 1,200 staff members in full, I don't think is the wisest return.
"We think that it's best to bring people back slowly, develop rituals and routines - we'll bring kids back at 50%, so half of the class will come back on certain days and half will come on another day," Laurrie continued. "We'll leave a day in the middle for cleaning, and we'll teach technology skills, so the day that you're not in, you'll be able to take lessons home with you, and then we'll evaluate it after a couple of weeks."
"The more and more I'm learning, the more it's making me believe that it's going to be an almost impossible task to have every single one of our students attending in our school buildings full-time," said Scott. "There has to be some sort of flexibility in scheduling, as well as some hybrid models of virtual and in-person."
Andrea Todoro, who serves as the school leader for West Buffalo Charter, said they will be flexible with families as they decide what path is best for them.
"We are going to allow our families a choice, but we have a hybrid model that does include in-person face-to-face instruction and some remote days as well, and then also allowing families, if the child is immuno-compromised or lives with someone who's immuno-compromised, or the family just does not feel comfortable sending their child to school, a remote option will be extended to them as well."
"The other thing that everybody has to remember is that there's a lot of talk about September, and rightfully so, but we have to remember that there's going to be a point at which we're going to be required to shift from wherever we start in September to something else," said Cornell. "So, a big part of this is going to be the adaptability of our planning. We'll be ready for whatever the governor tells us we have to be ready for in September, but then beyond that, all school districts really have to be ready for anything."