Buffalo, NY (WBEN) - As time ticks away and the summer break from school draws to an end, students, parents, teachers and staff are all anxious and curious about what the new school year in a COVID world will be like.
Buffalo Public Schools will give parents and teachers alike the opportunity to get an idea of what to expect when the school year begins September 8th during a final public meeting Monday afternoon.
It will be remote learning to start the school year, and the online meeting says Dr. Darren Brown-Hall will give parents an idea about schedules and interaction students will have with their teachers through Microsoft Team.
"A lot of students have assignments to work, but parents want more teaching, and we want to show how that works, and how much time will be attributed to that," says Brown-Hall. "Having a quiet space for them to work with their teachers and have the remote learning. We're back in school, and remote learning is school. Summer vacation is over and we are in school mode."
He says teachers will be in schools at least two days a week, but that won't be the only way students get access. "We'll be talking with teachers about their schedules, their interaction they'll be doing with children, what that's going to look like. Plus, they'll have office hours, so if students have questions, they can log on at certain times and talk to a teacher that way," adds Brown-Hall.
Brown-Hall says teachers want more structure to the school day and more uniform in how the school day will be. "They want to know how much instruction they'll have also," explains Brown-Hall.
Buffalo Teachers Federation President Phil Rumore says that's new to him. "That was never discussed with the reopening committee," says Rumore. "It's ludricous. We're 100 percent remote learning, and teachers are at home, but the district is saying you have to go to the school two to three days a week." Rumore says he's also concerned about health and safety. "The schools have not all been sanitized, they don't have the proper filters, and it won't be safe. It doesn't make sense," says Rumore. He wants to know how often the hallways will be cleaned and what the procedure will be if someone is identified with COVID19 and sent home.
Sam Radford of the Buffalo District Parents Coordinating Council says he has questions about the timetable is for returning kids to schools. "I'm hoping to hear about how quickly students who will benefit from being in school can return to school which is more conducive to their learning," says Radford.
He wonders what will it take to reopen schools. "If it's a vaccine, it's not going to happen soon. Clearly the numbers don't justify keeping kids out of school, so right now I'm hoping to get clarity on what it will take," says Radford.
Radford also wants to know about how much access students will have to teachers and other support services they normally get in school.