Glen Cove City School District grapples with school closure extension

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has made a decision not to reopen schools in kindergarten through 12th grade and college for the rest of the 2019-20 school year. The governor said distance learning will continue to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Students and parents of the district may have several questions upon hearing the announcement, said Glen Cove City School District Superintendent Dr. Maria Rianna in a letter. Questions, Rianna said, may include grading policy updates, what remote learning will look like for the remainder of the school year, graduation ceremony plans, senior and junior prom plans, food distribution plans and day care plans for essential workers. 

“There is also the question of when a budget vote and trustee elections will take place, which was not addressed this morning by the governor – we are still waiting to get clarification on this from Albany,” Rianna said. “Please know that with this announcement, the administration has already begun to put in place plans for the balance of this school year in relation to all the questions noted above and more. The Board of Education is also being updated and will discuss recommendations. As these decisions are finalized, we will get that information out to you.”

The decision affects 4.2 million students statewide in 700 public school districts, 89 SUNY and CUNY colleges, and 100 private colleges.

“While I hoped we would return for at least June, for connection, for closure, I’m not surprised that out governor had to make this difficult decision in the best interest of everyone,” said Corrine Decker, a mom of three Glen Cove City School District students and a counselor at Roslyn Middle School. 

May 1, the day the closures were announced, was supposed to be the day of the Senior Fashion Show at Glen Cove High School. Now, Glen Cove High School Assistant Principal Allen Hudson said, it will be held digitally. 

 “This is tough, but we’ll definitely get through this and we’ll try to make senior activities the best we can,” Hudson said. 

As for Senior Prom and the graduation ceremony, Hudson said that those plans are up in the air. He’s hoping to hold the prom, which was scheduled to be held at the New Hyde Park Inn, mid-summer, but nothing is confirmed because “things just change everyday.”

 He said that the district will not lose any money from the venue for rescheduling the prom. As for graduation, he said the district may hold it in July, however there are questions on how students and spectators will social distance. 

“We feel really bad for them,” Hudson said. “It’s definitely an accomplishment to graduate from high school . . . but it’s not the same.”

Hudson added that the faculty misses the seniors and he knows the students miss one another. So, a Zoom call is being organized to bring the students together to see each other. 

Today’s actions will determine “the number of sick tomorrow,” he said — hence the need to keep school buildings closed and continue social distancing.

The governor said colleges and school districts across New York must begin developing reopening plans, which must be approved by state officials. The governor added there was no determination yet whether there would be summer school. That announcement would be made in the coming weeks.

Hudson said that the district is scheduling as if school will open in September, with considerations on how to protect students, their families and faculty. 

“Personally, this homeschooling hasn’t been great for my kids,” Alexander Papas said. “I will do my best to keep them at or above their grade level, but I’m not sure that everyone has the availability to make sure their kids are learning. Hopefully we won’t have to experience this again in our lifetime.” 

 The announcement came as Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths continue a steady decline, but the state is still seeing nearly a thousand new cases a day, which Cuomo said was unacceptably high.

For the first time in weeks, the number of overnight deaths dropped below 300 from Thursday into Friday — from 306 to 289, a 5.5 percent decline. New hospitalizations were also down.

The governor said social distancing practices, as mandated by the state, have prevented an estimated 100,000 Covid-19 cases, which he said would have overrun the hospitals and caused many more deaths.

“Our past actions changed the past trajectory,” he said.

New York County (Manhattan) had the most new cases overnight, with 167, followed by Kings (Brooklyn), Bronx, Queens and Nassau counties.

Nassau had 97 new cases, or roughly 10 percent, of the statewide total.

The state is also now looking at who is becoming infected. The governor wondered if essential workers were, or if other people were. Where are they becoming infected? At work? On public transportation?

Those are the questions the state is seeking to answer, Cuomo said.

People should continue wearing their masks in public and keep up social distancing to protect others, he said.

Of the virus, the governor said, “The enemy is on the run.”