Superintendents talk new school year in the new normal

Classes are back as schools across Long Island embrace a return to normalcy following more than two years of pandemic disruption.

But while extended lockdowns, enforced mask-wearing, and remote learning are largely a thing of the past, administrators must now help students settle back into the classroom and make a determined effort to catch up on learning lost to the coronavirus.

Don Sturz says his District 24 is “looking forward to getting back to more of what it was like pre-pandemic.”

With the easing of restrictions by the Center for Disease Control and the state education department, “we will no longer need to cohort (students), allowing for greater teamwork and interaction.”

Shedding these pandemic-era restrictions also frees up classrooms for better arrangement, moving around to better suit the specific learning needs of students, the superintendent said.

Sturz’s counterpart in District 13, Judith LaRocca, also eyes a pivot toward getting students back on track as far as learning is concerned. The district is determined to stay on course to reach grade level by the time these students reach third grade.

“We have also updated our math program (for third through sixth grade) this school year, and expanded our pre-kindergarten program from four to six classes,” LaRocca said.

But while pandemic restrictions may have loosened — with the state education department giving districts more leeway to determine their own Covid protocols — Sturz and LaRocca made clear that a layered prevention strategy to minimize the spread of Covid remains in place.

“Our schools have multiple measures such as optimizing ventilation, cleaning, and disinfecting protocols — and a supply of Covid test kits available for our students and staff,” LaRocca said.

School districts also are bracing against other pandemic-related issues, not least of which include soaring inflation in everything from transportation to paper that may put a sizeable financial dent in the districts’ coffers in the coming years.

“Increased federal monies — the grant funds, and the increased state aid we have received over the past several years” have cushioned the impact of increased costs, Sturz said.

“The challenge is really next year when the grant funds dry up,” the superintendent added. “That is the real challenge — to prepare a budget that will maintain and even expand our programming, while making provision for these increased costs.”

"While inflation had been factored into the 2022-23 budget, we are reaching the higher end of anticipated costs," said Central High School District superintendent Wayne Loper, but the district is closely monitoring the situation and is exploring "all available grant or alternative funding opportunities" for the future. 

Gasoline is one of the biggest driver of costs right now, LaRocca said, but “we accounted for this in this year’s budget cycle.”

“Districts generally have purchasing power when using contracts that can help keep costs such as school supplies fixed,” she said. “However, we expect that those annual contracts will see further price increases that may impact the budget in the future.”

But it’s a different kind of power that is being felt nationwide — manpower. In fact, it’s “the most critical issue we are facing currently,” LaRocca said, as the district searches to fill a handful of open spots for classroom and noon-hour teaching aides and substitute teachers.

Despite the hurdles — thanks to a large inflow of federal aid and effective fiscal spending — the districts have managed to expand rather than cut learning programs this year while adequately weathering against anticipated pandemic stressors.

And administrators are looking forward to returning back to the basics of school by sparking a greater sense of belonging and enthusiasm for learning and shared community.

“We have been through so much these past few years, and we are looking forward to being together as a Valley Stream 13 family,” LaRocca said. “The culture in our schools and across our district is that we are all a part of a very special community.”

“I would hope this summer proved to be a time for students to re-energize and recharge,” Sturz said. “And that they look to return to our schools with excitement and a thirst for learning, exploration, and discovery. As we say here in Valley Stream 24, always ‘look for the awesome’ every day.”

Have an opinion on this article? Please send an email to jlasso@liherald.com.