Glen Cove schools won’t open anytime soon

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On March 27 Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered schools statewide to remain closed until  April 15 to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

Two days prior, the Glen Cove City School District Superintendent Dr. Maria L. Rianna posted a letter on the district website stating that school officials are planning for an extended period of school closures beyond the March 31, the date originally set Cuomo.

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran announced on March 26 in a virtual town hall that she was also waiting to hear from Cuomo. Because the state, which is a larger entity, stepped in and closed schools statewide after Nassau County did so on March 16, Curran said, the state now has authority over these decisions moving forward.

“We are waiting for their guidance and to see what the state wants to do,” said Curran. “I think the state will have to assess whether and when we are flattening the curve. The governor has said that we expect to reach the apex, the height of this crisis, in 14 to 21 days. April 1 is only a week away. So, we have to keep that in mind.”

Alexis DiMaggio, a Glen Cove City School District parent, said that she was not surprised when she saw the letter on the district’s website. “A lot of us didn’t think that we were going back on April 1,” she said.

When asked how her children, who are in elementary school, felt when they heard of the letter, she said they had a similar reaction. “They kind of expected it, but they’re not excited,” DiMaggio said.

The letter on the district’s website also stated that officials were going to continue to refine and update the educational continuity plan, including the district’s digital capabilities as well providing educational materials and resources to students without home internet access on a temporary basis.