Views mixed on Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District's hybrid reopening

When the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District announced that it would reopen under a hybrid model for the first two weeks of school — with plans to ease from a mix of online and in-person classes to a full reopening by Sept. 21 — the decision drew mixed reactions from parents and students. While a number of parents and students lauded plans for a return to semi-normalcy, others feared that eventual full-time in-school instruction could cause Covid-19 cases to climb.

“It’s a bit disturbing to me that they’re only giving the hybrid plan two weeks,” said parent Tara Bernstein, of Merrick. “At this point, full-time school, while good for the social-emotional piece, is not safe.”

Bernstein’s son is entering 10th grade at Calhoun High School in North Merrick this year. While she acknowledged the district’s diligence in “putting students’ needs first” in the reopening, she said the hybrid model should be tried out for a month rather than two weeks “to see how the kids respond and if there’s a major outbreak,” she said.

“As my kids’ pediatrician said, ‘There is no right answer, and a bunch of wrong answers,’” Bernstein said. “Any way you slice this, the kids lose.”

Mike Conlon, of Merrick, also has a son entering 10th grade at Calhoun. He said he believes the district needs more time to test the effectiveness of remote learning before rushing to a decision to use the hybrid plan for the rest of the quarter, or even the rest of the academic year.

“As a parent, I prefer five days a week of in-school education,” Conlon said. “With remote learning, people signed in, got their assignments, and that was really it. But the teachers might not be up to speed on remote learning. With this new syllabus, they’ve got to be teaching.”

A Grand Avenue Middle School Parent agreed, calling the remote-learning period “a complete loss of time.”

“While I understand the reluctance to send the children back to school, there really is no scientific reason for being afraid — the numbers do not support this fear,” she said. “I also think it is very elitist to keep the schools closed. Not every child has computer access and internet access at home; not every family has a device for each child, [or] an adult who can sit with the child and teach the material. People are hiring tutors and creating teaching pods in order to educate their children at home, [but] these options are not available to all.”

David Silverstein said his daughters — a rising senior at Calhoun and a soon-to-be freshman at Kennedy High School in Bellmore — are comfortable going back to school, and harbor no fears about the virus. A photo of a crowded Georgia high school hallway that recently went viral showed only a handful of students wearing masks and virtually no social distancing. But Silverstein said he believes the district would be more “vigilant” in enforcing safety protocols.

He said the district’s reopening proposal is “a reasonable plan.” “I’m a numbers guy, and the data that’s available strongly suggests that the chances of a catastrophic outcome are minuscule,” he said. “It’s likely that positive tests [will] show up, and if they do show up, it’s not necessary in my opinion to shut [school] down and go run and hide.”

For students who will soon re-enter district buildings for the first time in six months, starting the new school year will certainly be a shock.

“At first it was kind of expected,” said rising senior Dylan Lipman of the hybrid plan, “but at the same time I thought, ‘If we send our students back, is Covid going to be worse than ever?’”

Lipman is the president of John F. Kennedy High School’s Student Government Association. The club has been meeting via Zoom to discuss how to conduct activities virtually and reshape learning under the hybrid model.

“In talking to my peers, it’s not fear they’re feeling, [but] confusion,” he said. “Are we going to be able to hug each other and talk to each other? There’s a lot of unknowns.”

Reza Aziz, a rising senior at Calhoun, said he liked the idea of returning to school under a hybrid schedule. “I think the hybrid model is the most effective way for kids to learn while maintaining safety,” he said. “If we were going to open to full occupancy immediately, even with social distancing and people wearing masks, there would have been some kind of issue.”

Aziz, who plays on the Colts’ soccer team and is a member of the On Tour Company, said after-school activities would take on a different form this year, too. “I’m not sure how practice is going to work, but I think there will be a season, and On Tour is only doing three shows this year,” he said. “We’re still trying to figure out how to maintain social distance on stage and limit interactions between people, but production for the shows is going to be impacted based on the hybrid model.”

Aziz implored his peers and their parents to embrace the district’s decisions, despite the frustrations they might feel, and reminded them that teachers and administrators are trying to adjust to this new way of learning, as well.

“The best thing is to remain patient,” he said.