BY JIMMY LAWTON

North Country This Week

OGDENSBURG – Exactly what school will look like this year in Ogdensburg remains unknown, but the district has prepped three models for learning, which include in classroom, at home and hybrid education options.

“Every school was required to plan for three models: fully remote, fully in-person, or hybrid. Ogdensburg is waiting for direction from the Governor to decide on a final model, and gathering commitments from parents so they have a sense of how many parents will choose the fully remote option since that impacts their ability to social distance,” St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES Communication Manager Rebekah Mott said.

The full plan can be viewed on the district’s website Ogdensburgk12.org.

Hybrid instruction

A hybrid delivery model of instruction would result in students working some days remotely from home and some days in-person at school.

In order to follow health and safety measures, as well as capacity constraints, we are planning for a cohort-based approach whereby students rotate between in-person and remote learning.

All cohorts will stay in the same room, as much as possible throughout the day, and teachers will travel.

All students in self-contained Special Education classrooms and CTE programs will attend school full-time, 5 days per week.

Families and Students: Families will be able to opt out of in-person instruction and choose remote learning fulltime, in which case the student will be assigned to a cohort and work with that cohort  each day, from home.

With social distancing and a median range of 10-12 students per classroom, there are plans to repurpose space within schools and re-allocate space if needed to meet the baseline.

The classes would be divided into two cohorts. With cohort A attending school Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and learning from home Thursday and Friday one week one. On week two cohort A would attend classes Monday and Tuesday and learn from home on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Cohort B would attend Thursday and Friday on week one and learn from home Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. One week two cohort B would attend classes on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and learn from home Monday and Tuesday.

An alternate hybrid model would have cohort a attend classes Monday and Tuesday and cohort B attend classes Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday both cohorts would learn remotely. Both cohorts would also learn remotely on days when they are not in attending school.

At anytime, the Ogdensburg City School District may be closed due to COVID-19. This decision will be made in conjunction with the St. Lawrence County Department of Health, the New York State Department of Health, the New York State Education Department and Governor Cuomo.

Should a full closure occur, the district will engage in fully remote instruction as outlined in this document. More information regarding specific building expectations and schedules will be forthcoming.

Online instruction

For students learning remotely the district will mimic a traditional in class school day.

Elementary students will begin at 8:20 and conclude at 2:15 p.m. Elementary students will be expected to participate in approximately two hours of daily direct instruction with the teacher with additional independent practice time required.

Middle and high school students will begin at 7:51 a.m. and conclude at 2:50 p.m. The schooldays will follow the nine period schedule allowing students to be directly instructed by teachers at the time the student would be with that teacher during in-class instruction to prevent conflicts in schedules from occurring.

Middle and high school students will be expected to participate in two to three hours daily of direct instruction with additional independent practice time required.

Agendas for each class will be shared daily. Attendance will be taken for all students and daily contact will be made with all students.

Chromebooks will be provided to students in need for remote instruction and personal hotspots for online access will be provided as needed.

“If fully remote learning is enacted after a period of in-class instruction, every effort will be made to send necessary resources and materials home with students at that time,” the report says.

In class

All parents will have the option of fully remote education and the district has also put into place measures to bring all students to class full-time through a variety of cleaning, social distancing, air-flow modifications, and use of personal protective equipment. Details on how the district would achieve full time attendance are unclear from the report.

Mott said those details will be easier to determine once the school has a better idea of how many students will opt for online only learning.

Transportation

Social distancing will be applied to transportation in all regards. Pupils are required to wear facemasks during transportation to and from their destinations.

Additionally, the front two rows of the school bus will remain vacant to apply social distancing rules for the driver and monitor of the vehicle. Students must maintain a social distance of six feet or more during loading and unloading operations. Transportation will be limited to one pupil per seat, unless the pupils are from the same household.

Transportation providers will also maintain proper social distancing while loading, unloading, and securing students with disabilities who require wheelchairs. Students with physical or emotional disorders that prevent them from wearing a mask will be excused from the rule. No hand sanitizer will be maintained on the bus or in the student’s possession.

 Buses will be cleaned as per state regulations utilizing FDA approved cleaners.

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