BY MATT LINDSEY
North Country This Week

St. Lawrence County school officials are making plans to bring back more students following revised New York State Department of Health COVID-19 guidance for schools. Any changes will involve discussion with school boards and other stakeholders.

On Friday, the NYDOH released updated guidance that would allow schools to reduce social distancing between students in the classroom from six to three feet with certain protocols in place.

“Following the updated guidance from the CDC, we have been expecting the change in social distancing and have been working with staff and parents to plan for changes this school year,” said Potsdam Central School Superintendent Joann Chambers.

Allowing more students to attend in-person instruction has Norwood-Norfolk Central School Superintendent Jamie Cruikshank excited.

“I am very pleased that the DOH has changed their guidance and is now adopting the CDC guidelines,” he said. “I believe that it's imperative to have our children learning in-person whenever possible. The positive connections that children make with adults is critical to their academic development and social/emotional growth.”

Potsdam Central

Superintendent Chambers said school officials plan to reconvene the reopening committee that met last summer to review the new Department of Health guidance and update the reopening plan, which will be posted on the district website.

“We've discussed anticipated changes with the Board of Education and hope to present our revised plan at the April 19 Board of Education meeting,” she said.

Chambers said it expected that kindergarten students would return to full-day programming. To accommodate this, the school plans to hire an additional teacher to reduce class sizes.

“We also expect to combine the two middle school cohorts to return students to in-person instruction four days a week,” Chambers said. “We plan to continue the current model at the high school, but the change in social distancing will allow any remote student who is interested to return to in-person instruction.”

The Potsdam super said parents of remote students at any grade level who would like their children to return to in-person instruction should contact the building principal to make the necessary arrangements.

Norwood-Norfolk Central

Although the guidance is new, NNCS and other districts have tried to be creative in bringing back more students for traditional learning.

“Throughout this school year our principals have been trying to bring as many students back to in-person learning as the guidelines allow,” Superintendent Cruikshank said. “Each week they have been challenged to increase opportunities for our students to develop positive relationships with school; which is best done when students are physically here.

Cruikshank said it's the district’s intention to safely continue to shift toward in-person learning this year. “We hope to bring as many students back to in-person learning as the health and safety standards dictate,” he said.

The super has had preliminary discussion with the Board of Education on the CDC recommendations and has also provided parents and community members an opportunity online to speak with him.

“I imagine any change in our plans would involve continued discussion with the Board and community,” Cruikshank said.

NYSUT statement

“As educators, we know that the best place for our students to learn is in person in the classroom,” said New York State United Teachers President Andy Pallotta. “What we’ve wanted from the very beginning of the school reopening process is for that to happen in the safest possible environment.

“In adopting new physical distancing guidelines in line with CDC recommendations, the state is making it crystal clear that distancing is only one part of a layered mitigation strategy. These revised guidelines not only draw distinctions between when it’s appropriate to have three feet of distancing and when six feet of distancing is still necessary, they also mandate masks at all times and lay out specific ventilation recommendations while maintaining important provisions for cleaning, hygiene and contact tracing. What’s more, the guidelines are clear that community transmission — with a majority of New York counties currently at high levels of transmission, per CDC metrics — is a critical factor in how physical distancing changes are implemented. And before districts make changes, school communities, including parents and educators, must be given an opportunity to provide input on updates to reopening plans. That has always been and must continue to be essential to the reopening process.”