COMPREHENSIVE RUNDOWN ON SCHOOLS WITHIN & AND AROUND LIVINGSTON COUNTY

 

As schools struggle to come up with a workable plan to teach students during the Covid 19 pandemic, schools announced the proposed plans they have sent to the state for approval on July. 31. The plans are also posted on school websites, and most districts sent letters to parents. Any updates will be posted on school websites.

Locally, several schools are going to try to go to 5-day a week in-person schooling, while at least six – Avon Central secondary, Dansville, Geneseo, Honeoye Central secondary school, Wayland-Cohocton, and York, have opted for hybrid models that include both in-school days and remote-school days, mostly due to space limitations within the school buildings.

However, it is noted by almost all local schools that the online option, if chosen,  will not look like the model used March-June of last year; instead, classes will be taught “live” with classroom peers present, using a program such as Google Meet or Zoom, at specific times throughout the school day, with attendance taken, to meet state credit and funding mandates.

Avon has chosen an asynchronous model from their preliminary plan, where students will be online independently on the days they are scheduled to be in an in-person class. All of the schools have a detailed sanitation plan for those students attending in-person, and will be requiring students to take classes in health safety measures, wearing a mask, washing hands, etc. Sanitation rules, staggered arrival times to classes (to eliminate crowded halls), will all be required. Schools are serving lunches, but most will be offering lunches for pick up in their cafeterias, with lunches eaten in the classrooms. Some will be doing temperature checks of all student and staff, and others will not, since it is not state-mandated to do so. Masks for onsite learning will be required.

Plans listed below are the preliminary plans submitted for approval to New York State on July 31 and are subject to change:

Lima Christian School was one of the first schools to announce that they would have full-time face-to-face schooling starting in September for K-12. With class sizes traditionally limited to 15 at the school, social distancing was easier than it is in other schools where there were customarily 20-25 in a class. The private school will also be offering a remote-only mode.

Livonia Central is also offering full-time in person schooling for students K-12, but will also be offering online scheduled “live” classes to those students who would prefer not to be onsite. Masks and social distancing will be mandatory for students who opt to go to school in person, and classrooms have been rearranged to remove any non-essential items like classroom libraries, classroom toyboxes, etc. Students will eat in the classrooms.

      Honeoye Central adopted a full-time in-person model for grades Pre-K through 5 only, with  the option of either 100% in-person schooling,  or an option to do remote learning, noting that the remote learning for both elementary, junior high, and high school will be live, using Google Meet, with peers of the same age, in classes at times announced throughout the school day. (This remote option will be much different than what was offered in March-June of 2020.)  If elementary students choose to attend school in person, they will be taught within small, static cohorts and have distancing requirements. Secondary students (grades 6-12) will be able to attend school in a hybrid model, with 50% in person learning and 50 per cent remote learning. According to the school’s website, “This approach will limit the number of students in a classroom, on buses, and in the hallways at one time. Secondary Students will be assigned into one of two cohorts. Cohort 1 will attend school on Monday, Wednesday and every other Friday, and Cohort 2 will attend school on Tuesday, Thursday, and alternate Fridays (from Cohort 1.)”

Geneseo has developed three models: remote, hybrid, and in person, but at press time, said the hybrid model which is a combination of in-person and remote learning will probably be the model that starts the school year. By using a hybrid model, the number of people in the building at any one time is limited, but there is still some personal contact, and some remote learning. The remote portion will look different than what was used in March-June, since most classes will be taught “ live” using a program such as Google Meet. The student body will be divided into two cohorts, each meeting in person two days a week, with one cohort attending in person on Mondays and Wednesdays, and the other meeting in person on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with Wednesdays being “digital days.” Career and Technical BOCES students will also attend Mt. Morris campus in person on Mondays and  Tuesdays, as well as taking core academic courses at Geneseo Central.  Geneseo is also offering a 100% remote option for parents who are not comfortable sending their children for in-person instruction.

Geneseo has developed three plans but has chosen to start with a hybrid model, with the understanding they may have to switch to one of the other two models, depending on circumstances. Geneseo  has a very detailed plan on their website at https://www.geneseocsd.org/cms/lib/NY02214398/Centricity/Domain/346/Final%20Reopening%20Plan%207.31.2020.pdf.

Avon Central School – Avon has chosen a 5-day a week in-person schedule for the elementary (K-6) students, but a hybrid model for grades 7-12, where secondary school students will attend full-day school for two days a week, and, on the days they are not in school, will use an asynchronous independent model of remote instruction. (Avon’s plan is on their website under “School opening.”) Wednesdays grades 7-12 students can meet with teachers and counselors during scheduled office hours. GV BOCES vocational, tech, and career students will be attending classes at BOCES Mondays and Tuesdays and will attend regular classes on Thursdays and Fridays.

St.Agnes, Avon – St Agnes, a grade K-6 school will hold in-person, five day a week instruction, as well as remote learning for vulnerable students via Zoom, Google Meet, or other such programs.  All students will remain socially distanced in the classrooms and cafeteria, and will be required to wear masks when social distancing is not possible. Arrival, break, and lunchtimes have been staggered so there will not be as many students in main areas at one time, but students are expected to wear masks brought from home every day when not socially distanced. Pre-K 3-year-old classes meet two days a week, and pre-K 4-year old classes will meet 3-5 days a week. First day of school for students is Sept. 9.  Supply lists for students are posted on the school website. For more information, call 226-8500.

Mt. Morris Central School – Mt. Morris Central School is going to a 5-day a week in person model K-12, but classes can also be taken online, “live” on the normal school bell schedule using Google Classroom or Google Meet. Attendance will be taken in all classes, whether students are registered for remote or in-person schooling.

Wayland-Cohocton – Wayland-Cohocton announced that, because of the many students and configuration of their building, they will not be able to offer full-time in-person schooling.  Instead, the student body will be divided into two cohorts, with one group attending school on Monday and Tuesday and the other cohort attending on Thursday and Friday, with no students attending on Wednesday, which will be used for sanitizing the building. The days where the students are not in attendance (3 days a week), they will use remote learning, which is not like the type of remote learning used in March-June. It is likely classes taught online will be taught “live” at specific times with all classroom students in attendance through a program such as Google Meet or Zoom. For parental convenience, the cohorts will be arranged by family, so students in the same household will attend school on the same days.

Dansville — Dansville will divide their student body 3PK-K into two cohorts. Students in Cohort A will attend school in person Mondays and Tuesdays, and participate remotely on Wednesdays.  Cohort B will attend school in person on Thursdays and Fridays and will participate remotely on Mondays,Tuesdays and Wednesdays. By limiting in-person attendance for each group fewer students will be in halls and classrooms, and contact time reduced for both groups.  The cohorts will be divided by households so students in a family will have the same schdules. There will also be 100% remote learning, but if households to choose that, they are expected to stay in that group for at least the first ten weeks.

York Central — In York, grades PreK-4 will attend in person 5 days a week from 9:30 to 3:30; grades 5, 6 & 7 will attend school two days a week from 8:30-2:30, and remotely three days a week. Grades 8-12 will attend school two days a week from 7:30-1:30, with remote learning three days a week. Some students will be required to come to school on Wednesdays rather than remotely.  All students grades 5-12 will be divided into two groups, and there is a survey available until Aug 8 on the school website for parents to choose which group their children are in (which days they attend remotely or in-person).

Genesee Valley BOCES — BOCES will only be attended by BOCES ed tech students in person two days a week, with Wednesday as a “digital day.” Each district will only be sending students to the ed tech programs two days a week. The days of the week students attend is determined by what district they are from.

For more detailed schedules and plans, check your school’s website under “reopening plan.” All proposed plans above are tentative, subject to approval by the state. Check school websites for updates.