The Saugerties Central School District is following through on its plans to increase capacity of in-person learning as part of their hybrid educational model this month, with four days each week of on-campus classes in all of its schools.
K-6 students returned to in-school class four days a week on Monday, April 5, the Jr. and Sr. high school will return to four days a week starting on Monday, April 12. Previously, students who opted in for hybrid learning were attending class two days a week on a rotating cohort schedule. Wednesdays will still be an off-day for in-person class and will be remote-only for the remainder of the school year.
In a letter to parents last month, Superintendent Kirk Reinhardt cited a recent report from the Ulster County Department of Health (UCDOH) that allows for an increase in the capacity of students in schools as a primary reason for the move. But there were other factors both within the district and beyond.
According to Reinhardt, as of Thursday, March 11, 95 percent of district staff who requested a Covid-19 vaccine have received their first dose.
Other developments are also making it possible to increase class sizes, especially as the district had reached recommended capacity for their particular facilities. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) are still recommending social distancing of six feet, but have amended the suggestion to allow for no less than three-feet if barriers like sneeze guards and partitions are used. The Saugerties School District ordered 2,000 such barriers to install across the district, and on Friday, April 2 Reinhardt said they’d arrived.
In addition to an increased classroom capacity, the district is also seeing more and more students opting in for in-person class rather than sticking with remote learning. The superintendent said that roughly 90 percent of elementary school students will attend class in person. In the junior high that number is closer to 80 percent, while the high school will have a percentage “in the low 70’s” in class.
The superintendent added that necessary efforts to rework transportation routes on school bus lines were also successful. Weather permitting, windows will be open on school buses, as well as on classrooms to help minimize the likelihood of viral spread.
Reinhardt said that while they can’t legally require rigidity, they’ve asked parents and guardians to try and stick with their choice between in-person and remote learning for students; the district’s bus routes are complex and adding even a small number of students could result in the need for a significant overhaul of their plans.
While adults and older high school students are able to receive Covid-19 vaccinations, vaccinations for younger kids are still being developed and may not be in circulation until sometime in 2022. As such, Reinhardt said the district’s efforts to provide a safe environment for a return to in-person school may offer a window into at least the start of the 2021-22 school year.
“I definitely think this is a great look at what the fall could look like,” Reinhardt said. “A combination of barriers and social distancing. I think with all of these things we can at least feel comfortable going into the fall that we can bring a lot of students back and we’ll have 12 weeks (of summer) to make sure we’ve got everything perfected. And then obviously, we probably won’t be able to get back to normal until kids are able to be vaccinated.”
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