Lansing school district solves complex reopening challenges

New York state will decide Aug. 7 whether and how schools will be open this fall; school districts have until July 31 to submit their plans for re-opening.

On July 16, the New York State Education Department issued a 145-page “Reopening Guidance” as follow-up to the 28-page outline issued July 13.

The complexity and urgency implied by those two documents is reflected in Lansing Central School District Superintendent Chris Pettograsso’s work since the last school year ended in June.

There are three options for opening the schools this fall, according to Pettograsso: remain a completely virtual school, blend virtual and on-site schooling and reopen completely within the guidelines.

The state outline for reopening asked districts to consider 14 general areas of concern in their submissions; the plan for each area must account for the three possible opening options.

“Our leadership team has been meeting every day from 9 a.m. to noon since school closed,” Pettograsso said. “We are going through every detail.”

One of these details involved setting up a socially distanced classroom to see what that would look like in reality.

“Everything we talk about has a five-page plan that goes with it,” Pettograsso said. “We are concerned that our population nearby will significantly change in September, and we don’t know what that impact will be. We are moving forward with what we know now – we can hope for best but must be prepared for the worst case. We had some flexibility and forgiveness last year. This year, we have to be more intentional.”

Pettograsso noted that opening school in a normal fall is complex.

“This year, we have to do all those things with very strict rules around social distancing, masks, cleaning, staffing, small class size limits,” she said. “Student mobility will be limited throughout the day. Athletics have been delayed and the schedules condensed.”

Purchasing and storing the required cleaning supplies and personal protective equipment needed for the 12 weeks of school will make a $25,000 dent in the district’s budget, Pettograsso said.

“We will need more faculty and staff for the small classes, more transportation, COVID safety officers making sure things are in place, barriers, face shields, masks, sanitizers,” she said. “We may have to rent space in the Methodist Church to have enough room. Handwashing stations – we have a number and need to create some more.”

Simply ensuring enough healthy faculty to deliver instruction in person is complicated by the pandemic. Health and safety precautions require that faculty with a fever quarantine for 14 days. Their students must be traced and a substitute engaged to cover the classroom.

All told, new spending to create a safe environment will be $75,000 in that first quarter, Pettograsso said.

“Every time we meet, the leadership team’s basic premise is ‘how do we continue to bring people together to be a strong, supportive community for all of us?’” Pettograsso said. “That sense of belonging: ‘How do we create and maintain the programming that we offer? How do we continue to support our community?’ The strength of a small school, and a small town, is community. Nobody is left behind.”

In this pandemic, that has meant the school taking a larger role in providing basic needs, such as sufficient food.

“In Lansing, [the schools have] always had a more quiet role in those areas like food,” Pettograsso said. “We have generous contributors and resources to work with on a regular basis. This became open to the larger community, beyond school-aged children, to be able to provide more services.”

Technological equity is an issue in partially or completely virtual learning environments, Pettograsso said.

“We are trying to make sure that, if we remain in any type of virtual learning environment, everyone has access not to just technology but bandwidth – for video, large documents – to be able to do the work,” she said.

Pettograsso ticked off some of the other line items from the state’s guidance:

“We know the impact of having childcare,” she said. “Do any of our plans offer affordable childcare through school even if we are virtual all the time? Food service: We still have to provide meals to students here and at home. Transportation: How do we ensure social distance on a bus and still get everybody to school? What if we bring people back, even part time, and then close and then reopen? Is that more detrimental to our families and students?”

Pettograsso expressed a concern about teachers being out sick and the district being short-staffed, as well as social distancing, students that are immunocompromised and other risks.

“I am worried that school will look so different that it won’t be the positive experience that we are all expecting,” she said.