New York schools will open in fall, Cuomo says

ALBANY, NY (WRGB) - New York schools have been given the go ahead to open in the fall.

"They are all authorized to open," Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a conference call Friday.

 WWNY

Districts have been planning for months on how to adapt to new safety guidelines. That includes classroom learning, virtual learning, health screenings, as well as transportation on school buses.

“If any state can do it, this state can do it because we’ve been smart since day one,” Cuomo said. “We can bring the same level of intelligence that we brought to the economic reopening.”

For the districts that have submitted plans, Cuomo said they will be asked to more specifically address three elements of their plans: remote learning, COVID-19 testing for both students and teachers, and contact tracing. Those expanded plans will be submitted to the state and posted on the district websites.

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Why we closed schools

Why we closed schools
Mar 25, 2020 | District Superintendent, From the Desk of Gladys Cruz, Questar III BOCES

The spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has forced schools and businesses across the country and globe to close – causing an economic and societal disruption like we’ve never seen (and hopefully will never see again) in our lifetimes. On Friday (3/27), Governor Andrew Cuomo announced all schools in New York state will remain closed for an additional two weeks, until at least April 15, to help protect the public against the spread of COVID-19.

For education leaders, closing our schools was a painful choice (as it impacted and disrupted families, learning, the distribution of meals, delivery of special education services, etc.), but it was necessary to slow the spread of this illness and save lives. 

Some are not heeding the advice of elected and health officials during this pandemic – and continuing as if this is a snow day or spring break. You may have seen the pictures and videos of people at the beach in Florida or gathering in parks in New York City. This needs to stop. Social distancing can help stop the spread of the virus and ensure that our health facilities are not overwhelmed.

In retrospect, closing schools was the easiest hard decision we could make as a BOCES region and state. The harder decision will be when to reopen our schools. This is something we will need to take one day at a time for the foreseeable future.
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Free Seedlings courtesy of NYSDEC.

Available to Schools for Free

NY State Parks ‏@NYstateparks  27m27 minutes ago

RT @NYSDEC: The deadline to apply for free seedlings has been extended until mid April: http://on.ny.gov/1MtFijq