Schools, seeking new 'normal' reopen with excitement, new programs
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Andrew Speranza's three siblings all graduated from Spackenkill High School.
His own experience while at 112 Spackenkill Road has been anything but the normal four-year stay.
Speranza lived the rare dream of any scholastic athlete last spring when he helped lead the Spartans to a state baseball title.
But he and hundreds of his fellow seniors around the region share a distinction that may prove to become an equally unique fraternity: They've yet to have a high school year unshaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I’m excited to see everybody again and start my senior year," he said, noting he's waited for this year since watching how much his brother enjoyed it. "It feels like things are getting back to normal and my graduating class should have its first (complete) regular year in high school."
"Normal" in the fourth academic year of the pandemic may still be out of reach, some warn, and the idea of it may be changed for the foreseeable future. But still, it's the hope of most as schools around the region reopen this week without precautionary rules in place.
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Arlington, Beacon and Dover reopened their doors Tuesday, with most of the rest of Dutchess' districts following suit Wednesday. Many district leaders are looking forward to implementing new programs in the hopes of aiding students following three tumultuous years marked by COVID-induced closures, precautionary safety measures, extracurricular cancellations and staffing shortages that forced some districts to reduce services.
"We are not looking at this school year as if it is a return to normalcy," Arlington Superintendent David Moyer said. "Change is a reality we face in public schools today, and it will continue to be. We are looking at it as an opportunity to build upon what we have learned and improve our systems to ensure that we are personalizing learning for all students and meeting the social, emotional, and cognitive growth needs for each individual learner."
The state announced in late August the main COVID protocols that were in effect for most of last year will not be required to start this school year, consistent with federal recommendations. Among the mandates zapped: masks, distancing between people, contact tracing, various types of COVID testing, and reporting COVID cases to the state.
People who test positive for COVID-19 are still required to isolate for five days and then wear a mask in school for another five days.
Arlington senior Kaylee Stowell called her high school experience thus far "weird," but hoped her last year would be "most enjoyable" before heading to Manhattan College, where she'll play soccer.
“It’s great that things are finally getting back to normal," she said. "I do still have COVID in mind, still being careful, and I’m prepared if there’s a need to quarantine or anything. But it’s relieving to be out in the open and be able to normally socialize again with friends and teachers.”
Supporting mental health
Most school leaders who shared thoughts on the coming year discussed the need to combat learning loss, with students still rebounding from extended periods of remote instruction and closures, and programs for to aid their mental wellbeing. Several districts last fall experienced an uptick in violence on school grounds.
Some districts, like Poughkeepsie, are working with Astor Services for Children and Families to provide outside behavioral health support. Poughkeepsie instituted permanent mental health clinics in its high and middle schools, in addition to hiring staff with the help of a $2.33 million state grant. The district already adapted throughout last year, adding crisis intervention workers and programming, amid a series of fights and confrontations.
Superintendent Eric Rosser said this year the district has expanded programming for English as a New Language students, students with exceptionalities, college readiness, workforce development, music, and other areas. He said there have also been building, facility, technology and security upgrades in the district.
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"School districts across the country (last year) were confronted with widespread student learning loss and students exhibiting behaviors that spoke to a great need for social and emotional intervention," he said.
Spackenkill Superintendent Paul Fanuele called the summer's relative lack of pandemic turbulence "refreshing," noting it's "nice to have a beginning to a school year not clouded by pandemic talk." He said students' mental health is the district's key concern.
"We instituted a program called The Positivity Project last year and will continue with it this year. It reminds our students of the character traits needed to succeed in life," he said. "We will also focus on professional development for our staff in the area of mental health."
Hyde Park likewise started a behavioral health assistance program it is calling "Bridges to Resilient Youth in Transition."
Superintendent Aviva Kafka said the district "anticipated the need for an increase in social and emotional support and as a result we have implemented a new Social Emotional Learning curriculum throughout the District, as well as increased clinical staff."
Expanding learning
As for combatting learning loss, Kafka said Hyde Park expanded its extended day and summer school programs.
In Red Hook, Superintendent Janet Warden said the district has upgraded its technology with a 1-to-1 initiative in which each student in grades 6-12 is given a MacBook Air.
Wappingers Superintendent Dwight Bonk said an initiative started last year − Career Vocational Technical and Education, or CVTE, will be expanded to aid students after graduation.
"As businesses continue to indicate that they are having difficulty finding employees with the technical skills necessary to remain competitive," he said, "it is imperative to the success of our region that K-12 education, higher education, business, and government work in collaboration in this area. The CVTE Initiative provides various opportunities for our students to learn about the various career pathways in our region, through the continued development of business education partnerships, and other career exploration activities."
Moyer said shaping individual programs for students is key.
"Each learner is different, which is why we are going to focus on personalizing learning for all students," he said of Arlington.
Staffing shortages continue for some
While districts can create programs and services to aid students, they also must have the staff to support them. last year some districts experiences shortages so severe in some departments that services had to be reduced. In isolated instances, districts had to cancel classes or extracurricular activities due to a lack of bus drivers, sometimes due to COVID exposures.
Some school leaders said they continue to see shortages, but none who spoke about the coming year indicated they believed it would have the impact of a year ago.
"We are still working to fill a few classroom positions, and we definitely are experiencing challenges in several other areas," Moyer said, noting Arlington is not at capacity with its bus drivers but is "in better shape than last year." he called the district's shortage of teaching assistants and food service personnel "problematic."
Kafka said Hyde Park is "not anticipating a reduction in any services due to staffing shortages this school year, but we are still looking for staff to fill a few positions." Hyde Park's website lists openings for teaching assistants and aides, bus drivers, security and school monitors, a licensed nurse and substitutes.
Wappingers since the beginning of last year has advertised bus driver positions through signs hanging from parked school buses outside of some school buildings. In a message to the community last week, Bonk noted the district is still hiring for those positions, as well as for monitors, food service workers and cooks, nurses, teaching assistants, clerical staff and substitutes.
While Fanuele said Spackenkill is not experiencing any shortages, he admitted it was a concern.
"We were able to hire early in the process," he said. We need to remind people that the teaching profession is the best profession to have. Working with students is a gift."
As a defending state baseball champion, Speranza is looking forward to the gift of seeing classmates Wednesday.
"It’s going to feel incredible," he said. "Walking the halls knowing you and your boys did something that this community will never forget, feels unreal and I can’t wait to see what we do next.”
Still, for as "normal" the first day may be for many students, there is lingering apprehension.
"I am a little nervous that there may be more restrictions with other diseases and viruses developing," Speranza said, "so we definitely still have to be cautious.”
Staff writers Stephen Haynes and Gary Stern contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Dutchess schools reopen seeking new 'normal' after COVID years
