It’s a tough time for schools, their students and families.
Weeks-long closures of school buildings in the region and
across the nation due to the COVID-19 pandemic mean school districts are grappling
with remote ways to educate their students. Educators are shifting their coursework
to virtual lessons that are taught through online programs. Students are navigating
online lessons and remote communications with their instructors and classmates.
Parents are sorting out ways to homeschool their kids and work with the technologies
involved, while meeting home and work obligations.
Locally, the Arlington
Central School District (ACSD) in LaGrangeville has put in place a range of
online and ongoing measures to meet the educational needs of its staff, faculty
and 8,000-plus students in grades K-12 across 11 schools.
For instance, to facilitate remote learning, the
district’s faculty is using the
Google Classroom platform to communicate with students, including posting
assignments, resources, and general announcements. As well, teachers have the
option to use Google Meet as a video-conferencing tool to conduct recorded or
live online instruction and meetings.
Additionally,
the ACSD has distributed more than 900 Chromebooks to families who need technical
devices and will continue to provide additional devices as needed. As well, a
list of companies offering free
WiFi and an extensive list of supplemental resources for
students’ use have been posted.
In
all, nearly 2.6 million public and private schools in New York State serve kids
in grades K-12, according to the New York State
Education Department (NYSED), including about 57,000 of the students in
Orange County, 22,000 in Ulster County, 38,000 in Dutchess County and 9,000 in
Sullivan County.
“This
is an incredibly challenging situation and we are asking a lot of teachers,
parents and students,” said Dr. Brendan Lyons, Arlington Superintendent of
Schools, via email. “We also know that everyone is doing their very best to
make this a successful experience and that while some things will work easily,
others will not be as successful.”
While
re-entry plans for the re-opening of the district’s schools will be guided by
the Governor Cuomo’s executive orders
along with directives provided by the NYSED, planning stages are underway for
the ACSD’s summer and fall terms. No additional programs have been determined
at this time.
“Online
teaching is challenging work and it is receiving a lot of time and attention
from our faculty and staff,” said Lyons. “We appreciate the continued patience
of our community. We have been heartened by how our community has come together
to support each other during this unprecedented time.”
Karen
Maserjian Shan is the editor of Hudson Valley Parent