What to Know
- A school district in Rockland County is pressing the pause button on hybrid learning plans for the fall.
- Clarkstown Central School District Superintendent Martin D. Cox said the district was simply not ready to go ahead with the in-person learning model.
- Cox went on to say the main reason for the shift has to do with “the health and safety of students and staff.” The start of in-class learning has been delayed until the end of September.
A school district in Rockland County is pressing the pause button on hybrid learning plans for the fall.
Clarkstown Central School District Superintendent Martin D. Cox said the district was simply not ready to go ahead with the in-person learning model.
"The decision was made that we are not quite ready yet to do it as effectively as we want to in an environment that we feel is as safe as possible for students and staff,” Cox said, adding that, instead, the district's more than 8,000 students will start the school year online.
Cox went on to say the main reason for the shift has to do with “the health and safety of students and staff.”
The superintendent says there are multiple concerns they‘re addressing, including wearing masks and what to do in classes without air conditioning. After more than a dozen meetings with multiple subcommittees the district came to a decision.
"We need to pause, we need the element of time to work on them to get them in a better place for the health and safety of everyone," Cox said.
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Jessica Chatman, of New City, supports the decision.
“I think it’s good they’re looking out for people’s safety," Chatman.
The start of in-class learning has been delayed until the end of September. A move that has gotten As from the community.
“I know we have to do something to get those kids back into the classroom. I know that’s what the teachers want," Michelle Marvin, of New City, said, adding that her daughter is a teacher who want to get back to her classroom. "But I don’t know if the safety level is there yet."
Before in-person learning commences, the district is trying to solve another problem: how to safely disinfect 3,000 computer devices everyday after school.
