Lindenhurst Parents Oppose Reopening Plan, Schedules Protests

LINDENHURST, NY —With schools releasing a potential reopening plan for the fall, some parents are expressing their concern with the hybrid learning model most districts on Long Island have presented. Recently, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that New York schools can officially reopen only if coronavirus infection rates fall below strict benchmarks. The "formula" that Cuomo spelled out allows school openings in regions that are in Phase Four and have an infection rate under 5 percent. An "emergency" stop to openings will take place if infections rise above 9 percent, he said.

Last week, all schools were required to submit their plan for the fall. The Lindenhurst school district plan, which was posted to the school district website, included a combination of both in-person learning and remote learning, with students attend classes in-person part time and learning remotely the rest of the time.

However, some parents, including local mom Kelly Ann, were unhappy with the plan.

"The hybrid model is among the worst if their goal is to ensure the virus doesn’t get into the school. In a hybrid model, parents will either have to stop working, because lets face it, no employer will be happy, or they will have to spend money on daycare in turn exposing them to another set of social contacts," she told Patch. "The hybrid model could only work if students stay home during the time they are out of school, not socializing with any peers, which we know is highly unlikely and unrealistic."

In a letter on the Lindenhurst school district website, officials say the district established 11 committees to cover all of the district areas in preparation for re-entry this fall and after receiving 145 pages of state guidelines on July 15, the committees have been "working tirelessly" to establish district plans.

"At Lindenhurst UFSD our primary commitment is to maintain the health and safety of the students, staff and families we serve. When the 2020-2021 school year begins, on-campus schooling will look much different than it has in previous years due to COVID-19 and the ever-evolving health and safety measures born from it," the letter reads. "With the understanding that the community may experience spikes in COVID-19 cases at any point, resulting in prompt short or long-term closures, it is the opinion of the district, at this time, that a full in-person reopening of school buildings to all students simultaneously would not be prudent. As such, it has been determined that the safest way forward for our students and staff would be to implement the hybrid approach to reopening."

In fact, the plan sparked two protests which been planned for Friday, August 14 and Wednesday, August 19 in order to ask Lindenhurst officials to reconsider the plan. Kelly says she, along with other parents, have emailed the school district to request that they allow 100 percent remote learning for parents who want it and 100 percent in-person learning for parents who prefer that option.

"I am a parent who wants what is best for my daughter who will be entering 3rd grade and have her in school 5 days a week that way she is primarily in two places with two groups of people, school peers and family at home," she said. "I am hopeful with the amount of parents who would like to opt for remote learning, the parents who feel the same as myself will then be able to send our children for in person instruction. There are children that need and deserve a quality and proper education. There are special needs children that have regressed since March, we cannot continue to allow them to fall behind."

However in the letter, school officials say that they believe the plan is in the "best interests" of the students, family, staff and community.

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