Oceanside, Island Park superintendents react to school closure

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Oceanside Superintendent of Schools Dr. Phyllis Harrington said she was disappointed that schools will remain closed for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year, but noted that she believed it was the smart decision to ensure the health and safety of the district.

"I really wish to have been giving the community better news right now, but I think we all recognize the place we are at,” she said. “ I continue to keep everyone's health and well-being in my thoughts. I am grateful for the efforts of so many in our school community — our teachers, administrators, support personnel, parents and our students — in making the best of these challenging times. I remain optimistic that better times are ahead and that we will come out stronger in the end. We may never go back to the simpler times we remember from our childhood storybooks, but I do believe we will be forever changed, hopefully in a good and positive way."

Harrington released a video for the community, which can be viewed here.

Island Park Superintendent Dr. Rosmarie Bovino said that while administrators will  miss their students and classrooms and are sorry to see so many of our traditions and celebrations altered, the school closure ensures the community remains healthy and safe, and she was prepared for the announcement.

"On May 1, our schools rolled out their Google Meet sessions to enhance our social connection and digital instruction," she said. " Our Continuity of Learning Plan continues to be updated to keep our students on track as they move forward for the remainder of the school year from home. Our principals and teachers have been working diligently and communicating with students and parents directly via Google Classrooms, traditional email, telephone calls and other platforms — and our mental health staff members are dedicated to providing support and resources that are needed in these uncertain times."

On Friday, Cuomo announced that students in kindergarten through 12th grade and college will not return to their schools in New York for the rest of the 2019-20 school year and will instead continue with distance learning to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.


The announcement came as Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths continue a steady decline, but the state is still seeing nearly a thousand new cases a day, which Cuomo said was unacceptably high.


The decision affects 4.2 million students statewide in 700 public school districts, 89 SUNY and CUNY colleges, and 100 private colleges.


For the first time in weeks, the number of overnight deaths dropped below 300 from Thursday into Friday — from 306 to 289, a 5.5 percent decline. New hospitalizations were also down.


The governor said social distancing practices, as mandated by the state, have prevented an estimated 100,000 Covid-19 cases, which he said would have overrun the hospitals and caused many more deaths.


“Our past actions changed the past trajectory,” he said.


Today’s actions will determine “the number of sick tomorrow,” he said — hence the need to keep school buildings closed and continue social distancing.


The governor said colleges and school districts across New York must begin developing reopening plans, which must be approved by state officials. The governor added there was no determination yet whether there would be summer school. That announcement would be made in the coming weeks.


Of the virus, the governor said, “The enemy is on the run.”


Now, however, state officials must determine more precisely why the state is still seeing nearly a thousand new cases a day. So the state is drilling down, looking at new cases by county.


New York County (Manhattan) had the most new cases overnight, with 167, followed by Kings (Brooklyn), Bronx, Queens and Nassau counties.


Nassau had 97 new cases, or roughly 10 percent, of the statewide total.


The state is also now looking at who is becoming infected. The governor wondered if essential workers were, or if other people were. Where are they becoming infected? At work? On public transportation?


Those are the questions the state is seeking to answer, Cuomo said.
People should continue wearing their masks in public and keep up social distancing to protect others, he said