The restored facade at HF-L high school. Submitted photo
Like many area school districts, Honeoye Falls-Lima’s proposal for school reopening in September is a split decision.
Kindergarten through fifth-grade students at Lima Primary School and Manor Elementary School will have in-person classes every day along with the sixth-graders at HF-L Middle School, following the typical school calendar with normal start and end times. Seventh-grade and eighth-grade students at the Middle School and all high school students will be on a hybrid model with half the student body in person at school one week and attending school via online learning the next week; this split schedule will be by alphabet. Students will follow their daily schedule whether in person or in an online learning environment. Seventh- and eighth-grade students will follow a proposed block schedule whether in person or online.
HF-L Superintendent Gene Mancuso said the split decision is reflective of the feelings of parents who participated in a survey over the last few weeks as well as reflective of the individuals on the Re-Opening Task Force, which included Board of Education members, District Office administrators, building administrators, staff members and community members.
“45 percent of the parents who took the survey wanted a hybrid model for students and 45 percent wanted all in-person learning while 10 percent were either unsure or had no strong feelings,” Mancuso said by phone on Friday, July 31 which was the date that all schools had to have their re-opening plans submitted to the state.
“We decided to have the sixth-grade students also be in school every day because they also have similar teachers. We would have liked to have had K-12 all with in-person learning but safety-wise we just were not able to do that as the kids in one math class might be taking different English courses or different history courses and then you mix in some kids taking Spanish and others French or different electives and it just didn’t work. So, we went back to the idea of half the students in school and half learning from home for a week and then switching.”
Asked how K-6 students would receive music, art or physical education instruction, Mancuso replied that in the case of music and art, that teacher would come to a classroom while physical education would rotate between some classes having a PE teacher come to them and other students would have PE in the gym; although Mancuso said he would be happy if the weather cooperated and physical education classes could be conducted outside.
In addition, students who have needs and programs requiring additional days will be scheduled accordingly and the district is working to ensure that families with students in grades 7-12 are on the same schedule. Those families will be contacted in a separate communication to discuss their program.
“We will support students who attend BOCES programs out of the district and will get those students where they need to be when they need to be there,” Mancuso said. “Conversations are also occurring regarding our students in the Urban Suburban program. The biggest issue there is transportation, but the Rochester City School District has said it is committed to transporting the students.”
All instructional staff and all students will be provided with a laptop (grades 3-12) or iPad (grades K-2). Mancuso acknowledged that there will be gaps in learning for students because of schools being shuttered in mid-March and online learning plans being put together on an emergency basis, but said teachers will meet students where they are at and then move forward. Also, recognizing that school will look very different, the district is committed to incorporating awareness of social and emotional wellness in a whole school approach.
While the classroom learning piece of the puzzle was important, there are other important details that needed to have answers as well. One of those is school lunches.
“Students will need to order lunch in advance and we are developing an app for that,” Mancuso said. “Our younger students will be eating lunch in their classrooms as we will be using lunch rooms for classroom space. Although the new cafeteria at the high school is done, we will also keep the B-wing gym as a cafeteria (as it was while the old cafeteria area was renovated and enlarged) to limit the number of students in the new cafeteria. At the Middle School, tables will seat two students and the tables have been placed six feet apart.”
The Food Service program will be providing meals for students on school days, whether in person, hybrid or at home. More details are being developed.
The other logistical factor that needed consideration and thought is transportation. The district will be providing transportation to and from school, but Mancuso said a survey is being sent to parents to find out if parents intend to drive their children to school or have them take the bus. Buses will be loaded back to front with students getting picked up first being at the back of the bus and students being picked up last at the front of the bus. In addition, buses will be disinfected every day.
“We will be staggering bus arrivals and departures and will utilize multiple entrances and exits from the school buildings,” Mancuso said. “The one thing we are concerned about is traffic backups at the schools due to parents picking up or dropping off students. We have always had a backup at the high school; but we are concerned about backups at all four schools.”
Class size will depend on final enrollment. Parents who wish to have their students stay enrolled, but do not want their children to attend school in person due to COVID-19 are required to notify the district prior to August 18 via a survey that is being sent out. Families should plan to commit to staying with their remote learning choice for the first half (20 weeks) of the school year. Parents who are going to send their student(s) to a private school or who will be homeschooling should notify the district registrar at HFLregistration@hflcsd.org. Mancuso noted that all classrooms will meet the safety guidelines required by the New York State Education Department, including social distancing/barriers and mask use any time students are on a bus or on the school campuses. The school district has purchased polycarbonate partitions to provide further options for keeping physical distance in classrooms.
Mask wearing will be mandatory as per New York State Department of Health guidelines and health department regulations provide that mandatory health screening assessment (questionnaire, temperature check) before employees or students begin work and school each day will be required and should be completed at home prior to deciding if one is coming to school.
As far as after school activities and before/after school care for students, that is also addressed as much as possible in the plan. Mancuso noted that the start of the fall sports season has been delayed by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association until at least September 21 and that the district did not have any additional information at this date regarding the beginning of practices or opportunities for off-season conditioning. The Cougar Care before/after school care program is still being developed. Staffing and the number of requests will determine the availability of the program to meet all state department of health regulations and a separate communication to parents is forthcoming. As far as extracurricular activities such as clubs are concerned, those will be scheduled on a limited basis based on the ability to safely go forward with social distancing and masking and will be continuously evaluated on a case by case basis.
“I can envision something like the yearbook club being able to run, because they can do it remotely, but something like jazz ensemble or other clubs with big gatherings won’t be allowed,” Mancuso said.
He praised the teaching staff; noting 84 percent participated in surveys and said that district officials have met with union officials on a regular basis to create solutions together.
While Mancuso is confident in the plan submitted to the state, the district is starting to develop an enhanced plan for online learning should schools not be allowed to reopen. That will include face-to-face online meeting with students; with grades 7-12 students following their daily schedule and daily attendance, grading and participation mandatory and K-6 students following a modified version of their schedule based on developmental levels. All employees will be at school each day in all models.
“The plan we submitted was developed by a community task force with representation of teachers and the community and with input from parent surveys,” Mancuso said. “It’s the best plan today and as soon as the Governor and state education make a decision, we will survey parents again. In this situation, there is no easy answer because something like this pandemic has never happened before and most folks understand that.”
The full 81-page plan is available for viewing on the district’s website.
