New COVID-19 protocols delaying some openings

Several districts taking extra time to train staff before students return

Some local school districts are delaying the first day of school to get teachers and staff up to speed on social distancing and contact tracing protocol.

North Colonie, Ballston Spa and Bethlehem school districts are among those potentially planning to “front-load” their professional learning days at the start of the school year to ensure that they can still meet New York’s requirement for schools to provide 180 days of instruction.

Schools that were set to begin the week of Sept. 7 will instead

begin in-class instruction on Sept. 14.

“Because of the detailed planning in place, our staff has to be trained,” Ballston Spa superintendent Ken Slentz said in an interview last week. “The teacher that returns to us in September hasn’t been involved in the planning and needs time to become familiar with all the new expectations.”

At Bethlehem, students participating in a fully remote learning program will be phased in on Sept. 9 through 11. Other students will be phased into in-person instruction based on their grades and last names on Sept. 14, 15 and 16.

“The phased re-entry days will be used for instruction and to allow students to become acquainted with their teachers and classmates, learn about class expectations and review health and safety rules,” the Bethlehem district wrote on its website.

The superintendents of the Capital Region BOCES and the Questar III BOCES said the decision whether to delay school is being left up to local districts.

Coxsackie-athens Central School District is planning to hold four professional training days instead of the usual two, but will hold them before classes begin on Sept. 10.

Superintendent Randy Squier said teachers and staff in the districts are contracted for 188 workdays, so they can begin training as early as Sept. 1.

Many districts have not yet finalized their academic calendars. Currently, the Albany City School District intends to resume instruction — both in-person and virtually — on Sept. 8, but the school board plans to discuss the academic calendar at its meeting this Thursday, a spokeswoman said.

School leaders have been engaged in discussions on how to safely reopen schools since mid-march, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York.

Fall sports have been delayed until September 21 to allow for more time to address which sports can begin safely, or if they need to be postponed until later in the year.

New York’s more than 700 public school districts, as well as charter schools and private schools, were required to submit individual reopening plans to the state on July 31.

Most districts plan to offer a full schedule of in-person classes for elementary students and some hybrid of in-person and virtual learning for older students. Schools are also offering a fully remote option at every grade level for students who are medically fragile or who don’t feel comfortable returning to the classroom for other reasons.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Friday said that infection rates are low enough across the state for schools to reopen in September.

“If you look at our infection rate, we are probably in the best situation in the country . ... If anyone can open schools, we can open schools,” Cuomo said.