NEW YORK — Western New York schools have continued to adapt as the COVID-19 crisis evolves.
"Teachers have never worked harder in their life than they're working right now and are putting in enormous hours, oftentimes from sun up until sundown and even beyond sundown," said Rick Moore, the superintendent of the Olean City School District.
As we inch closer to the end of the school year, some districts are already planning for what summer classes could look like.
"Our desired course of action would be a traditional summer program where students come to us for a portion of the day," said Robert Breidenstein, the Salamanca City Central School District superintendent. "However, if that's not possible, we'll continue with the continuity of our instructional plans via an online platform."
Breidenstein added, "I think that once the governor lifts the PAUSE, when that happens, we'll take a look at each individual student and what they might need and then develop an individual plan for each student for the months of hopefully July and August."
Since the state's decision will determine how schools move forward into summer programming, some districts are preparing for both a traditional summer school session and a remote one, if in-person instruction is not permitted by then.
Moore explained, "Necessity is the mother of invention so all our teachers have become very, very proficient at teaching remotely. So I think we're really ready to do it either way."
Mark Laurrie, the superintendent of the Niagara Falls City School District told 2 On Your Side, "I think with the continual progress of virtual learning and virtual instruction, we're starting to look at more virtual academies for summer school."
Laurrie said the need for summer programming may be different than years past.
He explained, "This may not be the traditional, 'You didn't do anything all year or you didn't meet the standards all year.' This may be just to reinforce some of the skills that were taught earlier in the year and to re-teach some of the ones that are being taught during distance learning."
"We are looking at some type of virtual summer school. Maybe not across all 12 grades, but maybe in some very particular courses," Laurrie added.
Currently, school buildings closed under the PAUSE order until at least May 15. The governor said he'll likely have a decision on schools later this week.