HAMBURG, N.Y. — Hamburg Central Schools Superintendent Michael Cornell says in-person learning is the best way to teach students.
"Anything less than fully in-person learning is less than what's ideal," Cornell said.
He's also the president of the Erie-Niagara Schools Superintendents Association, and he says that's what most superintendents tend to believe.
"Our default position of superintendents, generally, is to have students in-person as many days as we can have them, and that's solely based on what the public health officials tell us about how much density we're able to have in our schools," Cornell said.
It's also what's preventing students from all returning to the classroom and why some efforts are being made to get them all back.
In Western New York, Assemblyman David DiPietro is proposing legislation to allow for districts to lower the social distancing rule to three feet.
Over in Onondaga County, the county executive has started allowing students to be less than six feet from each other.
So what would it take to get 100 percent of students back into the classroom in Erie and Niagara school districts?
"A change to six feet or a mask, something like that. A simple change like that would allow us to be able to have all of our students in school everyday," Cornell said.
That's at least what he says the answer is for Hamburg Central Schools, where everyone is six feet apart and wearing masks.
The district is only at 50 percent capacity due to the guidelines.
So until they change, it's one of many districts who will continue waiting for new ones someday.
"That's not our decision. Our line of authority on health related matters comes from NYS Department of Health, NYS Department of Education and Erie County Department of Health," Cornell said.