Masking controversy pops up in Hauppauge schools

This week's top stories

1. Mask controversy in Hauppauge schools

The faceoff between Hauppauge schools and the Cuomo administration ended Sunday as district officials said in a letter to the community that masks will continue to be required indoors.

The Sunday note came three days after the school board president and the teachers union president told state officials in a letter that they assumed they could no longer require masks be worn when social distancing is possible. That move would have defied the state guidance mandating indoor masking.

The June 10 letter was signed by school board president David Barshay and Hauppauge Teachers Association president Kevin Giachetti.

District Superintendent Dennis O’Hara previously said he was not consulted on the letter and that "masks should be worn to protect everybody in the school community," including those with medical conditions who are not vaccinated.

School officials cited a Newsday article published that included a quote from a health department spokeswoman’s statement: "Pre-K to Grade 12 schools must comply with DOH guidance in order to be authorized to remain open for in-person instruction."

Read the full story.

2. Three of four districts pass budgets

Three Long Island school districts won approval of school budgets in revotes, while a fourth took a drubbing in its efforts to push through the same fiscal plan rejected by voters in May.

• Bridgehampton and Wantagh, which had both trimmed their fiscal requests, obtained "supermajority" voter support for overrides of their state-assigned tax caps. Northport-East Northport stuck within its cap limit and won passage as well.
• Three Village, on the other hand, got smacked by voters as it tried to stick with its original budget, while also attempting a tax override.

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3. Meet Long Island's extraordinary seniors

Each student graduating this year navigated tumult: the COVID-19 pandemic, national political conflict, and a public reckoning over the structure of American society. Add to that hybrid, or completely remote education, unexpected school closures and diminished opportunities for extracurricular engagement.

• Newsday highlighted the stories of 13 seniors who epitomize the heart and grit many have brought to their endeavors this year.
• Some have campaigned for voter registration or advocated for climate justice and marginalized communities.
• Others have focused their leadership on lifting school spirit or mentoring classmates; many have survived health challenges.

Read the full story.

4. Video shows unmasked people at school events

Video of two Commack school district events last week shows multiple people unmasked in the Commack High School auditorium, days after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and guidance on the district’s website said the indoor school mask requirement remained in place.

• Video of a June 8 community forum showed adults in the audience and administrators, including district Superintendent Donald James, unmasked while addressing the audience.
• Video of awards presentations at a June 10 Board of Education meeting showed district staffers and students not wearing masks when posing for pictures.

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5. Local teens win vaccine scholarship

Jasmine Thalon said she was initially very nervous about taking the vaccine for COVID-19, but the chance of winning a college scholarship served as an incentive for the 13-year-old. That was the idea when the state announced the program, and Jasmine got more than her shot in the arm against the virus out of it.

• The Valley Stream teenager was one of two Long Islanders among the latest round of young people to win four-year scholarships to any public college in the state.
• Natalia Low of Suffolk County was the other lucky vaccine recipient among the 10 announced by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

Read the full story.

Resources for you

• Check out a sampling of Long Island high school students who won competitions, scholarships and other honors.
• Learn about the path to licensed professions in the state.
• New York high schools can use the online FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) Tracker to view data on their schools' completion rates.

Round of applause

A Garden City High School student is making communication more accessible for children.

Lindsey Stevenson, a senior, has created a Communication Station Core Board for children at Homestead School, the district primary school she attended. The board displays 35 visual icons that represent an assortment of actions, emotions and needs to help youngsters with complex communication needs interact with their peers and teachers.

She pursued the 80-hour project as part of her Gold Award, the highest achievement within the Girl Scouts of the USA.

Your questions answered

Have questions? Send them to ednews@newsday.com. Newsday’s education reporting team will pick one to answer in this space each week.

What do local educators anticipate for the Fall?

Appearing on the latest NewsdayLive Conversations webinar — "Education and COVID-19: What's the outlook for school in September?" — three local superintendents said the hope is that school days will more closely resemble pre-pandemic life than the remote-learning, hybrid-model scenarios of the past three semesters.

But, the trio cautioned, no one really knows for sure.

"Next September, I'm extremely optimistic," Brentwood Union Free School District Superintendent Richard Loeschner said, adding that he believes most classes — especially those like physical education, arts and music — will return to pre-pandemic norms.

However, he said, masking and social-distancing requirements "remain to be seen."

"Lessons we learned through the pandemic … educating the whole child, keeping them healthy, safe, supported, engaged and challenged," Roosevelt Union Free School District Superintendent Deborah L. Wortham said. "That is what we learned … 'Safe' drove us through the pandemic. We are all technologically literate by this time. We've added skills to the repertoire."

Malverne School District Superintendent Lorna Lewis, former president of the New York State Council of School Superintendents, said, "We are going to emerge stronger than ever … Our kids belong in our classrooms … Our kids are already showing they're ready to just interact with each other.

"We're planning to have every learner back in class."

— Find the latest education news at newsday.com/long-island/education. Joie Tyrrell can be reached at joie.tyrrell@newsday.com or on Twitter @JoieTyrrell.