As districts close out a school year, officials consider full September reopening

This week's top stories

1. Schools may fully open in September

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo predicted that schools throughout the state will reopen for in-person learning in September and he will set a statewide policy. His comments came after New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the city's schools will fully reopen in the fall with no remote learning option.

We have to get back to school," Cuomo said, pointing toward the statewide daily positivity rate for COVID-19 hovering around 1%.

While Cuomo said policy details will be forthcoming, he seemed to indicate a preference against continuing to allow virtual education, arguing that it discriminated against poorer, minority households.

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2. College crunch for seniors

Long Island’s colleges and universities — like schools across the country — say their freshmen classes this fall will be more diverse, with more students who are first in their families to attend college.

• The picture is more strained for high school seniors frustrated by denials or waitlists at highly selective schools across the nation, where in past years they might have expected acceptances, guidance counselors said.
• Applications to those schools surged after SATs were made optional during the coronavirus pandemic.

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3. Thousands refuse state math tests

More than half the students across 57 Long Island school districts in grades three through eight opted out of taking the math assessments given earlier this month, a Newsday analysis found.

• According to data collected from the districts, 55%, or 45,747 children, declined to take the assessment tests, which were given May 3 through 14.
• The data tracks closely to the opt-out rate on the English Language Arts tests given in April, when 52.5% of children across 61 districts did not take the exams, a Newsday survey found.

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4. Incumbents out in two school districts

Two of Long Island's larger school districts — Smithtown and Port Washington — ousted their incumbent school board candidates during this month's school elections, replacing them with people intent on change.

• Challengers in Port Washington had asserted that many voters were unhappy over what they saw as the insufficient distance-learning last spring, as well as the district dragging its feet on restoring full-time in-person schooling.
• In Smithtown, the challengers had campaigned on a platform that questioned the district's equity efforts and accused the district of teaching "critical race theory."

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5. Four districts consider revotes

Four Long Island school districts that failed to pass budgets Tuesday have scheduled meetings this week to decide on their next steps, which include potential revotes on June 15.

• Planned meetings run from Tuesday through Thursday for the districts of Wantagh, Three Village, Bridgehampton and Northport-East Northport.
• The Wantagh school district is sharply lowering its proposed spending and taxation for a June 15 revote, but is still seeking to override a strict state tax-cap restriction. Three Village will offer the same budget to residents.

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Resources for you

• Long Island students can find out about local plans for prom and also find formalwear giveaways for the big night.
• Medical experts answer questions for parents about children and vaccines in a recent Newsday talk moderated by Associate Editor Joye Brown.
• Registration is open for future students studying medicine on National PreMed Day held this Friday where experts offer tips on how to get into medical school.

Round of applause

Three students from Carrie Palmer Weber Middle School in Port Washington swept the top spots statewide in a poster contest coordinated by the New York State Department of Health.

Eighth-graders Leah Dong, Eva Krell and Ben Ollendorff placed first, second and third, respectively, in this year's New York State Radon Poster Contest, which strives to raise awareness about the harmful effects of elevated levels of indoor radon gas and to increase the number of homes tested for radon.

Leah's first-place poster was an illustration of a computer screen with several windows sharing facts about radon. Eva's second-place poster displayed facts about radon in vibrant colors, while Ben's third-place poster featured three houses and asked viewers to identify which one has radon.

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 are the regulations governing high school graduation?

School districts have moved their Class of 2021 graduation ceremonies to outdoor university stadiums, scheduled separate ceremonies over several days, will stream the event for those who can’t make it, and at least one is planning a drive-through commencement. Graduations for the Island's nearly 40,000 seniors typically are held in mid- to late-June.

Schools this year, with COVID-19 restrictions easing, can have more than 500 attendees for outdoor graduations in large venues such as stadiums. Last year, after schools closed and classes went online, most commencements were held virtually, scheduled over multiple days or as drive-through events.

Schools must follow state guidance, which has called for social distancing and proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test at venues such as football fields.

The state Department of Health offers this updated guidance for commencement and other end-of-year events.

— 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.