Long Island

Sandy School Story Gallery

East Rockaway Junior-Senior High School will welcome back students on Monday, exactly six months after superstorm Sandy shuttered the building. 
 The school suffered $10 million in damage from the storm, which flooded the building with 5 feet of water, ruining its gymnasium, locker rooms and library. Students have been attending classes at two <a href="/topics//Baldwin,_NY">Baldwin</a> schools that had been closed. 
 Monday's return will be an emotional day for students, especially seniors, who will spend their final few weeks of high school back in the renovated building, said Superintendent Roseanne Melucci. 
 "It was very traumatic," Melucci said. "Our objective was, as quickly as possible, to get the students back into an instructional environment and repair the building." 
 The district has paid for some of the repairs with insurance and hopes to cover the rest with <a href="/topics//Federal_Emergency_Management_Agency">Federal Emergency Management Agency</a> dollars, Melucci said. Anything not covered by FEMA would be paid through a bond anticipation note, she said. 
 The closure of the high school, and damage suffered at Rhame Avenue Elementary School, forced the district to shuffle most of its 1,300 students. 
 Seventh- and eighth-grade students have been attending the former Milburn Elementary School in <a href="/topics//Baldwin,_NY">Baldwin</a>, while ninth- through 12th-graders have attended the former Shubert Elementary School in <a href="/topics//Baldwin,_NY">Baldwin</a>, Melucci said. Both schools were rented by East Rockaway. 
 Rhame Avenue Elementary was closed until mid-December due to flooding damage. During rebuilding students were doubled up at Centre Avenue Elementary School, Melucci said. 
 Staff renamed the combined Centre and Rhame Avenue schools "the CARE school," Melucci said. 
 "I'm really proud of our students, our staff, for the way they have managed this really difficult situation," Melucci said. 
 The high school's large gym and its kitchen will not be ready to reopen Monday, but the school is "going to work around that," Melucci said. 
 School equipment will be moved from the <a href="/topics//Baldwin,_NY">Baldwin</a> schools to the high school over the weekend, Melucci said. Monday's reopening will be a delayed day, with the school opening at 10 a.m., she said.

News

TOEAST26

East Rockaway school, closed by Sandy damage, to reopen

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Hundreds of students in the Lawrence school district are switching temporarily to different schools Thursday, after the high school was closed to repair recently discovered electrical damage from superstorm Sandy.
Lawrence High School was closed Wednesday, and district officials estimated the building will remain shut for eight weeks.
The school's 975 students will move Thursday to the district's middle school, and 400 fifth- and sixth-graders will transfer from the middle school to two elementary schools. All district students stayed home Wednesday as teachers and other staff moved instructional materials and other equipment between buildings.
District officials announced the moves after engineering consultants advised them that electrical wiring was corroded by seawater that flooded a crawl space under the high school on Oct. 29. School officials said the corrosion was not discovered until recently, after the crawl space was cleared of sand and debris.
Gary Schall, the district superintendent, said in a phone interview that engineers had advised that the high school could close either this week or next to allow repairs. Schall added that the district opted for the quicker closing, because of the possibility that any electrical failures would pose a safety hazard.
Asher Mansdorf, the school board president, acknowledged that some parents and staff were angered by the district's decision, but agreed with Schall that safety was the top priority.
"When the children get to school, I want to know that the lights are going to go on," Mansdorf said. "I want to know that the fire alarms are going to work."
At a district informational meeting Wednesday night attended by about 150 parents, students and others, some contended the high school's air quality may have been affected by mold -- a position the district denies.
"You have endangered our children!" said Shanon Blue, mother of an 11th-grader.
Others were more sympathetic to the district. "It's not a tragedy, it's a setback," said Terri Kennedy, mother of a ninth-grader and an 11th-grader.
Lori Skonberg, president of the Lawrence Teachers' Association, complimented her nearly 300 members for their rapid transfer of instructional equipment Wednesday, noting that many teachers had experienced flooding in their own homes.
Skonberg questioned district officials' decision to reopen the high school after Sandy struck.
"If the district knew those wires were down there [in the crawl space], why would they let us back in the building?" the union president said.

Nassau

LILAWR17

Sandy damage closes Lawrence High School

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Several Long Island colleges, in an effort to keep students enrolled, are refunding, crediting and, in some cases, offering grants to help those unable to pay tuition because of hardships from superstorm Sandy.
More than 200 students at public and private institutions Islandwide have requested such tuition assistance so far, according to officials at the various colleges.
"Students lost homes, textbooks and cars, making it very difficult, if not impossible, to continue with the semester," said Sandra Friedman, associate vice president for student financial affairs at <a href="/topics//Nassau_Community_College">Nassau Community College</a>, where 135 students asked to withdraw from the fall semester and have their tuition refunded because they were affected by Sandy.
Requests began in the days right after the storm and continue to come in, Friedman said.
With colleges on winter break, officials said they are trying to work with affected students to make sure they have the means to continue their education through the spring semester.
Several schools set up Sandy relief funds designed to help students with tuition bills and the cost of books and transportation to school. Others are revising students' federal and state financial aid applications, especially if there has been a drastic change in the amount of money a family is able to spend on <a href="/topics//Higher_Education">higher education</a>, college officials said.
Power to waive tuitionState university officials in mid-December passed a resolution giving presidents at each SUNY campus -- including Stony Brook, <a href="/topics//Farmingdale,_NY">Farmingdale</a> and <a href="/topics//Old_Westbury,_NY">Old Westbury</a> -- the ability to waive fall semester tuition for students devastated by Sandy.
So far, six students at Stony Brook, eight at Farmingdale and two at <a href="/topics//SUNY_Old_Westbury">SUNY Old Westbury</a> have applied for waivers, officials at each of the schools said.
All of those schools, as well as private colleges including Adelphi, Hofstra, LIU Post, <a href="/topics//New_York_Institute_of_Technology">New York Institute of Technology</a> and St. Joseph's, reported making efforts to work with students suffering financial hardships because of the storm.
Tuition was not refunded or waived at the private schools, but students have gotten grants ranging from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand.
"It's the same way we would've treated a student who might have had a catastrophic event, the death of a parent or a fire to their home," Adelphi spokeswoman Lori Duggan Gold said. "It's what our staff does on an ongoing basis."
Proof of hardship neededWhile the process varies by school, students requesting such waivers or Sandy-related tuition assistance need to provide documentation to prove their hardship. The supporting material often includes copies of insurance or FEMA claims and photos of property damage, college officials said.
Sarah Gochez, a senior at <a href="/topics//Molloy_College">Molloy College</a>, was among those uncertain about being able to return for the spring semester.
The storm brought waist-high water into the first floor of her family's <a href="/topics//Freeport,_NY">Freeport</a> home, from which she has commuted to the <a href="/topics//Rockville_Centre,_NY">Rockville Centre</a> school.
More than two months later, the house has no floors, limited plumbing and no heat. The family is financially stretched, laying out money for repairs as they wait for reimbursement from their insurance company.
"My parents are really having a hard time," said Gochez, 21. "We don't have the insurance money. And the money we do have is going to the house now."
Molloy credited her the remainder of her balance for the fall semester -- $5,000 -- with money from the college's Sandy relief fund.
"It was a great help to me because, on top of everything else, thinking about the tuition bill was driving me crazy," Gochez said.
Hard-hit student bodyAbout one-third of Molloy's 4,500 students live in the most damaged communities in southern <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> County, so college administrators knew they needed to do something.
The college's annual gala, held two weeks after the storm hit Oct. 29, raised $200,000 for students affected by Sandy, and helped 28 students, including Gochez, pay their fall semester tuition.
The awards ranged from $1,200 to $7,500, said Linda Albanese, vice president for enrollment management. Molloy's yearly tuition is about $24,000.
In addition to grants, several colleges' administrators encouraged students to refile their federal student aid form, commonly known as FAFSA, to make sure they are getting all of the tuition assistance available to them.
Taking a breakSome college officials said a few students were so overwhelmed with anxiety and family responsibilities that they had to take off fall or spring semester.
"They wanted to spend the time with their families because they needed to clean up and felt they couldn't concentrate on school," Albanese said. Four Molloy students decided not to return during the fall semester.
Bill Gustafson, associate provost for student success at LIU Post, said about 20 students at the <a href="/topics//Old_Brookville,_NY">Old Brookville</a> campus required counseling and a review of their financial aid packages. The school did not waive or refund tuition, but officials adjusted payment plans to help families that expected to have trouble paying on time.
"We had students who weren't sure what their next steps were in life, never mind getting to campus," Gustafson said.
"It wasn't just about tuition," he said. "These families didn't know what they were going to do next."

LICOLL08

Sandy-struck students get tuition aid at LI colleges

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More than 30 <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> schools and libraries that were hard-hit by superstorm Sandy are slated to receive books donated by Scholastic, the children's publishing, education and media company.
The effort is part of a larger initiative by Scholastic to donate a million books to schools impacted by Sandy in <a href="/topics//New_York_(state)">New York</a>, <a href="/topics//New_Jersey">New Jersey</a> and <a href="/topics//Connecticut">Connecticut</a>. School officials began picking up books on Monday at sites operated by Kids in Distressed Situations Inc. -- a nonprofit that helps children scarred by poverty and tragedy.
"There's just been tremendous need for new books, so teachers have the resources that they need and students can continue learning," said Greg Worrell, president of Scholastic's classroom and community group division, in a phone interview.
So far, about 500,000 books have been committed to more than 100 schools in the tri-state area, Worrell said. Schools can still apply via Scholastic's website, scholastic.com/bookgrants.
"We're very appreciative to Scholastic for their generosity," said Robert Fenter, assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and research at <a href="/topics//Oceanside,_NY">Oceanside</a> schools. "Three of our libraries were impacted by the storm. We had water damage. . . . each of the libraries lost books." 
Fenter said he expects to receive 6,000 books each for South Oceanside Road Elementary School and Boardman Elementary School, and 10,000 books for Fulton Avenue School.
Harding Avenue Elementary School in <a href="/topics//Lindenhurst,_NY">Lindenhurst</a> expects about 500 books, said its principal, Brian Chamberlin. "We have 116 families that are displaced from their homes . . . which is about a third of our population," Chamberlin said. The book donation will help to "replenish the books that the children lost in their houses."
Reading can also build resilience and grit to get through difficult times, said Worrell, adding,"You can find a message or a positive word or a moment in a book that can give you just what you need to get you over that hurdle."

TOBOOK09

Sandy-hit schools to get books from Scholastic

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It was the first day of school all over again for hundreds of excited students in two elementary schools in <a href="/topics//Oceanside,_NY">Oceanside</a> and <a href="/topics//Kings_Park,_NY">Kings Park</a>, who returned Wednesday to their home buildings after being temporarily displaced by superstorm Sandy. 
 Students and staff were back in the Fulton Avenue School No. 8 in <a href="/topics//Oceanside,_NY">Oceanside</a> after the building was severely damaged from 4 inches of floodwaters. In Sandy's wake, the 435 students were housed more than a mile away at <a href="/topics//Oceanside,_NY">Oceanside</a> High School Castleton No. 6. 
 "I'm finally back," said sixth-grader Mikayla Gross, 11, whose family is living with her grandparents in <a href="/topics//Long_Beach,_NY">Long Beach</a> until their home, flooded by 2 feet of water, is completely restored in June. "Some normalcy is coming back because being at school is like being at home. . . . Walking down the hallways helps me forget what happened." 
 The K-6 school's walls were repainted, tile flooring was replaced, and damaged items were removed and replaced. Some evidence of Sandy remained: Outside the school a trailer with a temporary boiler provided heat to the building. 
 "I'm really surprised to see these new floors," said sixth-grader Jack Candiotti, 11, who is living with his family in their home while repairs are made to fix damage done by 4 feet of water. "It looks like a new school." 
 &nbsp; 
 A story of resilience 
 Cleanup, repairs and replacement of damaged items will cost the school district more than $5 million, but insurance and FEMA reimbursements are expected to cover the costs, school district spokeswoman Donna Kraus said. 
 "This could be a story about devastation, but it is the reverse," school principal Laurie Welch-Storch said as she walked down a hallway lined with boxes of school supplies. "It is a story about perseverance and resilience." 
 At Park View Elementary School in <a href="/topics//Kings_Park,_NY">Kings Park</a>, a giant red bow on a wall near the entrance greeted students. The K-3 school was closed after Sandy blew off the top layer of its roof, causing water damage inside. 
 "It's given us a chance to kind of start over," school principal Jeanne Devine said. "Everybody has been so positive -- from the parents, to the teachers, to the children. . . . That kind of can-do attitude has really allowed this project to be completed in a timely manner." 
 The roof was replaced along with the second-floor ceiling, floor tiles and alarm system. The school also was repainted on the inside, and work crews replaced most electrical fixtures on the second floor and ceiling tiles in the cafeteria, first-floor hallways and main office. A dozen computers in the library were replaced. 
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 Glad to be back 
 The total cost of the damage was about $2.7 million, most of which insurance covered, but the district expects FEMA will reimburse the $5,000 deductible, said <a href="/topics//Kings_Park,_NY">Kings Park</a> superintendent Susan Agruso. 
 While the work was being completed, Park View's roughly 500 students were split between two buildings. Kindergarten, first- and second-grade students were sent to San Remo, a former elementary school on Lawrence Road being used as an administration building and partially rented by a child-care center. Third-grade students attended Ralph J. Osgood Intermediate School on Old Dock Road. 
 Christy Anasa, 7, said she was excited to be back in her second-grade classroom. 
 "The floors were different. I liked my room. . . . The Smartboard was back," she said. 
 "Kids are resilient," said Christy's mother, Joann Anasa. "It's amazing what they can handle. It's a lesson for adults, actually."

TOSKUL03

Sandy-displaced students return to their schools

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The Long Beach school district has replaced many of the textbooks and supplies it lost in superstorm Sandy with donations, school officials said. 
 Flooding badly damaged several school buildings in the city. Many students whose homes were damaged lost books at home as well. 
 Donors have come to the rescue, although more replacements still are needed, officials said. Big Ideas Learning, a publisher based in Erie, Pa., has donated dozens of boxes of replacement workbooks, and Pearson/Prentice Hall has donated 100 workbooks, district officials said. 
 Superintendent David Weiss said new supplies arrive from around the country every day. Local residents have also donated, he said. 
 “We have been deeply touched by the outpouring of aid that we have received in the aftermath of this terrible storm,” Weiss said. 
 The district asks residents who want to alert potential donors of specific needs use a link on the school district’s website. The website is <a href="http://www.lbeach.org">www.lbeach.org</a> and the link says, “Hurricane Relief Donate Here.” 
 Above: Student arrive at Lindell Elementary School for the first time since superstorm Sandy in Long Beach. (Nov. 13, 2012)

District replaces Sandy-damaged textbooks

Long Beach schools replace Sandy-damaged supplies 

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Educators in Sandy-battered school districts expressed worry Thursday to the state's top education policymaker about how students will fare on exams in the spring because of upheaval, lost class time and crowded classrooms.
Merryl Tisch, chancellor of the state Board of Regents, spent more than five hours touring schools and meeting educators in <a href="/topics//East_Rockaway,_NY">East Rockaway</a>, <a href="/topics//Island_Park,_NY">Island Park</a> and <a href="/topics//Long_Beach,_NY">Long Beach</a>. The Regents set statewide educational policy, including testing standards.
School administrators and teachers both posed this question: How will students who missed a week or two of classes after Sandy struck Oct. 29 fare on April's state tests?
"They're a little bit behind, actually," said Rosmarie Bovino, superintendent of <a href="/topics//Island_Park,_NY">Island Park</a> schools, as she escorted Tisch and other visitors past a classroom packed with 42 first-graders -- a combination of two classes -- and their teachers.
The small district has one elementary school and one middle school. Students attend high school in either the <a href="/topics//West_Hempstead,_NY">West Hempstead</a> or <a href="/topics//Long_Beach,_NY">Long Beach</a> districts.
In Island Park, classes in some cases have doubled up in Lincoln Orens Middle School. Francis X. Hegarty Elementary School, hit with 5 feet of floodwater in the storm surge, remains closed and is not expected to reopen until sometime in the 2013-14 school year.
<a href="/topics//Thomas_Rogers">Thomas Rogers</a>, the regional <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> BOCES chief who helped organize the tour, said the issue of testing and its effects on students -- some of whom have been forced from their homes -- also was discussed during private talks between Tisch and local school officials.
"I think we're all concerned with how to account for the fact that not all kids are living in their home districts, that they may be doubled up in classrooms, and that scores may reflect that," <a href="/topics//Thomas_Rogers">Rogers</a> said.
Tisch, 57, who lives in Manhattan, acknowledged the special circumstances faced by districts such as Island Park, and said those conditions would be considered in <a href="/topics//Albany,_NY">Albany</a> later in the academic year. The chancellor added that she was encouraged by much of what she saw during the trip and in earlier visits to hard-hit schools in Queens and on Staten Island.
"What we're seeing is great school leadership, and teachers whose own homes have been flooded coming to work each day," Tisch said. "I would have predicted chaos. But there's real instruction going on. So I'm hopeful."
The tour was arranged by Roger Tilles of <a href="/topics//Great_Neck,_NY">Great Neck</a>, who represents the Island on the Regents board and also visited the three districts Thursday.
State Education Department officials, who report to the Regents, have maintained a firm stance on the need for districts to make up academic days lost to Sandy. State law normally requires a minimum 180 days of instruction, and those officials have insisted that schools use up vacation days, including February's midwinter break, before requesting waivers.
The tour had some bright spots. In <a href="/topics//East_Rockaway,_NY">East Rockaway</a>, the 320-student Rhame Avenue School reopened Thursday. East Rockaway High School remains closed, and no reopening date has been set.
In Long Beach, eighth-graders are scheduled to return Monday from the high school to the district's middle school, which already has taken back its sixth- and seventh-graders. Another local school, West Elementary, is due to open in March or April.

Education

LISKUL14

Regents head tours storm-ravaged school districts

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The Brentwood Board of Education approved a memorandum of agreement between the Brentwood Teachers Association and the district last week that will allow teachers who can prove they previously had scheduled plans for February's midwinter vacation to take off from school. 
 The district canceled most of the break to make up days lost in the wake of superstorm Sandy. Superintendent Joe Bond said as many as 90 teachers had long ago booked vacations -- and in many cases, weddings -- during that week, and have requested they be allowed to keep those commitments. 
 The vacation falls Feb. 18-22, but Feb. 18 is <a href="/topics//Presidents_Day">Presidents Day</a>, so students and teachers will still have that day off. 
 Bond said the board and teachers union agreed that if teachers could prove they had made nonrefundable flight, hotel or venue arrangements before Oct. 29, when the storm hit, they would be able to take the week off without penalty, using personal days. Bond will review those requests on a case-by-case basis, board president Helen Moss said. 
 In a district with more than 17,000 students and 17 schools, Bond said there are enough permanent substitute teachers to cover for teachers who are off. 
 Representatives from the Brentwood Teachers Association and the district did not return calls Friday seeking comment. 
 Brentwood is one of dozens of Long Island districts that have canceled four days of midwinter break to make up days lost to Sandy. State law requires that school be in session 180 days per year. Some schools have said that canceled vacations might be restored at the last minute if the state grants waivers from that requirement.

TOBREN17

Brentwood teachers keep vacations in deal

At the start of the school year, Edmund W. Miles Middle School Principal Michele Darby shared with her faculty a story that became their mantra. 
 It was centered on an African village, where the people walked around greeting each other not with ‘hellos’ and ‘how are yous?’ but by asking, “How are the children?” 
 “And they answered, ‘The children are well,’” she said. “And that was the barometer for the community.” 
 So after superstorm Sandy uprooted the lives of so many in Amityville, Darby wondered about the emotional and physical well-being of the children. 
 School was set to reopen for the first time after the storm on Election Day -- Nov. 6 -- for a staff development day. The students would resume class the following day. But having been in communication with her staff through text message chains throughout the week before, Darby was worried that maybe it was too soon. 
 “I thought bringing everyone in for business as usual might not be what everyone needs right now,” she said. 
 What the community needed as a whole, she thought, were vital resources to get through the next few days and a little bit of humanity. She asked her superintendent, Dr. John Williams, whether she could turn their staff development day into a day of community outreach. She offered to mobilize her staff to collect supplies and set up a donation center in the middle school on Election Day. 
 “He said, ‘Can you do this?’” Darby recalled. “I said, ‘If you tell us yes, we’ll do it.’” 
 He told them yes. Within 24 hours, Darby, her staff and parent volunteers had turned the middle school into a one-stop shop for families in need. There were nonperishable food items, clothing for all genders and ages, shoes, toiletries, stations for charging devices, a hot breakfast and coffee, computers for checking email and even a couple of showers in the school open to the public. 
 Kelly Ann Wilson, a seventh grade English teacher, said she got to the school at 5:45 a.m. Tuesday to help and there were already teachers setting up. 
 “Our teachers went above and beyond,” she said. “Some of them were going through exactly what these families were going through and they were still there. You get to see a whole different dynamic of people at a time like this.” 
 Ted Tsirigotis, assistant principal at the middle school, said they served at least 200 families throughout the day, though at one point in the morning traffic slowed and they were worried that a lot of the community did not know what they were doing. 
 At that point, groups of teachers dispatched themselves into the community with bullhorns letting people know what was happening. They also walked down gas lines giving out flyers. 
 “Then they came right back to work,” he said. “It really brought everyone together.” 
 Darby said she knew the need would be great across the community. In the southern, waterfront areas of Amityville, homes were lost and possessions destroyed. In the northern part of the community, homes were undamaged though many were without power. But more importantly, she said many families would be in financial trouble if they could not go to work. 
 “Sixty to 65 percent of our school population receives free or reduced lunch,” said Darby, who is in her second year as principal and was assistant principal before that. “For a lot of people in this community, one paycheck is the difference between eating and not eating.” 
 Theodora Eirebamen, of Amityville, whose children, ages 10 and 15, attend other schools in the Amityville district, showed up on Nov. 6 to help out, despite the fact that a tree had crashed into her house and through her bedroom during the storm. 
 She said the effort was incredible and the experience moving. She said many people attended just to talk. 
 “There were times when you couldn’t do anything but give someone a hug,” she said. “They didn’t need anything, they just needed someone to listen.” 
 Darby said not only were they able to help the community, but the outreach day started the healing process for many of her faculty members who were affected. 
 “By helping ourselves we help others,” Darby said, borrowing a theory from the Russian-American philosopher Ayn Rand. “On Wednesday, we could dedicate 100 percent of ourselves, our energy and our time to our kids.” 
 It worked, she said. From the first day of school to the present, Darby said her school atmosphere remains positive, upbeat and forward-thinking despite the fact that many are still displaced. 
 “We teach the kids about culture and community,” she said. “This day was a big day for our school community.” 
 Photo: A group of teachers and staff at Edmund W. Miles Middle School in Amityville gathered supplies for a donation drive to help residents affected by superstorm Sandy. (Nov. 6, 2012)

Amityville school turns staff day into Sandy outreach effort

Amityville

<a href="/topics//Albany,_NY">ALBANY</a> -- The governors of <a href="/topics//New_York_(state)">New York</a>, <a href="/topics//New_Jersey">New Jersey</a> and <a href="/topics//Connecticut">Connecticut</a> Thursday joined together to urge Congress not to adjourn for the holidays before approving disaster relief for the states hit by superstorm Sandy. 
 In related developments Thursday, 125 prominent CEOs sent a letter also pleading for quick action. The CEOS include top executives of <a href="/topics//NBC">NBC Universal</a>, <a href="/topics//MasterCard">MasterCard</a> Worldwide, Bloomberg, Hess, <a href="/topics//Morgan_Stanley">Morgan Stanley</a> and <a href="/topics//Madison_Square_Garden,_NY">Madison Square Garden</a>, along with <a href="/topics//National_Basketball_Association">National Basketball Association</a> commissioner David Stern. 
 And Sen. Charles <a href="/topics//Chuck_Schumer">Schumer</a> (D-N.Y.) said the <a href="/topics//U.S._Senate">U.S. Senate</a> will begin debating the aid package Monday. 
 Calling the states' needs "real and immediate," <a href="/topics//New_York_(state)">New York</a> Gov. <a href="/topics//Andrew_Cuomo">Andrew M. Cuomo</a>, a <a href="/topics//U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrat</a>, <a href="/topics//Connecticut">Connecticut</a> Gov. Dannel Malloy, a Democrat, and <a href="/topics//New_Jersey">New Jersey</a> Gov. <a href="/topics//Christopher_J._Christie">Chris Christie</a>, a <a href="/topics//U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a>, made a bipartisan pitch for aid in an opinion piece in The <a href="/topics//Washington_Post_Company">Washington Post</a>. 
 They noted that the first round of aid for communities hit by <a href="/topics//Hurricane_Katrina">Hurricane Katrina</a> came just two weeks after that storm battered the Gulf Coast in 2005. 
 "This marks the seventh week since Sandy made landfall. And Congress has yet to act," the governors wrote. 
 They referred to the ongoing partisan debate about the so-called fiscal cliff -- a budget battle to cut spending by Jan. 1 -- but said that should not delay disaster relief. Some predict that if Congress doesn't act on the aid request simultaneously with the fiscal cliff issue, the states will have to wait until January for relief funds. 
 "This is not the time for partisanship or regional isolationism," they said. "The three of us have reached across the aisle and across our borders to work together during this crisis. Congress must do the same and not allow this much-needed aid to fall into the ideological divide." 
 New York, New Jersey and Connecticut initially asked for a combined $82 billion in funds. <a href="/topics//Barack_Obama">President Barack Obama</a> reduced that to $60.4 billion; now he must negotiate with a Republican-led House and Democrat-led <a href="/topics//U.S._Senate">Senate</a>. 
 "We desperately need help in the New York-New Jersey area," Schumer said at a Washington news conference regarding the fiscal cliff. "Before we leave this year, we must act to provide emergency disaster aid to fund the response to superstorm Sandy." 
 In the <a href="/topics//U.S._Senate">Senate</a>, the package needs at least eight Republican votes to reach the 60 votes needed. Some <a href="/topics//U.S._Republican_Party">Republicans</a> have complained about its size and how fast it is moving. 
 Schumer said he's confident of Democratic support, but said, "We're working on Republicans, and we're not there yet, that's for sure. But we hope that they will be there." 
 Senate Majority Leader <a href="/topics//Harry_Reid">Harry Reid</a> (D-Nev.) said consideration of the aid package bill will begin at 3 p.m. Monday, and that amendments will be allowed. He did not set a time for a vote. 
 Rep. <a href="/topics//Peter_King">Peter King</a> (R-Seaford), who has been leading New York's efforts in the Republican-led House, said he is "reasonably confident" Congress will act before <a href="/topics//Christmas">Christmas</a> but there are potential pitfalls. 
 "The fact that it has to move in such a quick period of time and it comes at a bad time because of the fiscal cliff and no money being available," <a href="/topics//Peter_King">King</a> said. "It gives people an excuse if they want to slow it down." 
 King said some lawmakers might balk at the amount of aid. "It is a big number, but it is a very fair number," King said. "I don't know that the rest of the country knows how severe" the damage was. 
 The CEOs, organized through the Partnership for New York City, a prominent big business lobby, said further delays could create permanent damage to the economy of the nation's biggest metropolitan area.

STGOVS14

Governors press Congress on Sandy aid

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The movement is accelerating across <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> to use February's midwinter school break to make up for class time lost to superstorm Sandy. 
 <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> County's Board of Cooperative Educational Services voted last night to keep classes open Feb. 19-22 -- days normally set aside for the midwinter recess. Eastern <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> BOCES approved the same schedule change Wednesday, and Western BOCES did so Tuesday. 
 The regional BOCES provide special services to the Island's public school districts, such as vocational classes, and changes in their scheduling often reflect wide-ranging trends. 
 Western <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> BOCES reported Thursday, for example, that all 18 school districts within its service area had canceled all or most of the weeklong February break. 
 <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> BOCES had no precise figure, but said the majority of its 56 districts probably would follow suit. 
 "What we know is that our No. 1 job is educating our students, so we have to make sure they get as much instructional time as they need," Nassau BOCES superintendent <a href="/topics//Thomas_Rogers">Thomas Rogers</a> said. 
 Eastern Suffolk BOCES reported that 18 of its 50 districts had canceled all or part of the midwinter breaks, and that other systems were considering <a href="/topics//The_Move_(musician)">the move</a>. 
 The eastern portion of the Island was less affected by Sandy.

LIMIDW14

More districts doing away with winter break

Roosevelt High School will not reopen until September because superstorm Sandy delayed completion of a nearly $70 million renovation, district officials said Monday.
It was the second postponement of the high school's reopening in five months. A partial reopening was set for the start of this school year, but officials decided it would be more practical to complete the job and scheduled it for January, upon students' return from the holiday break.
Then Sandy disrupted reconstruction work, officials said. While the renovation has resumed, state inspections and approval will be required before the high school is allowed to reopen. Authorities decided against a midsemester reopening, which would have a ripple effect on students throughout the district who have been temporarily reassigned to other schools.
Roosevelt High's renovation is the final and single most costly piece of the district's $245.5-million reconstruction of its aging schools, including several once regarded as safety hazards. Work at the high school began about a year ago.
During the renovation, high school students have gone to Roosevelt Middle School and other students have been reassigned to three elementary schools. The high school's enrollment is 780.
The overall project is the largest of its type ever undertaken by a <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> district and is backed financially by <a href="/topics//New_York_(state)">New York</a> State, which has run Roosevelt schools since 2002.
<a href="/topics//Albany,_NY">Albany</a>'s takeover under special legislation was intended, among other goals, to repair decaying schools and boost dismal test scores. State oversight of the 2,700-student district is scheduled to end June 30.
In another announcement Monday, district officials said elementary students will return in September to Ulysses Byas Elementary School, which middle school students have been attending.
The decision to keep the elementary school open was welcomed by parents, who had feared the building might be leased or sold to an outside agency after middle schoolers returned to their facility.
Monday's twin announcements were the latest in a series of starts and stops that have marked the reconstruction process. The district posted a notice on its website, and students' parents were to be notified of the plans via automated phone calls.
The high school renovation includes state-of-the-art science and technology labs and an expanded and revamped auditorium, as well as a culinary training center, an addition to the library, a renovated gymnasium and a new auxiliary gym.
District officials, in a newsletter to be mailed to Roosevelt residents later this month, explained the decision to postpone the high school's reopening until the start of the 2013-14 school year.
"The state has advised, and our board and administration concur, that it would not be in the best interest of our students to move them to a new building in the middle of the second semester," the newsletter states. "For this reason, the school will open in September 2013."
The letter is signed by Robert Summerville, the school board president, along with board members Alfred T. Taylor, Wilhelmina Funderburke and Robert Miller. A copy was obtained by Newsday.
In recent months, many parents of the district's elementary school students have complained of congestion at their children's new schools, especially during morning drop-offs and afternoon pickups.
The decision to return elementary students to the Byas school was welcomed by parents who hope it will relieve crowding.
"That's good news -- I'm quite excited," said Brian Clarke, father of a third-grader who was shifted last year from the Byas building to Centennial Elementary School. "It's going to be so much better for the kids, because the congestion [at Centennial] made it a madhouse in the afternoon."

LIROOS11

Sandy delays Roosevelt High School's reopening

roosevelt high school - cropped

Repair costs for public schools hit by superstorm Sandy could exceed $50 million in Nassau County, where flooding was especially severe in South Shore communities, and run into the millions of dollars in <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> districts as well. 
 Tom Rogers, superintendent of Nassau BOCES, gave the dollar estimate for his region Wednesday as dozens of school districts in Nassau and <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> counties were tallying damage expenses to apply for federal emergency aid. The filing deadline for assistance, set by the state, is Dec. 17. 
 Damage varied widely from one district to another, local school administrators said. Along much of Nassau's South Shore, school basements and first floors were flooded with as much as 5 feet of seawater. The surge knocked out electrical and heating systems, warped gym floors, and covered classroom and auditorium seating with muck. 
 In hard-hit <a href="/topics//Long_Beach,_NY">Long Beach</a>, school authorities reported that repairing schools slammed by tidal surges could cost as much as $20 million. The <a href="/topics//Jericho,_NY">Jericho</a> district's costs, on the other hand, were estimated at about $100,000, largely for removal of downed trees and repair or replacement of broken fences. 
 "Obviously, the degree of damage to schools differs greatly, and those that were closest to the South Shore experienced far more due to flooding," said Hank Grishman, <a href="/topics//Jericho,_NY">Jericho</a>'s schools chief and a former president of the <a href="/topics//New_York_(state)">New York</a> State Council of School Superintendents. 
 Storm damage to schools was much heavier in Nassau than in <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a>. Two schools in <a href="/topics//East_Rockaway,_NY">East Rockaway</a> that serve more than 900 students remain closed more than five weeks after Sandy. The district's Rhame Avenue Elementary School is expected to open later this month, but no opening date has been set for <a href="/topics//East_Rockaway,_NY">East Rockaway</a> Junior-Senior High School. In <a href="/topics//Long_Beach,_NY">Long Beach</a>, West Elementary School is not scheduled to reopen to until March at the earliest, and Blackheath School is slated for demolition, a plan that predated the storm. 
 Many local educators wonder how quickly they'll be reimbursed by federal and state authorities -- and for how much. 
 "The biggest issue will be cash flow," said <a href="/topics//David_Weiss">David Weiss</a>, <a href="/topics//Long_Beach,_NY">Long Beach</a> superintendent. "You don't want to be borrowing." 
 Some officials pointed to the experience of upstate and Hudson Valley districts where Tropical Storm Irene did most of an estimated $79 million damage to schools, according to the state Education Department. Some districts have only recently received reimbursement for damages caused by the August 2011 storm. 
 The individual districts' insurance should pay a good portion of repair costs. Typically, federal emergency aid picks up 75 percent of whatever remains, with the other 25 percent split between the state and local districts. In the wake of Irene, the state shouldered the entire 25 percent, but Sandy's costs are projected to run far higher. 
 John <a href="/topics//John_Mills">Mills</a>, a regional representative for the <a href="/topics//Federal_Emergency_Management_Agency">Federal Emergency Management Agency</a>, said Wednesday that funds should be allocated within the next few weeks for "emergency protective services" -- for example, costs of boarding up windows and stacking sandbags. 
 Processing of requests for more expensive repairs and renovations could take several weeks, Mills said. He could not say precisely when such requests would be approved. 
 "We understand that schools need help and that is going to be a top priority for us," he said. 
 The state Education Department recently sent out damage-survey forms, with instructions that school districts should return the forms by Dec. 17. The forms ask for descriptions and estimated costs of destruction to school buildings, grounds, vehicles and other equipment. 
 Rogers, of Nassau BOCES, predicted a majority of the county's 56 districts would file requests for reimbursement. In contrast, Gary Bixhorn, chief operating officer of Eastern <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> BOCES, said filings from districts in his region may be relatively few because the area was less hard-hit than communities to the west. 
 The contrast in school-damage costs between Nassau and Suffolk was apparent in preliminary estimates issued Nov. 26 by Gov. <a href="/topics//Andrew_Cuomo">Andrew M. Cuomo</a>'s office that set the total price tag of storm recovery and prevention at nearly $42 billion. Those estimates, described as conservative, projected that Nassau's school repairs would cost $40 million and <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a>'s would be $2.7 million.

LIREPA06

Sandy school repairs could top $50M in Nassau

liSKULdlp crop

Sixth-grader Matthew Motherway, from the Harborfields school district on the North Shore, sent best wishes in a brightly colored construction-paper card to an <a href="/topics//Oceanside,_NY">Oceanside</a> school all the way to the south, where 600 students were displaced by superstorm Sandy. 
 "I'm sure you'll get stronger from this," the 11-year-old from Oldfield Middle School wrote to pupils at Fulton Avenue Elementary School, which Matthew's class had "adopted" to send letters, supplies and gifts. 
 Dozens of schools across <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> and statewide, in a huge outpouring of support, have reached out to help schools in areas hardest hit by the storm, including <a href="/topics//East_Rockaway,_NY">East Rockaway</a>, <a href="/topics//Island_Park,_NY">Island Park</a>, <a href="/topics//Long_Beach,_NY">Long Beach</a>, <a href="/topics//Massapequa,_NY">Massapequa</a>, <a href="/topics//Oceanside,_NY">Oceanside</a> and Staten Island. 
 Students, teachers and staff have collected and sent cleaning supplies, school gear, books, recess equipment, toys, gift cards and other items. 
 They've also been raising funds for schools to purchase destroyed or damaged items, such as musical instruments, and for other expenses such as field trips and meals. Some items are for classroom use, and others are given directly to displaced students and families. 
 "It is very personal to each district," said Kyle McCauley Belokopitsky, assistant director for government relations with the <a href="/topics//New_York_(state)">New York</a> State Council of School Superintendents, which launched a program statewide last month called "Schools Helping Schools" to match districts in need with those that want to help. 
 Fourteen school districts -- 11 of those are on <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> -- are being adopted through the council's program by more than 30 schools and groups across the state. Even a Department of Defense school in Germany has offered assistance. 
 School administrators in affected areas contact McCauley Belokopitsky with their needs. Some requests, such as library books and musical instruments, are very specific, and she matches them with a group or school. 
 "Everyone has come together to support the students. It is a great thing for <a href="/topics//New_York_(state)">New York</a>," she said. 
 Local educators have organized efforts on their own. 
 After Sandy hit, Oldfield Middle School teacher Monica Zenyuh thought of students on the South Shore. She emailed friends out of town, asking for help, and contacted administrators in storm-damaged areas. Her outreach grew, until 20 schools were adopted, with 48 schools and groups helping them. 
 She initiated a student letter- and card-writing campaign, both to educate her own students and ensure that supplies would be accompanied by a personal touch. 
 "I didn't want it to be only material items," she said. "I wanted them [her pupils] to think about the students and their schools and what they were all going through. Knowing their school's mascots, colors and mottos strengthened that connection." 
 District-to-district pairings have taken place, too. <a href="/topics//Jericho,_NY">Jericho</a>'s five schools are matched with the same grades in hard-hit areas. This week, students from <a href="/topics//East_Rockaway,_NY">East Rockaway</a> High School will join <a href="/topics//Jericho,_NY">Jericho</a> students at the high school for a talent show to raise funds to help restore <a href="/topics//East_Rockaway,_NY">East Rockaway</a>'s music program. 
 The efforts were noticed by others, leading to more help from the wider education community. 
 <a href="/topics//Island_Park,_NY">Island Park</a> Superintendent Rosmarie Bovino said that under the state council of superintendents' program, her storm-ravaged district has been adopted by four upstate schools. Other groups from <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> have reached out -- including the band <a href="/topics//Twisted_Sister_(musician)">Twisted Sister</a>, which will donate a portion of proceeds from an upcoming <a href="/topics//Benefit_(designer)">benefit</a> show. 
 Bovino's district has many needs, including replacing library books and an estimated $100,000 worth of musical instruments destroyed in the flood. 
 "People recognize we have a unique set of needs because we are an island community," she said. "We know the kids are going to have so much more because of their generosity and thoughtfulness."

LIHELP09

LI students helping kids hit by Sandy

liHELP crop

Hard-hit South Shore school districts, determined to maintain stability for hundreds of students displaced by superstorm Sandy, are providing added busing from communities where families have relocated and support services for those whose homes were damaged or destroyed. 
 The situation could continue for months of the 2012-13 school year as residents work to rebuild and return to storm-ravaged houses, school officials in many of those districts said. Through the turmoil, though, attendance is remaining steady. 
 In <a href="/topics//Oceanside,_NY">Oceanside</a>, school officials at one point counted at least 750 students displaced by the storm. In <a href="/topics//Baldwin,_NY">Baldwin</a>, the number is 180, and in <a href="/topics//Seaford,_NY">Seaford</a> about 160. <a href="/topics//Amityville,_NY">Amityville</a>, <a href="/topics//Massapequa,_NY">Massapequa</a>, <a href="/topics//Lindenhurst,_NY">Lindenhurst</a>, <a href="/topics//Long_Beach,_NY">Long Beach</a> and several <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> communities within the <a href="/topics//William_Floyd">William Floyd</a> district are similarly affected. 
 <a href="/topics//Freeport,_NY">Freeport</a> officials, with more than 250 students displaced districtwide, spent 36 hours figuring out transportation to reroute 500-plus children to other elementary schools because Giblyn Elementary School was flooded. Students now are taking classes in gymnasiums and computer labs. Some music lessons are given in the basement. 
 "We wanted to find solutions, and make sure our students are safe and return to school as quickly as possible," <a href="/topics//Freeport,_NY">Freeport</a> Superintendent Kishore Kuncham said. 
 The McKinney-Vento Act, the primary federal legislation on education of homeless children, requires districts to provide transportation to displaced students who live within 50 miles of district boundaries. It also provides free lunch. 
 "The overnight growth in the homeless population has generated all sorts of questions," said Gary Bixhorn, chief operating officer for Eastern <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> BOCES. "A few districts are used to dealing with a few kids. It is now many districts that are dealing with an enormous population." 
 &nbsp; 
 Extra costs unfunded 
 Officials in several districts said they do not have estimates of the added transportation costs yet. 
 "We are waiting to see if there is any legislation that would help us in paying for this extra transportation cost," <a href="/topics//Lindenhurst,_NY">Lindenhurst</a> Superintendent Richard Nathan said. "At this point, I don't know of any." 
 Bixhorn said the districts are eligible for transportation aid from the state, but reimbursement is not 100 percent. A state Department of Education spokesman said it is too early to say whether districts will receive additional money. 
 John Striffolino, <a href="/topics//Seaford,_NY">Seaford</a>'s assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and personnel, said the district has set up buses for students staying in <a href="/topics//Northport,_NY">Northport</a>, <a href="/topics//Rockville_Centre,_NY">Rockville Centre</a>, <a href="/topics//West_Babylon,_NY">West Babylon</a> and <a href="/topics//Woodbury,_NY">Woodbury</a>, among other communities. Not all of about 160 displaced students request transportation, and not all are living outside the district, he said. 
 "We have worked very hard to make sure if they need it, they can have it," Striffolino said. 
 For parents in the storm-affected areas, continuing their children's education with minimal interruption is a top priority. 
 Peggy and Mike Blitt, who have lived in Seaford for 15 years, chose to keep their 16-year-old son at Seaford High and enrolled their 6-year-old daughter in public school in Brooklyn. The family, who expect to be out of their flooded home for three to six months, are splitting their stays with relatives in <a href="/topics//West_Babylon,_NY">West Babylon</a> and friends in Brooklyn. 
 Peggy Blitt said her son, Sean, who has been staying in West <a href="/topics//Babylon,_NY">Babylon</a>, now has district-provided transportation. Before, he was getting rides to Seaford High from friends and relatives. 
 "It's relieved a huge burden, worrying about how he was going to get to and from school," she said. 
 Jamie Volini, a Seaford parent of two high school students whose home flooded, recently secured housing nearby and the district provided transportation for her son, who is in 10th grade. Her daughter, 17, drives him to school in the morning, but has a different schedule in the afternoon, so he takes the bus home. 
 "It really helps out, because I work and it is hard to get him at a certain time," she said. 
 &nbsp; 
 Districts helping out 
 Seaford High School social worker Paula Sussman said she has seen symptoms of post-traumatic stress among storm-stricken students and families. The district has held donation drives to help residents, she said, but many items are still needed, such as materials and services to help residents move back into their homes. 
 "The magnitude of it is really starting to hit them," Sussman said. 
 As homes are repaired in <a href="/topics//Oceanside,_NY">Oceanside</a>, the number of displaced students has fallen from about 750 to less than 600. The district faces an extra hurdle in supplying transportation: About 100 school buses were flooded and left inoperable, said Bob Fenter, assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and research. 
 "We have a big challenge to providing students out-of-district with transportation when we had to work extremely hard to provide regular transportation that students receive," Fenter said. 
 In <a href="/topics//Baldwin,_NY">Baldwin</a>, 180 district students have been displaced, with some students being bused to the district from Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. Baldwin also took in about nine children from other districts. 
 Baldwin educators and parents hosted a Thanksgiving dinner and a pasta night for displaced students and families at local schools, Superintendent James Mapes said. All schools now are holding holiday toy drives for local families. 
 "We want to do anything we can to help the community," Mapes said. 
 In Freeport, school officials said, more than 100 displaced families requested transportation, with 60 living within district boundaries and about 40 outside the district. 
 Kuncham said the district is looking forward to reopening Giblyn Elementary this Monday. 
 In <a href="/topics//Long_Beach,_NY">Long Beach</a>, where middle-school students were moved into the high school and all elementary students were combined in two schools, district officials coordinated external pick-up and drop-off locations for students staying outside the city. 
 On Monday, sixth- and seventh-graders moved back into the middle school. Eighth-graders will remain at the high school for now. 
 Superintendent David <a href="/topics//David_Weiss">Weiss</a> said the district made efforts to ease the transition, including keeping students with their same teachers and classmates. 
 "We believe very strongly the most normal course for kids is to be in classes that they were in prior to the storm," Weiss said.

LIDIST03

Schools work to aid storm-displaced students

liDIST02jcw crop

Signs of normalcy are slowly returning to Long Beach, five weeks after superstorm Sandy devastated the waterfront community and upended thousands of lives.
On Monday, the Long Beach post office and Long Beach Middle School opened their doors for the first time since the storm struck 36 days before. Supermarkets and restaurants also have begun to reopen, <a href="/topics//LIRR">LIRR</a> service has resumed and even nursing home residents have returned. 
"I love it. It's home," said postal worker Deborah Fournier, a mail carrier who lives in the oceanside city of 33,300 people, as she and her co-workers sorted mail while music from a radio played in the background. "The <a href="/topics//Atmosphere_(musician)">atmosphere</a> inside is lively. Everybody is singing."
A mile and half east, hundreds of sixth- and seventh-graders hopped out of yellow school buses and were greeted by administrators who welcomed the students' return to the Long Beach Middle School for the first time in more than a month.
"I'm pretty happy to be back in my old school," said sixth-grader Daisy Willard, 11, who was dropped off by her mother, Judi.
Long Beach was ravaged by the storm, particularly the city's West End, and its canals and the oceanfront. Sandy knocked out the city's water and sewage-treatment plants; flooded schools, businesses, homes and high-rises; and destroyed hundreds of automobiles and its boardwalk. City officials estimated the total damage exceeds $200 million.
The majority of the city's 9,500 properties -- about 70 percent -- suffered some damage, but heat, electricity and hot water have been restored, said building Commissioner Scott Kemins. The more severely damaged houses -- about 100 -- have been slapped with red tags, which mean they are unsafe to live in until they are repaired.
Residents were delighted to see the middle school and the post office reopen Monday, even though students only have access to a third of their space and service at the post office was limited mail pickup and drop off. The post office's computer network is still down, which prevents postal workers from selling stamps or processing credit card transactions.
"Just to see it open -- feels so good," said Maria Basmas, 58, who stopped by to buy stamps. "This gives you hope."
Patricia James came to pick up her mail instead of driving to <a href="/topics//Garden_City,_NY">Garden City</a>, where her mail had been forwarded. "It's one more sign that things are getting back to the way it was," she said.
Postmaster Francis O'Neill said carriers make 16,979 deliveries daily to Long Beach, <a href="/topics//Lido_Beach,_NY">Lido Beach</a> and the eastern part of <a href="/topics//Atlantic_Beach,_NY">Atlantic Beach</a>. Only 5 percent of the mail is being held for pickup at the post office, he said.
In the weeks since the storm, as repairs proceeded at the middle school, its 900 students attended classes at Long Beach High School, where a third of its students -- about 300 eighth graders -- remain.
Monday marked an end to weeks of uncertainty about whether the middle school could be restored after it was battered by the storm.
"It's been a lot of stress on everybody: teachers, kids and parents," said Daisy's mother, Judi Willard, 46. "I am relieved it's all moving in the right direction. We didn't think we would have a school at all."
About 20 seventh-graders gathered Monday for Spanish instruction in a classroom set up to teach science. Although the sixth-graders are back at their school, they won't be able to return to their classrooms for several more weeks. "In three weeks we should be able to move our whole building back," Principal Michele Natalie said.

LILONG04

Long Beach makes strides in Sandy recovery

A majority of <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> school districts may turn their scheduled midwinter breaks into instruction days. 
 That's good. 
 Because between superstorm Sandy and the massive blackout and cleanup that followed, too many children in <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> and <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> counties lost too many crucial school days. 
 Will swapping scheduled vacation time for newly scheduled school time cause challenges? 
 Absolutely. 
 Some parents, teachers and school district staffers may have to change vacation plans. Some movie houses, child-care facilities and other enterprises that count on vacation business boosts will lose them. 
 But isn't school -- foremost -- supposed to be about educating students? And for some students, time lost during Sandy amounted to two full weeks or more. 
 That's a lot of class time, a lot of lessons planned but not taught. 
 There's a reason state education department rules require that districts exhaust scheduled non-class time -- otherwise known as school season vacations -- before being considered for waivers. 
 Yes, it is likely that fewer students will attend classes during a canceled vacation week. Although -- despite some assertions to the contrary -- it is difficult to believe that a majority of <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a>'s parents and children pack up and go away. 
 What's more likely is that some parents won't -- or can't -- take the financial hit of canceling a family vacation, although there will be other parents who save money this year on vacation child care. 
 But the discussion on missed school days shouldn't hinge on who takes vacation or who saves on child care. 
 It's supposed to be about the children. Right? Isn't that why we have 124 school districts? And why the <a href="/topics//VAST_(musician)">vast</a> majority of Long <a href="/topics//New_York_Islanders">Islanders</a> -- whether they have children in school or not -- vote yes on school budgets every year? 
 Yes, parents take children out of school on any regular school day for a variety of reasons, from doctor appointments to sports competitions. Most parents, however, do so with the expectation that their child will make up missed work. 
 But there's a difference between one or two days of missed lessons and one or two weeks of lost class time. 
 There's a measure pending in <a href="/topics//Albany,_NY">Albany</a> that would excuse districts that decide not to make up lost time. That won't even be considered until January -- which makes moves by school districts now to cancel midwinter vacations smart. 
 Some may not want to wait on Albany, and face the prospect -- if the measure fails -- of canceling scheduled spring or other later-school-year breaks. 
 But, especially as Long Island begins rebuilding post-Sandy, the best reason is that school districts -- along with residents, most of whom don't have kids in school -- want to ensure that our children are not shortchanged. 
 They've made it through dark and cold nights. And too many are now coping with lost homes, and for a few, lost parents. Schools and exceptional student performance, traditionally, have been a source of Long Island's pride, its strength. 
 Keep the children first. They need it now, more than ever.

Columnists

Joye Brown

LIJOY27

Despite Sandy, school should come first for LI kids

A majority of Long Island's weather-beaten school districts look likely to cancel traditional midwinter breaks -- providing crucial makeup classtime for hundreds of thousands of students. 
 Most school systems surveyed by Newsday plan to cancel three to five days of the weeklong February vacation, which is tied to <a href="/topics//Presidents_Day">Presidents Day</a> and this year runs from Feb. 18 to 22. The aim is to make up the unprecedented amount of classtime lost to superstorm Sandy and a subsequent nor'easter that shut down schools for periods averaging one to two weeks. 
 Sixty-six of the Island's 124 districts -- 33 in <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> and 33 in <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> -- said they have canceled or are considering canceling all or part of the midwinter break. Another 25 say their plans were uncertain. The rest either said they were not considering a change to the break or did not respond. 
 Some school officials continue to maintain that canceled vacations might be restored at the last minute, if the state grants waivers from the required 180-day school year. 
 Canceled midwinter break days are drawing many complaints from students, parents and school employees, who say it may cost them thousands of dollars in deposits on travel reservations. 
 Increasingly, however, local educators have concluded that <a href="/topics//Albany,_NY">Albany</a> is prodding them toward canceling some vacation time, and that midwinter break is the most likely target. 
 "It appears that most districts are moving toward canceling February vacations," said Henry Grishman, superintendent of <a href="/topics//Jericho,_NY">Jericho</a> schools and a past president of the <a href="/topics//New_York_(state)">New York</a> State Council of School Superintendents. 
 &nbsp; 
 Tied to law, critical funding 
 Under state law, schools generally must be in session at least 180 days a year. Testing days can be counted toward the total, as can superintendents' conference days with teachers and other staff. Makeup days cannot be scheduled during July or August, or on most legal holidays. 
 Aside from those restrictions, local school boards enjoy wide latitude in setting district calendars. Any districts that provide fewer days than the minimum risk loss of state financial aid. 
 Most Island districts, if they are to retain that aid, must make up for the extensive time lost. Exceptions include a handful of systems in the eastern part of the Island that suffered less storm damage than the western sector. Other exceptions are districts such as <a href="/topics//Jericho,_NY">Jericho</a>, which started the year with a calendar well beyond the minimum requirement. 
 Education Commissioner John B. King Jr. is authorized to grant districts waivers of up to five days to cover "extraordinary" circumstances, including storm damage. State lawmakers, in cooperation with the governor, can authorize additional waiver days. 
 King has not signaled any specific plans, but his aides have said repeatedly that districts must exhaust vacation days before being granted any exemptions. 
 A bill authorizing an extra five days of waivers has been introduced in the Democratic-controlled state Assembly, and similar legislation has been promised in the <a href="/topics//U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a>-dominated <a href="/topics//U.S._Senate">Senate</a>. Neither chamber is scheduled to reconvene until after Jan. 1, raising doubts that waivers would come anytime soon. 
 Bari Fehrs, PTA council president in Huntington and the mother of three students, spoke for many parents in endorsing her district's decision to cancel the entire midwinter break. "You can't miss nine days of school and not think it has to be made up," she said. 
 Not surprisingly, the likelihood of extensive class makeups elicits less enthusiasm from students than from parents. 
 &nbsp; 
 A student takes action 
 Corey <a href="/topics//Scott_Cook">Cook</a>, an 11th-grader at <a href="/topics//Walt_Whitman">Walt Whitman</a> High School in <a href="/topics//Huntington_Station,_NY">Huntington Station</a>, felt so strongly about the issue that he recently emailed Gov. Andrew M. <a href="/topics//Andrew_Cuomo">Cuomo</a>, requesting an official "pardon" that would write off lost class time. The <a href="/topics//South_Huntington,_NY">South Huntington</a> district, where he attends classes, has canceled four days of midwinter recess. 
 In his message to the governor, <a href="/topics//Scott_Cook">Cook</a>, 16, acknowledged the issue is complex. He went on to contend, however, that preserving midwinter break would show respect for America's presidents, while also preventing large-scale absences among students and teachers intent on fulfilling plans for holiday travel. 
 "Teachers will be able to adapt for lost time and it will be much more productive than having a week full of half-sized classes, substitute teachers and movies," he wrote. 
 The teenager's father, <a href="/topics//Scott_Cook">Scott Cook</a>, who owns a sheet-metal contracting firm, backs his son's position. 
 PTA leaders in the <a href="/topics//South_Huntington,_NY">South Huntington</a> district support the school board's decision. 
 Cuomo's office, which exercises little authority over school calendars, sent <a href="/topics//Scott_Cook">Cook</a> a form response thanking him for sharing his ideas. 
 Many students have mixed emotions. 
 Emma Agostini, a senior at Centereach High School, welcomed the chance to catch up on sleep during the six days her classes were not in session after superstorm Sandy. However, Agostini said in a phone interview that she is taking four college-level Advanced Placement courses, and believes that extra classtime over midwinter break would help prep for AP exams in the spring. 
 "Every day is crucial," the 17-year-old said. The Middle Country district where she is enrolled has canceled three days of midwinter recess. 
 With Michael R. Ebert 
 &nbsp; 
<h3> SO MUCH FOR MIDWINTER BREAK. . .</h3> 
 &nbsp; 
 Here's a list of school districts that have canceled all or part of midwinter break 
 <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">NASSAU</a> 
 East Williston 
 Elmont 
 Franklin Square 
 Freeport 
 Glen Cove 
 Great Neck 
 Herricks 
 Hewlett-Woodmere 
 Lawrence 
 Locust Valley 
 Lynbrook 
 Mineola 
 Oceanside 
 Oyster Bay-East Norwich 
 Plainedge 
 Rockville Centre 
 Roslyn 
 Syosset 
 West Hempstead 
 <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">SUFFOLK</a> 
 Babylon 
 Cold Spring Harbor 
 Commack 
 Copiague 
 Deer Park 
 Harborfields 
 Hauppauge 
 Huntington 
 Middle Country 
 Miller Place 
 Northport-East Northport 
 Shoreham-Wading River 
 &nbsp; 
 Here's a list of school districts that are considering canceling all or part of midwinter break 
 <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">NASSAU</a> 
 Baldwin 
 Bellmore-<a href="/topics//Merrick,_NY">Merrick</a> 
 East Rockaway 
 Farmingdale 
 Garden City 
 Island Trees 
 Levittown 
 Malverne 
 <a href="/topics//Merrick,_NY">Merrick</a> 
 Plainview-Old Bethpage 
 Port Washington 
 Sewanhaka 
 <a href="/topics//Valley_Stream,_NY">Valley Stream</a> Central High School 
 <a href="/topics//Valley_Stream,_NY">Valley Stream</a> 24 
 <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">SUFFOLK</a> 
 Amagansett 
 Brentwood 
 Eastport-South Manor 
 Elwood 
 Fishers Island 
 Half Hollow Hills 
 Kings Park 
 Longwood 
 Mattituck-Cutchogue 
 Port Jefferson 
 Remsenburg-Speonk 
 Sachem 
 Sayville 
 Smithtown 
 South Country 
 Three Village 
 West Babylon 
 Westhampton Beach 
 William Floyd 
 Wyandanch

LISKUL26

Many LI students won't get midwinter break

Charonda Atherton recalled watching her daughter volunteer in <a href="/topics//Long_Beach,_NY">Long Beach</a> several weeks ago. For the most part, superstorm Sandy had spared the Athertons, of <a href="/topics//Uniondale,_NY">Uniondale</a>, so working in the battered city left a strong impression on the teen. 
 "That's it?" Atherton recalled Tionna, 15, saying that day as they finished up helping feed victims of Sandy. "We're just going to leave?" 
 The experience prompted the duo to begin a campaign for their own relief effort. Atherton, 34, secured promises from businesses in <a href="/topics//Uniondale,_NY">Uniondale</a>, <a href="/topics//Westbury,_NY">Westbury</a> and <a href="/topics//East_Meadow,_NY">East Meadow</a> to donate bagels and coffee, and her daughter's classmates pitched in blankets and sweaters, aiming to bolster recovery efforts in <a href="/topics//Long_Beach,_NY">Long Beach</a> and <a href="/topics//Far_Rockaway,_NY">Far Rockaway</a> this weekend. 
 The Athertons, along with 30 of the teen's classmates from Kellenberg Memorial High School in <a href="/topics//Uniondale,_NY">Uniondale</a>, set up shop in <a href="/topics//Far_Rockaway,_NY">Far Rockaway</a> Saturday morning. 
 Arriving in yellow school buses, the group staffed tables outside St. Gertrude Parish, on Beach 38th Street, itself packed with donations, including apparel and cleaning supplies. 
 The group from Kellenberg was a welcome presence for some residents of <a href="/topics//Far_Rockaway,_NY">Far Rockaway</a>, who have become accustomed to long lines at volunteer sites post-Sandy. 
 It was a scene repeated on many streets in Far Rockaway. Some residents queued up waiting to speak with <a href="/topics//Federal_Emergency_Management_Agency">Federal Emergency Management Agency</a> officials and others to receive much-needed supplies or food from volunteer groups. Police officers stood guard on nearly every street. 
 Waiting in line "has become the norm, it definitely has, and it's sad," said Keisha White, a Far Rockaway mom who looked for baby clothes and blankets at the students' table. 
 The routine trips for meals, clothes and other products have been a source of frustration for weary residents. Tempers have flared among the neediest, many of whom are still without power nearly a month after Sandy. 
 "It's been very challenging, people's attitudes, finding stuff," said Helene Friedman, 50, waiting to secure cleaning supplies at the church. "Even now when the lights are up." 
 Tionna Atherton said she included Far Rockaway after hearing about the devastation from her aunt, who lived there. 
 "I was just really shocked," she recalled feeling the day she worked in <a href="/topics//Long_Beach,_NY">Long Beach</a>. "It was sad to see. Nothing happened to my house, but for those people, there pretty much was no house." 
 On Sunday, the Kellenberg group will move to Long Beach, offering food and supplies in a lot near West <a href="/topics//Maryland">Maryland</a> Avenue and West Beech Street. 
 "It's a blessing, these young children," White said.

LIHELP25

Kellenberg HS students start Sandy relief

liHELP25 crop

At least 11 <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> public school districts socked by superstorm Sandy have canceled midwinter vacations or other breaks to compensate for lost class time, and dozens more cancellations could be imminent. 
 Widespread revocations of school vacations would have a major academic and economic impact across the Island, where more than 450,000 students lost five to 10 days of class on average from effects of Sandy and a subsequent nor'<a href="/topics//Easter">easter</a>. 
 So far, the <a href="/topics//Cold_Spring_Harbor,_NY">Cold Spring Harbor</a>, Harborfields, <a href="/topics//Locust_Valley,_NY">Locust Valley</a>, Middle Country and <a href="/topics//South_Huntington,_NY">South Huntington</a> districts have called off all or most of the weeklong February vacation known as midwinter break. Huntington's school board has scheduled a meeting Monday night to consider the same action. <a href="/topics//Hewlett,_NY">Hewlett</a>-<a href="/topics//Woodmere,_NY">Woodmere</a> and <a href="/topics//Rockville_Centre,_NY">Rockville Centre</a> boards will consider the issue Tuesday. 
 Six other districts -- <a href="/topics//Jericho,_NY">Jericho</a>, <a href="/topics//Massapequa,_NY">Massapequa</a>, <a href="/topics//Mineola,_NY">Mineola</a>, <a href="/topics//Center_Moriches,_NY">Center Moriches</a>, Connetquot and <a href="/topics//Copiague,_NY">Copiague</a> -- have canceled other days off, such as superintendents' conference days or "snow days." 
 &nbsp; 
 Many districts act 
 Overall, Newsday found that at least 40 districts out of 124 on the Island either already canceled some breaks or plan to take up the issue at school board meetings later this month or early next month. Newsday's estimate was based on a Friday survey of districts, coupled with interviews with regional school leaders. 
 Many school officials said canceled vacations could be restored if the state grants waivers from its required 180-day school calendar. Those officials added that they have not received any clear signal from <a href="/topics//Albany,_NY">Albany</a> that such waivers will be granted, and that they need to quickly advise parents, students and teachers of any upcoming changes in school calendars. 
 Also in school administrators' minds is the potential for bad winter weather ahead that may require more closings. 
 Some districts in upstate river valleys, after flooding last year from Tropical Storm Irene, obtained waivers of up to 10 days. But half of that exempted time was not approved by state lawmakers until June -- more than nine months after Irene struck. 
 "It's a critical issue, because we're coming up on February," said Michael Mensch, chief operating officer for the regional Western <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> BOCES school agency. "People make plans for trips and vacations, and there's an economic issue if people don't hit the ski slopes." 
 Mensch added that about a dozen districts in his region are discussing possible cancellations of midwinter break, in addition to three districts that already have acted. Another dozen districts in eastern <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> are weighing similar action, according to Gary Bixhorn, chief operating officer of the BOCES covering that region. 
 Canceling school vacations is a sensitive issue, educators acknowledged. Typically, such decisions divide parents who are worried about losing deposits on vacation trips from other parents anxious to provide their children with enough classtime to pass upcoming exams or heighten their test scores. 
 "While many parents are upset with having to give up the break, a majority of the ones I spoke with were still willing to give the days up to get instructional time," said Laura Carey, president of <a href="/topics//South_Huntington,_NY">South Huntington</a>'s PTA council. "Nine days out is a lot of time." 
 Carey, who has one daughter each in fourth grade and fifth grade, supports her school board's unanimous decision Wednesday to call off four days of midwinter break. 
 Like many parents, Carey said she believes that canceling these days will prove less controversial than, say, tinkering with another weeklong break in March that is tied to <a href="/topics//Easter">Easter</a> and <a href="/topics//Passover">Passover</a>. The board also canceled two other days off scheduled for April 1 and May 24. 
 &nbsp; 
 Exemptions sought 
 Under law, state education commissioners can waive up to five days of school for "extraordinary circumstances" including storm damage. State lawmakers and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo approved another five days for upstate schools hit by Irene, but that was a one-time arrangement. 
 The state's education commissioner, John B. King Jr., has not yet said whether he will grant waivers. King's aides have said repeatedly that, in any case, state law requires districts to exhaust vacation time before getting any exemptions. 
 State Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport), chairman of the Senate's Education Committee, announced earlier this month that he would file a bill allowing extra waivers beyond the five days already permitted by law. 
 Several school administrators said Friday that Flanagan recently told them any such bill could not be taken up until the legislature goes back into regular session after Jan. 1. The senator did not respond to Newsday's request for comment. 
 One upstate district that managed to obtain a 10-day waiver for 2011-12 is centered in the Catskills resort town of Windham. The district's lone, 422-student school was badly damaged when 8 feet of floodwaters poured over the banks of a nearby river, leaving the gym and playground covered with mud and debris. 
 With its waiver, the Windham-Ashland-Jewett district shortened its academic calendar to 170 days. It also preserved vacations. To do that, the district had to certify to the state that holding classes during vacation periods would impede school repairs and pose a potential hazard. In addition, many teachers worked two or three hours after regular classes -- and also for two days after the end of the regular school year -- to make up for time lost. 
 John Wiktorko, the district superintendent, said that <a href="/topics//Albany,_NY">Albany</a> officials made it clear that they took classtime requirements seriously. 
 "It wasn't just a carte blanche that you can keep your kids out of school," Wiktorko said. 
 With Michael R. Ebert 
 and Joie Tyrrell 
 &nbsp; 
<h3> DISTRICTS TAKING ACTION</h3> 
 &nbsp; 
 The districts listed indicated their plans Thursday or Friday in a Newsday survey, in interviews, or through public relations representatives. About 15 more districts were identified, but not named, by regional BOCES officials. 
 Districts that have canceled vacations, superintendent's conference days or "snow days" 
 <a href="/topics//Center_Moriches,_NY">Center Moriches</a> 
 <a href="/topics//Cold_Spring_Harbor,_NY">Cold Spring Harbor</a> 
 Connetquot 
 <a href="/topics//Copiague,_NY">Copiague</a> 
 Harborfields 
 <a href="/topics//Jericho,_NY">Jericho</a> 
 <a href="/topics//Locust_Valley,_NY">Locust Valley</a> 
 <a href="/topics//Massapequa,_NY">Massapequa</a> 
 Middle Country 
 <a href="/topics//Mineola,_NY">Mineola</a> 
 <a href="/topics//South_Huntington,_NY">South Huntington</a> 
 Districts planning to consider cancellations later 
 Bay Shore 
 Fishers Island 
 Garden City 
 Half Hollow Hills 
 <a href="/topics//Hewlett,_NY">Hewlett</a>-<a href="/topics//Woodmere,_NY">Woodmere</a> 
 Huntington 
 Malverne 
 Montauk 
 New Hyde Park-Garden City Park 
 Oyster Bay 
 Plainview-Old Bethpage 
 Remsenburg-Speonk 
 <a href="/topics//Rockville_Centre,_NY">Rockville Centre</a> 
 Roosevelt 
 Sachem 
 Valley Stream 24 
 SOURCES: Newsday survey, Syntax, Zimmerman-Edelson

LISKUL18

Some school breaks cut to recoup lost days

All 124 of <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a>'s school districts were operating Wednesday for the first time in more than two weeks, with students' return to classrooms in storm-battered Island Park. 
 Superstorm Sandy's strike on Oct. 29 closed districts for unprecedented periods of up to 12 working days across <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> and <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> counties, damaging an estimated 100 schools and disrupting classes for more than 450,000 students. 
 Across the worst-hit areas of southern <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a>, the <a href="/topics//East_Rockaway,_NY">East Rockaway</a>, Island Park and <a href="/topics//Long_Beach,_NY">Long Beach</a> districts all held classes in limited numbers of schools Wednesday, while other buildings are under repair. 
 Island Park -- the last district to reopen -- gathered about 550 students in grades K-8 at its Lincoln Orens Middle School. Meanwhile, work crews continued removing sandy muck from the district's other building, the Francis X. Hegarty Elementary School, which was inundated by 4 feet of saltwater at the storm's peak. 
 Local high school students attend classes in other districts or in private schools. 
 "We're getting back on our feet," said Matt Paccione, 26, a newly elected school board trustee and community liaison for Assemb. Brian Curran (R-<a href="/topics//Lynbrook,_NY">Lynbrook</a>). "We're Island Parkers, and we may get down a little. But we'll come back stronger." 
 With traffic lights still out, the Island Park students had no buses. Early gym and chorus classes were canceled, as were parent-teacher conferences. 
 On the brighter side, a sign inside the Orens school entrance proclaimed: "Welcome back! Together -- again -- we are better." The school served free breakfast and lunch for all youngsters who showed up, and that wasn't all that was free. 
 "They gave me extra supplies, because of the ones I lost," said Dylan Donovan, 12, a seventh-grader. 
 Cheryl Pal, 58, a longtime music teacher in the district, explained that backpacks, notebooks and other school supplies distributed Wednesday were all donations -- many from out-of-state. Pal added that student turnout was heartening, because a neighborhood survey conducted last week in Island Park found just 178 youngsters of school age remaining there. 
 "We were astounded," said Pal, who with other teachers and firefighters had hosted a Saturday barbecue aimed at bringing local residents together. 
 Elsewhere on the Island, educational leaders are assessing Sandy's impact on school calendars. Most districts lost six to 10 days of classes, and no district lost fewer than two days. 
 Administrators said that making up for missed classes is a major priority, especially now that state law requires teachers to be evaluated in part on the test performance of their students. 
 "It's a high-stakes issue," said Gary Bixhorn, chief operating officer of the regional Eastern <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> Board of Cooperative Educational Services.

LISKUL15

Island Park last district back to school after Sandy

liSKUL15 crop

Buses lumbered through sandy streets, and children bounced past piles of debris Tuesday as the Long Beach school district held classes for the first time in more than two weeks. 
 The 4,000-student seaside system -- along with the <a href="/topics//East_Rockaway,_NY">East Rockaway</a>, <a href="/topics//Island_Park,_NY">Island Park</a>, <a href="/topics//Lindenhurst,_NY">Lindenhurst</a> and <a href="/topics//Oceanside,_NY">Oceanside</a> districts -- was ravaged by superstorm Sandy. And while each district is having a full or partial opening this week, some students will be on unfamiliar ground, with a few schools combining because others were damaged. 
 Long Beach High School, for example, is housing its own students plus the district's middle schoolers. Lindell Elementary School is hosting displaced kids from Lido Elementary, and the East School is filled with West Elementary students. 
 Scott Powers, 13 and an eighth-grader at Long Beach Middle School, said he had a hard time finding his classes inside the high school but predicted it would get better. His sister, Mali, 12, also at the high school, said it was packed. 
 "When you walked through the hallways, you would get squished," she said. "Me and my friends would travel together and get lost and end up going in a circle. But we got to see each other. I would rather be at school than not." 
 Superintendent <a href="/topics//David_Weiss">David Weiss</a> said 89 percent of the district's high schoolers made it to class Tuesday, and he still is trying to locate some students. Eighty percent of middle-school kids were present. 
 "If I could have, I would have started school earlier," he said. "We still have kids in shelters." 
 <a href="/topics//East_Rockaway,_NY">East Rockaway</a> had a partial opening Tuesday. Rhame Elementary students were relocated to the Centre Avenue school, and junior and senior high students are supposed to attend schools in the <a href="/topics//Baldwin,_NY">Baldwin</a> district starting Thursday, officials said. 
 Grades 7 and 8 will be housed at <a href="/topics//Baldwin,_NY">Baldwin</a>'s Milburn Elementary while high schoolers will attend Shubert Elementary, pending <a href="/topics//Baldwin,_NY">Baldwin</a>'s approval. 
 Tuesday marked the first time that all of <a href="/topics//Lindenhurst,_NY">Lindenhurst</a>'s schools were open. 
 Sandy shuttered the Harding Avenue school, and last week's nor'easter knocked out power at William Rall Elementary and the administrative building. The district closed last Thursday and reopened Friday, with Harding still off-limits, before all campuses again could open. 
 While <a href="/topics//Lindenhurst,_NY">Lindenhurst</a> had strong attendance, several students have relocated, with one family moving to Florida, Superintendent Richard Nathan said. 
 "We have many families that are living on the second floor of a two-story building" because the first floor is uninhabitable, he said. 
 Despite such challenges, the district is moving forward, with sporting events bolstering school spirit. "It's like my mother used to say: 'We're in pretty good shape for the shape we're in,' " Nathan said. 
 The <a href="/topics//Island_Park,_NY">Island Park</a> district is to open Wednesday. Students in kindergarten through grade 8 all will attend Lincoln Orens Middle School. Bus service will be available if traffic lights are running, school officials said. Francis X. Hegarty Elementary School remains closed. 
 <a href="/topics//Oceanside,_NY">Oceanside</a> schools also opened for the first time Tuesday, with students from Fulton Avenue School No. 8 attending Kindergarten-Pre-K Center No. 6. 
 Superintendent Herb Brown visited four schools and asked a group of first-graders at Walter S. Boardman Elementary School No. 9E where they were staying. 
 "Some were living in hotels, some with grandma, some with friends, but yet they were in school," he said.

LILONG14

Long Beach schools reopen, some combined

New York City will be asking for an emergency appropriation of $500 million to repair schools and hospitals damaged by superstorm Sandy, Mayor <a href="/topics//Michael_Bloomberg">Michael Bloomberg</a> said Monday.
About $200 million will be used to repair about 37 schools damaged by the storm, and the rest will go toward fixing city hospitals such as <a href="/topics//Bellevue_Hospital">Bellevue Hospital Center</a> and <a href="/topics//Coney_Island,_NY">Coney Island</a> Hospital, among others, the mayor said. 
The announcement of the emergency request, expected to be made Tuesday of the City Council, comes as Gov. <a href="/topics//Andrew_Cuomo">Andrew M. Cuomo</a> said the state will be asking for $30 billion in a special appropriation from the federal government. But Bloomberg said the city can't wait and needs to start repairs as soon as possible.
Bloomberg also described continued progress in restoring power and major corporate donations to help those displaced by the storm.
But in another development, one city councilman has asked for hearings on how the city deployed emergency response teams to flood zones before superstorm Sandy.
<a href="/topics//Peter_Vallone,_Sr._(politician)">Peter Vallone</a> Jr., (D-Astoria) who heads the council's public safety committee, said he heard from residents that special "community emergency response teams," known as CERT, weren't sent to warn homeowners in flood-prone areas as intended.
"They were not deployed to alert communities to evacuate, they were sent to shelters," Vallone said. "We will have a hearing."
But a spokesman for the city Office of Emergency Management disputed Vallone's claim and said the CERT units, made up of specially trained volunteers, went door to door to warn residents in flood areas before the storm and staffed the shelters as well.
The use of CERT was one of the emergency notification systems OEM chief <a href="/topics//Joseph_Bruno">Joseph Bruno</a> mentioned during an October 2010 city council hearing on preparedness for a major hurricane. At that time, the city had 56 special teams composed of more than 1,200 credentialed volunteers, Bruno said.
Bruno also said at the time that the city had 5,700 pallets of medical supplies, personal care items, cots, food, water and blankets stockpiled for distribution to help shelter people for up to seven days. OEM spokesman <a href="/topics//Chris_Miller_(football)">Chris Miller</a> said Monday that all of the pallets were distributed in advance of Sandy to shelters. 
Miller also said the city's warning system for special medical needs people was also activated during the storm and involved contacts with more than 900 agencies that provide assistance to vulnerable populations.
Vallone said that, overall, the city response in the storm was to be credited but that he wanted to hold hearings to delve into some specifics. He did not give a hearing date.
In his 2010 testimony, Bruno estimated that a Category 1 hurricane, which Sandy was before she struck land, would bring a 6- to 10-foot wall of water into coastal areas of the city. The storm surge at the Battery was measured at nearly 12 feet at one point, just about a foot shy of the 13- to 16-foot surge expected by OEM in a Category 2 storm.
A city news release said the total number of Con Ed customers without power is now 17,441; the total of LIPA customers without power is now 29,387. Power has been restored to 390 of the 402 public housing buildings that were impacted by the storm, the release said.

NYSTOR13

Bloomberg: $500M needed for hospital, school storm repair

amNY -- Hospital Sandy

School officials in <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> and <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> Wednesday were hopeful that classes in weatherworn districts would continue or resume Thursday despite the impact of Wednesday's nor'easter, plus lingering power glitches and transportation problems from superstorm Sandy.
Educators in some districts cautioned last night that iffy conditions may mean delayed openings this morning, and said parents would be notified via email or telephone calls. They also suggested that parents and students check district websites.
Students in about 40 districts were back in class Wednesday for the first time since Sandy struck on Oct. 29. In some, they were dismissed before noon because of spotty power or concerns for student safety as high winds and wet snow bore down on the Island's fragile, patched-up electrical grid.
"We used a little chewing gum and some Band-Aids to get power back, so I'm concerned there are going to be additional power outages," <a href="/topics//Jericho,_NY">Jericho</a> Superintendent Henry Grishman said as 3,200 students returned to the classroom. "Many of these fixes have been temporary."
Nearly all of the districts that reopened Wednesday canceled afternoon and evening activities such as after-school child care, night school and meetings because of the nor'easter.
In Jericho, where half of the homes in the district still were without power, Grishman said student attendance was at 96 percent, after the closure all five days last week as well as Monday and Tuesday. The district did not dismiss students early.
Returning to the classroom, even under compromised conditions, was pivotal for some families recovering from the storm and trying to resume daily routines.
But in several districts, the school day remained difficult.
A transformer blew at Half Hollow Hills High School East, prompting the school to close early. Buses were taking students home as of 11:30 a.m., officials said. "We are expecting LIPA to make the repair. That would be our hope," said Patrick Harrigan, assistant superintendent for districtwide administration. The school website said schools will be closed Thursday.
<a href="/topics//William_Floyd">William Floyd</a>'s Hobart Elementary had a partial loss of power. The district still held a full day of classes, according to a note on their website.
<a href="/topics//Glen_Cove,_NY">Glen Cove</a> schools expect to reopen Thursday with the exception of the middle school building, due to lack of heat. The district's prekindergarten program will remain closed, officials said.
Sachem, the Island's second-largest district, also had an early dismissal due to scattered power outages.
Several other districts, including <a href="/topics//Freeport,_NY">Freeport</a>, Three Village, <a href="/topics//Longwood,_NY">Longwood</a>, Southampton and <a href="/topics//Hampton_Bays,_NY">Hampton Bays</a>, let students out early Wednesday.
Michael Mensch, deputy superintendent of Western Suffolk BOCES, said the persistent fuel shortage also is taking a toll on districts. While the majority of the larger buses use diesel fuel, smaller vehicles and vans run on gasoline. Faculty and staffers are having trouble getting to work.
"The gas thing caught everyone off-guard," Mensch said. "Teachers live all over <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a>."
Many districts were closed all last week, an unprecedented length of time on the Island because of weather. A few districts reopened on Tuesday, even though schools usually are closed on Election Day.
Nearly 60 school districts had said earlier in the week they expected to reopen Wednesday or were considering doing so. Many stuck to that plan, despite the predicted storm.
Several districts -- including <a href="/topics//Cold_Spring_Harbor,_NY">Cold Spring Harbor</a>, Harborfields and <a href="/topics//South_Huntington,_NY">South Huntington</a> -- had decided on Tuesday to remain closed Wednesday.
"Nobody wants to be out of school this long," said Hampton Bays Superintendent Lars Clemensen, whose district reopened on Monday and Wednesday had an early dismissal. "It is important to be back to school."

LISKUL08

As nor'easter hits, some schools dismiss students early

School CROP

The Long Beach school superintendent pledged resumption of full-day instruction next Tuesday -- just past the two-week mark since superstorm Sandy struck the South Shore city.
"We will open as soon as we can, but I'm not going to open if travel conditions are not safe," Superintendent David <a href="/topics//David_Weiss">Weiss</a> said Tuesday, referring to possible street flooding from the nor'easter forecast to hit <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> Wednesday.
The 4,000-student district had lots of company when it came to uncertainty about resuming classes: Nearly 60 school districts had said Monday that they expected to reopen Wednesday or were considering doing so. Almost all of them were sticking to that plan Tuesday night, despite the predicted storm.
Several that had planned to open Wednesday -- including <a href="/topics//Cold_Spring_Harbor,_NY">Cold Spring Harbor</a>, Harborfields and <a href="/topics//South_Huntington,_NY">South Huntington</a> -- decided to remain closed because of the coming storm.
<a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> BOCES Superintendent Tom Rogers announced that his agency's centers would reopen Wednesday to students. He cautioned, however, that BOCES schools might have to close again Thursday, depending on effects of the nor'easter.
"Obviously, the wind is what everyone is worried about," Rogers said.
The closings caused by Sandy, with most of the Island's 124 districts shut down for at least the full week after the storm struck on Oct. 29, were unprecedented for <a href="/topics//A_Weather_(musician)">a weather</a> event.
In Long Beach Tuesday, Weiss presided over a three-hour meeting of about 300 teachers and staff at the Lindell School. Before a standing-room-only crowd in the elementary school's basement cafeteria, Weiss spoke of the importance of "getting the kids back in class, back to a routine."
All the district's schools suffered some damage, Weiss said. Long Beach High School, East School and Lindell will accommodate students while other facilities are being repaired.
Weiss said he did not have an estimate of the damage.
Logistics of transportation for students and staff remain an issue; Weiss said details were being worked out. The district's school buses were not damaged.
Streets in the city of 33,275 must remain clear for emergency vehicles. For Tuesday's meeting, for instance, staff members were bused to the school from <a href="/topics//Long_Island_Rail_Road">Long Island Rail Road</a> stations outside of Long Beach.
Communications are another hurdle.
<a href="/topics//Cellular_Phones">Cellphone</a> service in Long Beach continues to be spotty, and few have access to the Internet because most of the city remains without electricity.
Sixty-five percent of the district's teachers and staff, approximately 850 people, live in Long Beach.
District officials spent Monday and Tuesday trying to locate parents, some of whom evacuated. Parents should call 516-897-2000 or fill out a contact form at lbeach.org/.
"We had <a href="/topics//Cellular_Phones">cellphone</a> numbers for some parents but not all of them," Weiss said. "We need to know where people are living because we will be transporting kids from outside the district who were evacuated."

LISKUL07

Long Beach officials eye school reopening

liLONGBEACHav crop

As some schools on <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> opened their doors Monday for the first time since Sandy struck, administrators in the hardest-hit areas say they must do more than simply make sure their buildings are safe: They want to help make children "feel whole again." 
 In <a href="/topics//Lindenhurst,_NY">Lindenhurst</a>, Superintendent Richard Nathan said more than 100 of his students have become homeless, their houses leveled or uninhabitable. 
 Asked how his district will address the crisis, Nathan said, "Try to restore some sense of normalcy, to provide a safe haven for the children, a place they can stay where they can get a decent lunch, where the classrooms are heated and there is sympathetic staff to help make them feel whole again." 
 <a href="/topics//Lindenhurst,_NY">Lindenhurst</a>, which serves 6,420 students, is one of 32 districts expected to open Wednesday. SCOPE programs, which serve 7,000 students across the Island, will be available in districts that hold class, officials said. 
 Even as the district is trying to identify its homeless and find out if they'll continue at the same school -- homeless students have the right to remain at their school of origin -- it's dealing with buildings that still lack power. 
 Harding Avenue Elementary School has no electricity, so grades three, four and five will attend the middle school, while kindergarten through second grade will be routed to William Rall Elementary. 
 The <a href="/topics//Long_Beach,_NY">Long Beach</a> district, which serves nearly 4,000 children, will open only one school Wednesday, weather permitting, superintendent David <a href="/topics//David_Weiss">Weiss</a> said. Lindell School will open for elementary students in the morning and secondary students in the afternoon. 
 Weiss stressed that children cannot be driven to school. "We can't have cars in <a href="/topics//Long_Beach,_NY">Long Beach</a>" because of the storm's destruction, he said. 
 Even in Sandy's aftermath -- communication with staff and parents has been difficult because of sporadic <a href="/topics//Cellular_Phones">cellphone</a> service and some district employees experienced tremendous losses -- the district is making progress, Weiss said. 
 "We are on our way back," he said. "We are working round the clock. It is going to come in steps, not all at once." 
 In the <a href="/topics//Fire_Island,_NY">Fire Island</a> district, 40 students were relocated Monday to the Eastern <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> BOCES learning center in the <a href="/topics//William_Floyd">William Floyd</a> district. 
 Gary D. Bixhorn, Eastern <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> BOCES chief operating officer, said schools are working hard to provide a safe environment for students. "We are all breaking new ground," he said. 
 On the <a href="/topics//Syosset,_NY">Syosset</a> district's website, a statement said that the South Woods Middle School will remain closed and that its students will be transported to H.B. Thompson Middle School. <a href="/topics//Walt_Whitman">Walt Whitman</a> Elementary will also remain shuttered, with students transported to Baylis Elementary in <a href="/topics//Plainview,_NY">Plainview</a>. 
 One parent, Stacey Broggy, 41, said she is concerned about that plan. She said she will not send her 12-year-old son to a combined school because of worries about overcrowding. 
 "They are in a rush to open these schools but people are still without heat and power; you're rushing kids to go to school with 50-degree temperatures in their home," she said. 
 "We have no gas in our cars to go and buy groceries. Half my friends relocated to other family members that live out of the area." 
 &nbsp; 
 &nbsp; 
<h3> SCHOOL CLOSINGS</h3> 
 &nbsp; 
 Here are public school districts' status as of Monday night, compiled from information on district websites and calls to district officials or their public relations firms. 
 &nbsp; 
 Expected to reopen Wednesday 
 &nbsp; 
 <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> 
 <a href="/topics//Bellmore,_NY">Bellmore</a>-<a href="/topics//Merrick,_NY">Merrick</a> 
 Freeport 
 Great Neck 
 Hewlett-Woodmere 
 Hicksville 
 Island Park 
 <a href="/topics//Long_Beach,_NY">Long Beach</a> (limited basis) 
 Lynbrook 
 North <a href="/topics//Bellmore,_NY">Bellmore</a> 
 Roslyn 
 Sewanhaka 
 <a href="/topics//Valley_Stream,_NY">Valley Stream</a> 13 
 <a href="/topics//Valley_Stream,_NY">Valley Stream</a> 30 
 <a href="/topics//Valley_Stream,_NY">Valley Stream</a> Central 
 Wantagh 
 West Hempstead 
 Westbury 
 <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> 
 Amityville 
 Babylon 
 Cold Spring Harbor 
 Commack 
 Connetquot 
 Elwood 
 Half Hollow Hills 
 Harborfields 
 <a href="/topics//Lindenhurst,_NY">Lindenhurst</a> 
 <a href="/topics//Northport,_NY">Northport</a>-E. <a href="/topics//Northport,_NY">Northport</a> 
 South Huntington 
 West Babylon 
 West Islip (elementary schools closed, high school and middle schools open) 
 &nbsp; 
 Closed today; status Wednesday to be determined 
 &nbsp; 
 <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> 
 Baldwin 
 <a href="/topics//Bellmore,_NY">Bellmore</a> 
 East Meadow 
 Farmingdale 
 Glen Cove 
 Herricks 
 Jericho 
 Locust Valley 
 Manhasset 
 Oyster Bay-East Norwich 
 Rockville Centre 
 Roosevelt 
 <a href="/topics//Valley_Stream,_NY">Valley Stream</a> 24 
 <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> 
 Brentwood 
 Central Islip 
 Comsewogue 
 Copiague 
 East Hampton 
 Hauppauge 
 Huntington 
 Middle Country 
 Miller Place 
 Mount Sinai 
 North Babylon 
 Smithtown 
 Three Village 
 Wyandanch 
 &nbsp; 
 Closed after tomorrow 
 &nbsp; 
 East Rockaway (closed all week) 
 Oceanside (closed through tomorrow; Thursday unknown) 
 &nbsp; 
 Websites not operational or no mention of school closings (Officials could not be reached) 
 &nbsp; 
 Garden City 
 Hempstead 
 Lawrence

LISKUL06

Back to school means back to normal, after Sandy

LISKUL

More than a dozen <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> school districts will remain closed Monday, and some through Tuesday, regional officials announced Sunday morning. 
<a href="/topics//West_Babylon,_NY">West Babylon</a>, <a href="/topics//Babylon,_NY">Babylon</a>, <a href="/topics//Deer_Park,_NY">Deer Park</a>, <a href="/topics//Elwood,_NY">Elwood</a>, <a href="/topics//Smithtown,_NY">Smithtown</a>, Harbor Fields, <a href="/topics//Cold_Spring_Harbor,_NY">Cold Spring Harbor</a> have decided to stay shuttered through Tuesday, due to damage from superstorm Sandy.
<a href="/topics//Amityville,_NY">Amityville</a>, <a href="/topics//Commack,_NY">Commack</a>, Half Hollow Hills, <a href="/topics//Babylon,_NY">Babylon</a> and <a href="/topics//Lindenhurst,_NY">Lindenhurst</a> schools, all of which are also closed Monday, have not decided or announced their plans for Tuesday. 
"Every school district that closed is really closed because either they don't have full electricity or because they can't transport students out of neighborhoods," said Mike Mensch, superintendent of Western <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> BOCES, which consists of 18 school districts. 
School officials in other districts Islandwide have said they are to determine their reopening plans Sunday.
In <a href="/topics//Long_Beach,_NY">Long Beach</a>, one of the most severely damaged communities, schools are Monday and Tuesday, officials announced Sunday morning. 
Last week, most schools stayed shut five full days -- a loss of class time that veteran educators called unprecedented for the Island. State law requires a minimum 180-day school calendar, and many administrators hope to make up for the loss by holding classes on Election Day.
With John Hildebrand

LICLOS05

More than a dozen school districts closed Monday

Hamptons - crop

At least 20 public school districts in <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> and <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> counties that were closed last week after superstorm Sandy plan to start classes Monday or by midweek, according to educators and a Newsday survey of districts' websites. 
 Many school leaders cautioned that they won't make final decisions on reopening until later Sunday, depending on whether local roads are clear enough to run buses, electricity is restored to facilities, and teachers and staff have fuel to get to their schools. 
 Many more districts could reopen this week, regional leaders said. But they added that storm-battered schools along the coastlines clearly need more time for repairs, and that other cases are iffy. 
 In addition, students from the <a href="/topics//Fire_Island,_NY">Fire Island</a> district will attend classes tomorrow in a leased Eastern <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> BOCES building on the mainland, BOCES officials said yesterday. 
 School officials said they faced difficulty in communicating with parents or updating their websites because of pervasive power outages. 
 Thirteen other districts, all in the Island's eastern sector, brought students back last week. 
 Jim Polansky, the Huntington schools superintendent, said parents should receive an update about his district's situation by phone Sunday. 
 Polansky, in a recorded call to parents Friday, said the district hopes to restart classes Monday for its 4,400 students. Huntington also plans to attempt to hold classes during Tuesday's elections -- a day traditionally set aside as a "superintendent's conference day," reserved for teacher training. 
 Polansky, in his message, said two of Huntington's eight schools remained without power, and busing some students might prove a problem. 
 "Unfortunately, there are numerous roads throughout the district that remain impassable," Polansky said. 
 Charles Leunig, chief of <a href="/topics//Copiague,_NY">Copiague</a> schools, said on Friday that he also hopes to reach a decision on reopening by this afternoon. 
 A major potential obstacle, he said, is shortage of fuel -- both for buses and for teachers and staff trying to get to work in their own vehicles. In a detailed memo to school board members, Leunig described street conditions that continued to be a worry. 
 "Cleanup is proceeding," the superintendent wrote. "Gas lines are clogging up traffic wherever a gas station is open. Streets below <a href="/topics//Montauk,_NY">Montauk</a> Highway could still be a problem for full-size buses next week. Dawn-to-dusk curfews are in place in certain areas below <a href="/topics//Montauk,_NY">Montauk</a> Highway to discourage looting, which has already occurred in some cases." 
 Last week, most schools stayed shut five full days -- a loss of class time that veteran educators called unprecedented for the Island. State law requires a minimum 180-day school calendar, and many administrators hope to make up for the loss by holding classes on Election Day. 
 <a href="/topics//Jericho,_NY">Jericho</a>, for example, has hired 10 extra security guards to guarantee the separation of students and adult voters on Tuesday. Henry Grishman, the superintendent, noted that any needed teacher training could be postponed -- if necessary, until after students complete Regents exams in June. 
 "We saw the priority as being student contact days," Grishman said. 
 A few districts in eastern <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> have been open since Wednesday. The 750-student <a href="/topics//East_Moriches,_NY">East Moriches</a> district restarted classes on Thursday, and officials Friday said attendance was approaching normal levels. 
 Superintendent Charles Russo said an abnormally high 11 percent <a href="/topics//Absentee_(musician)">absentee</a> rate on the first day of classes could have stemmed, in part, from families' lack of access to working phones and laptop computers. 
 "Some folks, I think, were just not aware we were open," Russo said. 
 &nbsp; 
<h3> Back to school</h3> 
 &nbsp; 
 <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> public school districts that indicated on their websites Friday that they plan to resume classes tomorrow are: 
 <a href="/topics//Bethpage_State_Park,_NY">Bethpage</a> 
 <a href="/topics//East_Williston,_NY">East Williston</a> 
 <a href="/topics//Roosevelt,_NY">Roosevelt</a> 
 <a href="/topics//Valley_Stream,_NY">Valley Stream</a> 13 
 <a href="/topics//Westbury,_NY">Westbury</a> 
 <a href="/topics//Eastport,_NY">Eastport</a>-South Manor 
 Hampton Bays 
 Islip 
 Miller Place 
 Port Jefferson 
 Rocky Point 
 Southampton 
 Springs 
 Three Village 
 Tuckahoe 
 William Floyd 
 &nbsp; 
 <a href="/topics//Fire_Island,_NY">Fire Island</a> students will attend class Monday on the mainland, in a leased Eastern Suffolk BOCES building, officials said. 
 More districts expect to announce Sunday afternoon whether they will open Monday or by midweek. 
 &nbsp; 
 Classes resumed last week in 13 districts: 
 Bridgehampton 
 Center <a href="/topics//Moriches,_NY">Moriches</a> 
 <a href="/topics//East_Moriches,_NY">East Moriches</a> 
 East Quogue 
 Fishers Island 
 Greenport 
 Mattituck-Cutchogue 
 Remsenberg-Speonk 
 Riverhead 
 Sagaponack 
 Shelter Island 
 Southold 
 Westhampton Beach 
 Because of power outages, some districts' website could not be accessed or had not been updated to reflect districts' status.

LISKUL04

Many LI schools could reopen this week

liSCHOOL crop

Park View Elementary School in <a href="/topics//Kings_Park,_NY">Kings Park</a> will be closed until December or early January for repairs to damage done by superstorm Sandy, officials told more than 300 parents who attended a meeting about the complex Thursday. 
 Starting Monday, if power has been restored, kindergarten, first and second grade students will be relocated to San Remo -- a former elementary school on Lawrence Road that is being used as an administration building and partially rented by New Beginnings, a child-care center. 
 Third grade students will temporarily attend Ralph J. Osgood Intermediate School on Old Dock Road. Aftercare from <a href="/topics//Smithtown,_NY">Smithtown</a> Recreation Center and before school programs will also take place at Osgood. 
 Students who ride school buses will be picked up and dropped off at the same stops. 
 Superintendent Susan Agruso made the announcement this afternoon at <a href="/topics//Kings_Park,_NY">Kings Park</a> High School, where officials met with parents and students after the elementary school had its roof blown off during Monday's storm. Park View was among a number of <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> schools that sustained damage in the storm. 
 Park View, which has about 500 students, sustained water damage to its second floor classrooms, hallways, some smartboards, and computer room, some first floor hallways and the gym. "To the extent possible, things will remain the same," Agruso told parents. "Your children will have the same classroom teachers and the same . . . classmates." 
 She said she expects some obstacles. "Lunch is going to be a challenge for the first few days," she said, adding that boxed lunches would be served until food distribution companies can resume business. 
 All Park View classrooms are being emptied, so teachers will have their own materials. Nonporous items, such as desks, will be cleaned. But items such as paper, clothing, and stuffed animals, must be discarded. The district will try to replace personal property that must be trashed, said Agruso. The company in charge of the cleanup will keep an inventory of such items, she said. 
 Ceiling and floor tiles containing asbestos will also be removed, and all walls and floors will be tested for hazards, said Agruso. "No one goes into that building until it has been deemed safe," she said. 
 The district is relying on its insurance company, the federal government, and state aid for the costs of repairing water damage and replacing the roof and contents of the school, said Agruso. Marie Goldstein, the school board president, said no estimate on the cost of repairs was available. 
 "By next year, we will be made whole," Agruso said. "There should be no impact on the district as far as budget." 
 Kelly Sacks of Kings Park, said she thought the plan was "very well-organized considering the time frame that we have." 
 Sacks said her son, who is in third grade, worried about not having the same teacher or classmates. "The least change the best," she said. "I think they did an excellent job." 
 But Joann DiTaranto, of Kings Park was concerned about not being able to visit her second-grader's classrooms ahead of time. "I don't know what my daughter's room is like," she said. "I want to see the environment before my daughter goes into it." 
 Maria Cirilli, of Kings Park was "very relieved" for her two children that the same security personnel will work the new location. "Now, when I drop them off, they'll see the same familiar face at the door," she said. "They're so little, I think that's important. They can't really discriminate who's safe and who isn't." 
 Teachers and staff will be at the door on Monday to greet students and parents and escort them to classrooms, Agruso said, adding, "Monday is going to be like the first day of school."

Suffolk

TOKING02

Park View Elementary to stay closed during repairs

LISCHOOL02 crop

A growing number of <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> school districts announced Wednesday that they would stay closed through Friday in the wake of superstorm Sandy -- a loss of five consecutive class days that regional officials called unprecedented. 
 State school authorities predicted that some Island districts could further extend shutdowns after they assess storm damage to buildings. <a href="/topics//Kings_Park,_NY">Kings Park</a> reported that a roof blew off Park View Elementary School, but that it hoped to relocate students, provided power was restored. 
 Other districts besides <a href="/topics//Kings_Park,_NY">Kings Park</a> that confirmed they will remain shut the rest of the week included Sachem, Huntington, <a href="/topics//Jericho,_NY">Jericho</a>, <a href="/topics//Commack,_NY">Commack</a>, <a href="/topics//Lindenhurst,_NY">Lindenhurst</a>, <a href="/topics//Northport,_NY">Northport</a>-<a href="/topics//East_Northport,_NY">East Northport</a>, <a href="/topics//Babylon,_NY">Babylon</a>, <a href="/topics//North_Babylon,_NY">North Babylon</a>, <a href="/topics//West_Babylon,_NY">West Babylon</a> and <a href="/topics//Deer_Park,_NY">Deer Park</a>. Reporting by Newsday and <a href="/topics//News_12">News 12</a> <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> found that at least 102 of the Island's 124 districts will remain closed Thursday. 
 "We're working hard to open Monday, but I don't know that we're going to make it," said Tom Rogers, superintendent of <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a>'s Board of Cooperative Educational Services, which provides regional services including career training and <a href="/topics//Special_Education">special education</a>. 
 <a href="/topics//Jericho,_NY">Jericho</a>, <a href="/topics//Wantagh,_NY">Wantagh</a> and <a href="/topics//Kings_Park,_NY">Kings Park</a> all said they planned to hold classes on Election Day to make up academic time. Regional school leaders said they had already begun exploring with Albany the possibility of obtaining state waivers that would relieve districts from providing the minimum 180 days of class required by state law. 
 Last year, state lawmakers granted a special five-day waiver to many schools in the Catskills and other upstate regions flooded by Tropical Storm Irene. That was in addition to a five-day waiver that can be granted by state education commissioners. 
 Ken Slentz, the state's deputy commissioner for elementary and secondary education, noted Wednesday that districts generally are required to exhaust scheduled vacation days before they are excused from classtime requirements. Slentz acknowledged, however, schools on the Island and other areas such as Rockland County faced serious obstacles in their efforts to avoid closing for more than five days. 
 "For some of those districts, it's going to be longer, because we don't have good assessment of damage to schools," Slentz said in a phone interview. 
 Greenport schools reopened Wednesday on the Island's North Fork, where storm winds were slightly less severe than farther west. Southold schools also reopened, then announced they would shut down a second time today due to a power failure. 
 At least seven other eastern <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> districts plan reopenings Thursday: Bridgehampton, Riverhead, Center Moriches, East Moriches, East Quogue, Remsenburg-Speonk and Shelter Island. 
 With Bill Mason, 
 Kathy Diamond 
 and Lauren R. Harrison

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LISKUL01

Some Sandy school closures extend through Friday

98) Sandy LI CROP

LI Schools recover from Sandy

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