School Superintendents Reflect on the Shutdown, and Its Effects, and Look for a Path Forward

When East Hampton School District Superintendent Adam Fine got wind of the COVID-19 pandemic-related shutdown in March 2020, he assumed it would only be temporary.

“I thought that we would be back in school in a week or two,” he said.

Little did the administrator and many of his colleagues know, that closure would last for months and lead to education shock, and consequences that at the time no one could have imagined.

Since then, educators and counselors have had to counteract learning gaps, social-emotional distress and financial instability, and still, there is bound to be a deep impact on instructive decisions for years to come.

The ramifications of the halt in school days as we knew them is still not totally known, as administrators analyze district and standardized tests results, the latter of which more and more students continue to opt out of. But the social and emotional toll, not just on students but staff members, has been worrisome, and a focus for Fine and superintendents across the East End as they reflect on the early days of the pandemic, evaluate the results and figure out a path forward.

Remsenburg-Speonk Superintendent Denise Sullivan was in her first year in her position and vividly recalls the day “the world just froze.”

She said she was in utter disbelief as she’d spend every Friday looking over the state’s latest updates and directives.

“I’d think, ‘What’s going to change now?’” Sullivan said, subsequently spending each weekend after revamping whatever plan she’d put in place. “Those Friday afternoons were spent getting hit with something different and starting all over again.”

Hampton Bays Superintendent Lars Clemensen also thought he’d be seeing his colleagues again in a couple of weeks. “We were having conversations about postponing the eighth grade trip to Washington, D.C., until June — how little we knew,” he said. “And those kids just went as juniors, because it never happened.”

Bridgehampton Superintendent Mary Kelly knew her district needed to jump into action, so the Monday after the decision to close school doors, she ordered an emergency Board of Education meeting. In advance of that discussion on next steps, the administrative team got together to develop a plan for how it would navigate the uncharted waters of distance learning.

She, Springs Superintendent Debra Winter and many others touted the communication with staff and community members, using phone, email and other message systems to alert residents about any changes. They also used social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Then, thanks to many donations and public support, they were able to hand out Chromebooks and tablets, and, in some cases, Wi-Fi hotspots, so at-home learning could begin.

But a plan for remote instruction wasn’t so cut-and-dried, and varied drastically from district to district with the technology and options that were available.

Many turned to Google Classroom, while also trying to steer the ship toward synchronous teaching — live, in real time — or asynchronous teaching, with lessons that are recorded or completed on a student’s own time. Not only did children need to comprehend a new way of learning, educators needed to figure out a new way of teaching.

“The initial 2020 remote plan was not great,” Fine admitted. “We did not know how to deliver instruction remotely. I did not take into account the time in front of a computer, the management of the students in the class. It was challenging at all levels.”

Tuckahoe Superintendent Leonard Skuggevik said his district used digital materials and teacher videos to start but switched to live instruction when it became apparent that the closure was going to last through the end of the school year.

“Teachers take their jobs very seriously, but much of how they taught had to change, and it had to change fast,” Clemensen said. “For parents and students, too. How was a parent who was food insecure or had job insecurity supposed to manage their stress with a ninth-grader, a sixth-grader and a fourth-grader in the house? Everybody’s mental health was challenged there. We all acknowledged that.”

“It was also very difficult for the students, some of whom had siblings who became their charge so guardians could go to work,” added Patricia Desiderio, assistant superintendent for student services for the Southampton School District.

Winter said she was thankful she and her colleagues concluded early on that computer-based learning was going to be strenuous on everyone.

“Remote instruction took place within weeks, but we were realistic that students could not sit behind computers all day, so their school day was shortened,” the superintendent said. “Physical education teachers gave assignments to go outside. Our science teachers did experiments with household items and used their own children as their assistants.”

During the time apart, her teachers made videos indicating to students how much they were missed. Car parades were also held all across the island — first, for students, and then by students for the school staff.

Winter also made sure to take turns with her colleagues, having one administrator on site daily, which was also necessary during a massive expansion project. It was even more challenging for her, like so many others, having a high-risk husband to head home to each day.

“Every day I returned home after being in the building was a risk, but we did it together,” she said.

Sullivan was also saddened by how desperately children wanted to be back in school. “They missed their routine and realized how much they loved school and appreciate their school family,” the superintendent said. “For me, it was a lonely time. I was in the office by myself.”

To help Remsenburg-Speonk students feel loved, staff made signs they planted on families’ front lawns, and students once again reciprocated the sentiment. “That was a big pick-me-up,” Sullivan said.

Clemensen began “Baymen Bedtime Stories,” in which he’d hop on Facebook Live to read books to 100 children each night from March 17 through the end of the school year. The school’s hashtag, #WeAreHB, morphed into #HBStrong.

As the emotional effects became more and more realized and the deeper into isolation everyone went, the superintendent assigned each staff member 10 families to conduct wellness checks on. The feelings of those 2,100 students were assessed each week.

Skuggevik also saw the importance of this, though he disclosed his initial plan did not get it right, as his staff switched to making phone calls. The superintendent also started posting videos on the school’s Facebook page “just trying to make kids laugh.”

“The intent was to alleviate some pressure from the students, and to ensure that they were healthy and safe. If students were not able to be reached in any given week, a home visit from the superintendent took place to ensure student safety,” Skuggevik said. “When students weren’t completing assignments, I also went to their houses and worked with them to get it done.”

School staff also bagged lunches and delivered food and supplies either outside school buildings or directly to homes.

“Our East Quogue community really came together,” Assistant Principal Kelly Freeborn said. “Everybody did what they had to do. Everybody rose to the occasion to support students, faculty and staff. When I look back on it, that’s what I remember most.”

To help her Springs staff feel even more appreciated, Winter’s Board of Education voted to pay everyone, including hourly employees, before there was even any talk of pandemic-assist funding.

“We wanted our staff to know they were valued, and it was money already allocated,” she said. “These hourly employees were extremely grateful, and everyone returned when we reopened in September. It was money well spent, and we ended up getting reimbursed for our hourly employees, monitors, bus drivers and custodians.”

Still, gone were milestones like sports seasons, dance and music recitals, school plays, prom, last years with friends before heading off to college. Even graduation looked different.

Commencement parades were held and some graduations were split into multiple sessions with one or two family members allowed, though spread far apart from others.

“It’s hard missing the things that are hallmark to your education experience that you remember for the rest of your life,” Clemensen said. “So by the time they were able to start gathering again in restricted ways, kids were so happy to be together.”

From the day the festivities ended, administrators were quick to get back to work as they figured out if and how students could be welcomed back to school safely.

East Hampton opened the 2020-21 school year with in-person learning at John M. Marshall Elementary School and hybrid learning at the middle and high schools, where students took turns attending classes in the buildings and at home.

“Some of our classrooms and cafeterias were not large enough,” Fine said. “We had to have students eat in the libraries. Not ideal, to say the least.”

Others had to eat in classrooms, surrounded by Plexiglas dividers, some wary of removing their masks to do so.

Space problems were compounded with the influx of children from the city and other states that moved out east to get away from some of the congestion. Fine said high school enrollment grew by 100 students, which also takes into account sending district totals. Tuckahoe took care of 300 children during the height of the pandemic, now down to 254. Remsenburg-Speonk’s 153 is now close to 120.

Freeborn said that, luckily, space wasn’t an issue in East Quogue. “The district had just finished a new wing on the school,” she said. “We were very fortunate we were able to spread the kids out with very minimal upset.”

Others had to deal with things very differently.

“Every space in the building was a classroom, and because you couldn’t keep 25 kids in a classroom, staffing became a problem,” Sullivan said. “We also had to have hall monitors and bus duty monitors. We needed extra bodies in the building, so I hired some college kids who were working remotely themselves.”

Bridgehampton could only bring back students in kindergarten through sixth grade with its small space. All other classes were conducted virtually that school year.

“Prior to opening day, we created a video tour for students and families to know what to expect and so each stakeholder could see the changes that would be in place,” Kelly said.

School didn’t look “normal” on the inside nor the outside, as some students walked into what appeared like triage centers. They’d wait in line to get their temperature checked and hand in daily health forms, and 20 sinks were installed outside of the Tuckahoe School so students and staff could sanitize before entering.

Reopening was made easier, though, with the help of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and New York State Education Department guidelines, and Springs used its relationship with Ronkonkoma-based Enviroscience Consultants Inc.

“This helped reduce anxiety that an expert developed our reopening plan,” Winter said. “They are the experts in health and safety as it pertained to buildings, air quality, etc. We even hired a consultant to teach our custodians how to clean in this new normal.”

Most schools didn’t have after-school activities the first year back, and as a result of all of the time missed, and the adjustments made to this “new normal” across the board, some superintendents saw shifts in student progress, revealed in the recent release of state assessment scores.

Amagansett saw a drop from 77 percent to 47 percent in proficiency in fifth grade English language arts, with the bulk affecting math scores. Third-graders in East Hampton slid from 54 percent to 37 percent, and grade four in Sag Harbor fell from 66 percent to 47 percent. Grade five in Remsenburg-Speonk and East Quogue fell from 53 percent to 25 percent, and 77 percent to 45 percent, respectively, and grade six in Southampton and Quogue saw losses from 41 percent to 21 percent, and 75 percent to 54 percent, respectively.

But some districts held steady, with some seeing dramatic improvements in certain grades. Proficient ELA scores in third grade jumped from 44 percent to 76 percent in Remsenburg-Speonk, 47 percent to 73 percent in East Quogue, and 17 percent to 85 percent in Bridgehampton.

In sixth grade, ELA scores rose from 57 percent to 73 percent in Sag Harbor, and 67 percent to 93 percent in Amagansett. In Southampton, eighth grade ELA test takers who were deemed proficient increased from 32 percent to 51 percent, and fifth-graders in East Hampton bumped up from 40 percent to 48 percent.

“We made a conscious decision to assess students and meet them where they were at,” Skuggevik said. “We decided that we would not start at the normal grade level assignments, but step back and not be concerned about finishing the curriculum of each grade in the 2020-21 school year. The plan was to ensure no worsening gaps were created.”

The superintendent said he’s proud to announce that plan proved to be successful. “In fact, our assessment scores have risen in relation to state and local norms,” he said. “We refocused our thoughts on reading and writing priorities, keeping our block for those workshops, but adding a period of small-group instruction based upon current reading level, not grade level. Our mental health team also continues to visit classrooms, but now only once per month.”

Kelly said in Bridgehampton, her district has doubled down on prioritizing emotional support prior to increasing academic rigor.

“Per our reopening plan, our pre-K program was run virtually for a complete year,” she said. “Recognizing this, we worked to focus on key life skills in addition to the early academics, including such areas as social interactions and working to build and maintain relationships with others.”

Sullivan believes children in first grade are some of the students most affected by the learning loss.

“They missed out on that socialization and early intervention,” she said. “When we’re dealing with a student that’s struggling, a lot of times we have to take a step back and say, ‘Oh, yeah, this is one of the COVID kids.’ These little guys had masks on for so long that it kind of stifled them from talking. They’re so young —it was a big chunk of their lives.”

The superintendent said assessments are done three times a year in her district to gauge where the children are at. “We found when kids came back in the fall, a lot have dropped back down — they didn’t retain what they gained,” Sullivan said. “It was a big drop.”

Fine said while he’s seen less in the way of academic gaps, especially with the expansion of summer school and various in-school programs, he personally has seen the greatest social-emotional impact on middle school students.

“We have seen students demonstrate behaviors that are atypical of school-aged students,” he said. “Over the past few years, we have had an increase in superintendent suspensions. That has decreased this year, but the pandemic has forced us to monitor students more closely.”

Springs School created an after-school behavioral support program as part of its restorative practices, and opened up before-school and other extra-help sessions. It also received funding for full-day universal prekindergarten to aid in student recovery. Still, there were challenges for some, like Winter, who employs four mental health associates.

“We could use more,” she said. “One counselor for 700 students is a lot. One social worker for 700 is a lot. Two psychologists for 700 students is a lot.”

Desiderio said even the battle through playing catch-up created a sense of loss.

“Some of our students have rebounded; others have not recovered,” she said. “Their anxiety and depression are palpable. Our biggest concern are those students who come and go undetected. They may look fine, and they may not be.”

Educators’ emotional well-being has also been put under a microscope.

“Staff are still getting sick at a higher rate than before the pandemic began,” Fine said. “Educators in general were burnt out and suffered tremendously during COVID — between the toggling from in-person, hybrid, remote, etc. and coping with their own exposure to COVID. Teachers stepped up in every way possible that by the end of 2021 they were spent, and I do not blame them one bit.”

Kelly, Winter and others turned to the state’s Employee Assistance Program to assist staff with feeling comfortable speaking to someone about their emotions confidentially.

Clemensen’s district now has a fully-functioning food pantry and department store for students and their families, and offers yoga and mindfulness meetings — as do other districts — and even job training for adults.

“We reached so far out of the lane of what was traditionally K-12 public education, because all those things have a direct impact on what happens in K-12 education,” he said. “I think that’s a good thing.”

Pros and Cons of Technology

Skuggevik said learning all of these new programs and tools while remote led to thoughtful ways to enhance learning and increase communication with the entire school community.

“I would say that the experience has made us better educators,” he said, adding that on the flip side, valuing technological avoidance also stimulated creativity.

Clemensen called it the “silver lining.” But there are also dangers to it, and harm seen.

“We also experienced really unproductive, unhealthy ways of using tech,” the superintendent said. “I am concerned about social media use and a child’s cyber presence and online identity, and how quickly the fever pitch of civility can go wrong.”

Sullivan said that scares her to death.

“Little guys with cellphones on TikTok and Snapchat — it’s just not good,” she said. “They’re seeing things they shouldn’t be seeing and they’re thinking it’s normal. That frightens me more than anything else.”

Clemensen said there’s still so much to be proud of as they continue to support students and the community in every way possible, reevaluating every minute detail on a daily basis while everyone comes together each day to figure out paths toward stabilization.

“On the other side of the fire, there’s a resiliency that brought us together,” he said.

“We were compassionate, and we were patient with one another,” Winter said. “I think we learned we do not need to close our doors — we can safely open — and I do think the pandemic made individuals realize they could do with a lot less and still survive.”

Desiderio said it’s that level of grit that will be celebrated.

“Our message is: ‘You’ve triumphed,’” she said. “If our children learn that they can get through tough times in life, I think we’ve taught them the best lesson of all.”