ALBANY COUNTY — In September, Cornell Cooperative Extension will offer, via Zoom, three sets of free training sessions for parents, based on the age of their children.

Alicia Rizzo, principal of Lynnwood Elementary School, knows how hard it can be for parents to decide whether to send their children back to school this fall, or to choose remote-only learning, perhaps because they have vulnerable relatives at home.

The Guilderland School board set tax rates and approved putting about $1.2 million into reserves.

The statewide school boards association as well as the state’s largest teachers’ union supported the reopening of in-person learning but with caveats.

In a poll released today, half of the members of New York State United Teachers say they are reluctant or unwilling to go back to in-person instruction this fall amid ongoing concerns over the health and safety of reopening school buildings.

Under the current Voorheesville back-to-school plan, kindergarten through sixth grade classes would meet in-person everyday, while seventh- through twelfth-graders would come into school one day a week.

Berne-Knox-Westerlo has published its reopening plan on its website. Governor Andrew Cuomo will determine the first week of August whether schools will reopen statewide. 

In presenting Guilderland’s plans to reopen schools, Superintendent Marie Wiles said, “This plan is a work in progress. Please anticipate changes. Please be patient … Changes will be made to better serve our students and to make sure we’re keeping everybody safe.”

ALBANY COUNTY — Local school districts, like more than 700 across the state, have until July 31 to submit plans for reopening.

The schools were closed by executive order in mid-March to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

With guidelines from New York State in hand, Voorheesville now has just two weeks to come up with its own reopening plan to submit back to the state.