It’s undoubtedly going to be an unprecedented school year for students, parents, and educators as the new year begins in the middle of a pandemic.

“We’ve been sort of thinking about this and learning about it and planning for it since March,” said Chris Lauricella, the head of school for Albany Academies.

What You Need To Know

  • Albany Academies report a 20% uptick in interest from public school parents

  • The campus has 53 acres, and the school has plans to accommodate between 700 and 800 students

  • They will offer students in person instruction and online learning

Lauricella says the school will offer students the option of in-person instruction or remote learning this fall.

“We’ve really had to rethink every single part of how you run a school but think it through a physical public health lens,” he said.

The plan to reopen is evolving, but Lauricella says it will utilize the campus entire 52 acres to accommodate between 700-800 students.

“Physical distancing and face covering are looking to be the number one and two things that we are going to do here to keep students safe,” he said.

It’s the flexibility and smaller class sized that had led to a 20% uptick in interest from public school parents.

“I know the prestige and what the academics did for me,” said Devon Wimberly, a 1997 graduate of the academy.

Wimberly is looking to provide his oldest son, Dahvion, the same opportunity and thought this was as good a time as any.

“To be able to sit in front of a teacher and get back at it,” said Wimberly. “What we call everyday work, he wants to get back at it.”

Wimberly says he and his family are impressed by the academy’s inclusion and transparency with its reopening plans.

“It says that we care more about everyone than setting up a standard and saying that this is it, you’re going to follow it,” he said.

The Wimberlys have met with the school’s emergency response team, which consists of 25 faculty members, several times in recent weeks.

“In regards to what it is, they are going to to do day after day to keep us involved as parents,” he said.

But when the bell rings on September 14, Lauricella says it’ll all come down to personal responsibility, something the school can not control.

“A lot of our time now from August to when we start, is just communication about the plans,” he said. “And here is what you have to do as a family.”

Right now, it is unclear as to how many students will opt for the in-person instruction or online learning.