A new school year is fast approaching amid the ongoing global pandemic.

“I just need some decisions to be made sooner than later,” said Sharon Sgambati, a mom of two students in the Shenendehowa Central School District in Clifton Park, one of the largest districts in the Capital Region.

Sgambati says she’s anxious to hear what COVID-related restrictions will be in place, if any.

“It’s just when you have a 7-year-old and 10-year-old asking what school looks like this year and as a mom you can’t tell them, that’s hard,” she said.

Sgambati and her 10-year-old son, CJ, are COVID long haulers.

“We are still dealing with symptoms that we had in September. Him a little bit less than myself, thank God,” she said. “But when he gets a cough, it turns into a real nasty bronchitis type of cough, and there is nothing we can really do to help him.”

With those symptoms still lingering and the delta variant on the rise, Sgambati has joined a growing number of parents who are encouraging district leaders to implement a strict mask policy and other health protocols this fall.

“We know what works and what worked in the Shen district, particularly,” said Tom Templeton, a local psychotherapist.

Templeton applauds the district and its handling of COVID last year.

His two children are not in school yet. But he’s worked with a number of local children over the past year-and-a-half as a psychotherapist.

“There is a certain amount of depression, a certain amount of anxiety that is present as a result of the pandemic,” he said.

With that said, Templeton believes the benefits of wearing a mask and social distancing far outweigh the side effects.

“We are better positioned to mitigate the emotional effects down the road than we are to guess about what the physical and lasting emotional impact of the virus itself might look like,” he said.

And now, with no new guidance coming from the state, it will be up to each district to set their own rules.

Shenendehowa school leaders sent an email to parents Wednesday saying that as of right now, their emphasis will be on social distancing, cleaning and hygiene protocols. And there is a strong likelihood that masks will be required, per CDC guidance.

“School worked this year because we had masks, we had the extra protection,” said Sgambati.

She’s worried there are too many moving parts with just weeks before the first day of school.

“My fear is, either it’s going to be, ‘We’re recommending it, but you don’t have to do it,’ which is going to put a lot of parents like myself in an awkward position,” she said.