The superintendent says only one thing stood out on the report:

"Knowing the hospital capacity. That is a part of the plan, which I said 'oh!' I mean, it makes sense, but I don't think I just expected to see that. You know, it's very clear on expectations, as far as the distancing and things of that nature.”

“So, we need to make sure that we are educating and informing families and students and staff around the symptoms of COVID and if you have those particular symptoms that you need to stay home."

Will it be possible to get students in and out of the school both efficiently and safely?

"As I read through the guidelines, one of the things that they said is that arrival and dismissal is going to be stretched out longer. So we just need to account for that. Obviously, we're going to pick students up at the same time, but that means that if students are physically coming to school, that's going to delay something. So we need to look at scheduling and things of that nature."

"So, what's been so frustrating about this is it is constantly evolving and it is complex. And we know, even when we submit on July 31 for approval, Governor Cuomo still has the final say, and sometime between August 1 and August 2, he's going to come out with his recommendation of whether we can have actual, physical, brick and mortar attendance. So, we still might have to pivot and readjust plans after that time."

Myers-Small spoke about the importance of reuniting students with their peers and teachers. She said she has seen in person the impact of social interactions.

"When I attended every single commencement ceremony in Rochester, we had 16. To see the joy on our principal's faces, our AP's faces, our teachers and other staff. They were certainly excited for that milestone of graduating from high school, but they were, I think, even more excited to see them in person, when that hadn't happened in months. So, we know that that physical personal interaction that occurs, not only between teachers and staff, but between students, is important, but the bottom line is we have to also ensure that our students and our staff are safe."

But Myers-Small says the city has some budget maneuvering to do, to make this work.

"So I am working with my CFO. I'm working with all of the departments to say, you know, we have to reimagine what we're doing and we have to think about how can we do it in a much more inexpensive way. So, constantly thinking about that, because we didn't anticipate buying all these masks we didn't anticipate buying. You know, PPE and extra cleaning products, because that's another part of the plan."

"Is there's a particular way that you have to clean and make sure that the classroom, if you are physically offering school that it, has to be done? So those are things that were not accounted for in the 2021 budget.”

That means being flexible. 

“So I just want to tell parents ‘thank you’ for continually being patient with us. We are working hard, as individually and collectively in teams, to put together plans that will be meaningful. We also know that everyone will not be happy with those plans, so we're trying to make sure that there is flexibility, and we give choice, but we also honor and respect that some parents just may not feel comfortable with a plan that involves any type of physical presence at school, and so we will honor that, and we will make sure that we continue to fortify the online learning to continue to make sure that it's meaningful, and it helps students acquire content that they need.”