WEST SENECA, N.Y. (WKBW) — The first day students can walk into West Seneca schools will be 5-year-old Derek Carr's first day of school ever. But even without attending school, Derek's dad Brandon Carr knew remote learning didn't work for his son.
“He needs speech classes, and we noticed that prior to COVID he was getting three classes a day in person. We saw so much progress. As soon as they to doing the Zoom meetings, there was a lot of regression,” said Carr.
That's why Carr said he is happy for his son to physically attend school come September.
“I will be sending my son back to school. I do have some concerns, but as long as everything is done appropriately then I'm comfortable with it,” Carr said.
The West Seneca hybrid model breaks kids into three cohorts. One and two are divided by last name.
Cohort one attends school Monday and Thursday with remote learning for the rest of the week. Cohort two goes Tuesday and Friday. Cohort three is made up of students with special considerations like students living with disabilities and English language learners. They attend school every day except Wednesday.
West Seneca is offering remote only instruction for families who don't want to send their kids back inside the building just yet.
“At the end of the day, our children's safety is the number one priority. That's what we want. I completely respect that, especially every household is different,”
Of the parents the district surveyed, 17% wanted to continue distance learning this upcoming school year, while 12% were neutral, and 71% disagreed.
To see the West Seneca Central School District reopening plan, click here.
