Earlier this month, Westchester County Executive George Latimer interviewed Ray Sanchez, superintendent of the Ossining school district and president of the Lower Hudson Council of School Superintendents, on how the coronavirus is impacting Westchester families. They discussed future schooling plans, along with childcare and the added involvement of parents in their children’s lives.

Sanchez acknowledged the difficulty that parents are facing in balancing work with the responsibility of caring for their children. Monitoring younger kids and helping them with their education is difficult for multitasking parents, he said. “In general, I think everyone is working together to make do and support their child, but it’s been with some level of anxiety and stress that we all have to recognize,” he said. By working to address students’ need for school supplies and additional technology, he said this process will become easier over time.

To Sanchez, the most important goal during this time is to ensure that a sense of normality remains. “Everyone is adjusting,” he said.  “We’re all working differently now with a real focus on trying to maintain some level of continuity with our students and stability, but at the same time adjusting in terms of the way we do that.”

Creating a curriculum that makes sense for each level of schooling has proved to be more complex, Sanchez said. “Everything we provide needs to be age appropriate. It’s not a ‘one size fits all,’” he said. He said that giving more resources to younger students in order to achieve independence has also been discussed. 

Sanchez and his colleagues running other school districts have also talked about the areas of concern for Westchester County. “We’re all working towards providing childcare” for healthcare workers, he said. “That was one of the mandates that the governor had shared with us.”

Additionally, he said the budget vote for all districts has been postponed to June 1, which gives each of districts time to discuss revenue and other problems in their communities.

“We’re really trying to stay connected to our students and families… we’re all working collaboratively, and we all realize that we don’t have all of the answers,” he said to conclude the interview. “No matter how long we’re involved in this situation, we’re there and responding to our communities.”

See the full video conference here.