Babylon Junior High Parents 'Frustrated' With Slow School Return

BABYLON, NY— Parents of junior high school students in Babylon are frustrated with what some say is the lack of a district plan to return to full-time in-person learning. In January, 112 parents of seventh and eighth-grade Babylon Junior High School students signed a letter to the superintendent and board of education asking for more transparency, and a plan to move back to a full schedule.

Pete Wieland and his wife Catherine penned the letter. He tells Patch that parents in the district have been patient but that for almost a year the district has been limiting comments and discussion at board meetings and they don't feel they are receiving adequate information about the school's COVID-19 plans.

"The school has basically stymied us— they won't give us any information. They say the issue is maintaining saying six feet of separation," Wieland said.

"But other districts are allowing students up to junior high to come back under the guidelines that say if if six feet isn't possible then plastic barriers and masks" would suffice.

The letter asks for a committee to be formed, made up of both administrators and parents, to help develop a path forward to full-time school.

"I see my two youngest children doing great and my seventh-grader struggling," Wieland explained.

"Despite the teachers’ admirable efforts, distance learning does not meet our students’ social, emotional, psychological, and educational needs. This is no fault to the teachers. This is due to a subpar learning model...We are asking for a plan. When will our children return to school full time? We know that this can be done. Why are we at the point of having to send this email? There has been no communication with intention for change. As parents we are frustrated, our children are frustrated and we want a plan of return," the letter read.

At a subsequent board meeting, the board addressed the letter and expressed the view that the current model is working well for students.

Babylon School District sent Patch the following statement:

"The district has and will continue to communicate any amendments to our reopening plan and welcomes continued dialogue using all channels of communication.

As a district, we remain staunchly committed to ensuring our schools are operating safety. As new information emerges daily, our work to reopen our schools remains a fluid one and we continue to analyze our plan to ensure it not only supports our educational commitments but that it abides by the required guidance from the State Department of Health and other professional sources. It has long been said that each district faces a number of variables or challenges that impact their specific reopening plan and, therefore, that no two plans can be the same. In Babylon, we assure the community, that our district takes its responsibility toward safely reopening our schools very seriously and that we continue to review our schools’ daily operations and discuss any potential amendments to our plan that could be implemented without negatively impacting the health and safety of our students and employees."

But the Wielands and other signers of the letter say they don't agree that a longer-term plan to move toward full day instruction is being communicated to them.

"It just doesn't seem like they want the kids to come back and we can't figure out why. We just want some sense of normalcy for the kids."

Babylon junior high schoolers are currently attending four half days in person. Elementary and grade school students have been in full-time school since the fall.