After weeks of pushback from the teachers' union to delay reopening, Chappaqua welcomed students back today.

The fight picked up last month after a person with COVID-19 was at Bell Middle School, prompting teachers to ask to start the year remotely.

 

 

The specifics of each plan vary slightly by the number of kids in each building, how much they can move between classes, and how often they have to do remote learning. The district is pushing back saying it has all the proper PPE, cleaning supplies, and space to reopen.

For example, students must arrive at bell by 7:55 a.m. to help with a safe start to the school day.

For the first time in six months, eighth-grader Sean Bramil and his seventh-grade sister Mariel are learning in an actual classroom.

 "Just seeing my friends, meeting my new teachers, and just getting back to you know, trying to get back to a normal routine," says Mariel. "I'm excited to see my friends, and we haven't seen them in like six months, so it's kind of hard for us," says Sean.

 Their mom, Betsy, says having the kids home was nice, but she now feels secure sending the pair back. "Nothing's guaranteed, but we put our full trust in the school system."

The district plans to monitor how reopening goes over the next two weeks and make adjustments to either bring more kids back or go more remote depending on how this goes.