When Hurricane Sandy blasted its way over New York and New Jersey, many Long Island, NY homes were destroyed and family schedules are, of course, totally disrupted. School buildings were devastated by the flooding and wind damage.
School relocation plans are being made for Rockaway area school students starting Wednesday. Parents are concerned about the prospect. Many choose to homeschool instead of subjecting their children to long bus rides into unfamiliar territory. Sadly, working communication, transportation and power is still at such a standstill, parents are concerned about school day emergencies where they can’t get to these far-off schools in a timely manner.
From DNAinfo.com Rockaway Parents Prefer Homeschooling to Relocating Kids to Other Schools
Memoli lives on Beach 123rd Street, less than a half-block from the ocean. Her family and her sister’s family share a two-story attached brick townhouse.
Rushing water from the storm dislodged a large swath of the wooden boardwalk. It now lies in front of her home. Mounds of sand clog her street.
Her sister, Michele Salimeni, 41, has three children at P.S. 114. She plans on home-schooling as well.
Both sisters feel the relocations isolate them from their children during the day. They said a better solution would be for the Education Department to have classes in trailers in the neighborhood.
“We love our school. We love our teachers. If [the kids] can’t be there, they’ll be home with us,” Memoli said.
Best wishes that these families, their homes and their neighborhoods can return to normal soon. Hopefully, their input is given the utmost consideration from the ‘powers that be’. They’ve suffered enough.