For each district, there has been a different school of thought on how to bring students back for in-person learning. One location with some of the largest hurdles includes Gowanda.

Serving students in multiple counties, leaders have faced concerns when early on in the winter months Erie County was put in an “orange” category. That forced the district from a hybrid operation to remote due to state regulations for that coding in the COVID crisis. It is now back to a 50% hybrid schedule.

“I’ve gone through a range of emotions in the last week,” said Superintendent Dr. Robert Anderson. “I really thought I and the stakeholders could figure something out, but we started peeling back layers and finding new problems. I’m hopeful in the near future we’ll have a timeline to bring some grades back.”

Anderson said the district has worked to not make too many sudden changes. However, he did stress that space issues are holding the district from opening even more — and even when it does it will likely be on a four-day schedule.

Nothing comes easy in this era of COVID. A quicker vaccination process, with about 20% having a first dose in both counties, will bring higher hopes.