The Long Return

A Film by Diane Bezucha

Synopsis

When COVID-19 hit New York in March 2020, the city’s 1,800 public schools were forced to make a sudden pivot to remote instruction. The scramble to transition 1.1 million students to online learning brought unprecedented challenges for principals, teachers, students and families, leaving everyone eager for a return to “normal.”

For schools in low-income neighborhoods, and those serving students with disabilities, this disruption has been especially difficult. But as the months passed, it became clear that the pandemic was not ending anytime soon. Without clear guidance from the city, schools grappled with the uncertainty of how to safely reopen, and whether they even should. Despite union protests and nearly half of the district's families opting for remote-only learning, the city pushed forward with their plan to reopen.

Keva Pitts-Girard, principal at P.S. 284 in Brooklyn, is ready to tackle this year's challenges, but is concerned about how to keep students engaged. Her Kindergarten teacher, Rita Carvajal is struggling to plan instruction when she only sees her students twice a week. And fourth-grader Aminah, normally a bright and engaged student, is struggling to stay focused at home.

At the Lorge School, a school for students with special needs, Principal Edwin Alexander made the decision to start the school year fully-remote. His 96 students are all learning from home and he is concerned about how the school's high-touch model will translate to the remote setting. His middle-school teacher, Helene Fitzpatrick is working twice as much to keep students engaged. Her student Timothy was initially doing better in the remote setting, without the distraction of peers, but now new challenges are arising.

And as schools approach the end of the first quarter, a surge in positive cases threatens another shutdown. Through a mix of interviews and vérité vignettes, The Long Return follows principals, teachers and students at two New York City schools as they navigate the challenges of reopening for a new school year in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Did we make the right choices and what lasting impact will this experience have on children and education overall?

Treatment & Pitch Deck