In light of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s announcement on Friday that all K-12 schools will remain closed through the end of the school year, questions regarding traditional activities geared for the collective Class of 2020 — such as prom and graduation — still remain.

Immediately following Cuomo’s announcement, Jamestown High School interim principal Dana Williams’ first message was to the school’s senior class officers, he told The Post-Journal.

“I wanted to get them involved in dialogue so that we can discuss what they want to see, what options they like, because these are their events, they need to have a say,” he said. “There are different ways that we can do it and there are so many different things going on around the country.”

Calling the announcement “heart wrenching,” Southwestern Central School Superintendent Maureen Donahue said the district still will work to have their students finish “Trojan Strong.”

“We will try and finish the year as strong as possible with our kids,” she said. “This is difficult for all and we will continue to support our kids and staff.”

When reached Thursday, Williams, Donahue and Southwestern High School principal Scott Cooper each remained optimistic that the traditional school calendar could be fulfilled in some way.

“At this point, we’ve only had to cancel one of our senior events,” Cooper told The Post-Journal ahead of Cuomo’s announcement, noting that the school’s prom had been scheduled for May 9.

“If we had found out there was an opportunity to have the kids back at some point, we would put these important milestones into the calendar,” he said.

“We’ve been trying to stay positive and hopeful on it, knowing that if we try to do something, it will be limited and very different,” Donahue added. “Whatever we do, the likelihood is getting slimmer each day. We don’t anticipate the May 9 date being the date, but is there something we can do as an alternative? I’m hopeful that we’re going to do something. I don’t want to disappoint our kids more than they’re already disappointed.”

“With the realization that these kids probably won’t be able to experience that exact, traditional graduation ceremony, it’s just so tough for a lot of people,” Williams said. “We’re dealing with a pandemic that is causing people to lose their lives in some instances. On the surface, it looks like there are a lot of things that are so much more pressing and important, but just the fact that these kids have to miss out on the school perspective. It’s just really, really upsetting.”

The most upsetting part, they noted, has been the lack of social interaction on the part of the students.

“I’ve always been a huge proponent that the biggest benefit that public school has for kids is that socialization aspect, now more than ever,” Williams said. “Beyond anything, I think everyone knows how this current reality has been impacting them emotionally and they’ll worry about what will eventually happen and how this is all going to play out. We all have those concerns, but for kids who don’t have the real close family units, family situations, they’re the ones who we’re really, really concerned about.”

“Our faculty members have also opened up office hours and in talking to one of them, they noted that the kids have been calling at office hours not to talk about academics, but just to talk,” Cooper added. “They need that social interaction and connection and I think we’ve done a very good job at being committed to the social and emotional part of learning in a difficult time. It’s tough to be doing all these Zoom meetings because it requires to focus all of the time. You can’t just doze off. Our kids seem like they’ve been responding well and I’m glad that we’ve been able to do some large group activities remotely with the kids to help them stay connected, engaged and learning.”

One of those large group activities have been a virtual continuation of the school’s annual Battle of the Classes, Cooper said.

“That was an event scheduled during April that’s ongoing now,” he said, also noting that the district has done virtual movie nights and trivia nights to help keep students connected. “We’ve been having a challenge called ‘Walk Across America.’ We’ve been keeping track of our steps each day and we’ve put together a little video and have been hitting the key parts of the United States, ‘walking’ across America together.”

“One thing I’m very proud of is the creativity of our faculty and the leadership of some of our kids,” he added.

Williams, meanwhile, noted that the JHS After Grad Committee, which already distributed signs to the members of the senior class, is still working to fundraise to help provide some sort of recognition for the Class of 2020.

“I told the officers the parents are still working hard on fundraising and will definitely do something special for them,” he said. “They’re still working, still raising money. They want to do something to recognize these kids. But, as time goes on, everyone deals more realistically with the situation as it is, I think people understand that whatever we do, it’s going to look different. It’s going to be different and that’s kind of the thing that we’re struggling with right now.”

Williams added, “I also told the officers that they would need to think about a prom that would take place possibly later in the summer or perhaps even later in the year, such as winter break when most of the students would be back around.”

Those plans, Williams noted, will be addressed in roughly a month.

“(Jamestown Public Schools superintendent) Dr. (Bret) Apthorpe has said he won’t make or commit to any plan prior to June 1, so we have a little time to see what things look like at that point,” Williams added.

One aspect that has not been affected has been the calculation of individual class rank, which according to Cooper, remained intact because the academic third quarter ended right around the time in-person classes were suspended.

“Based on our policy with calculations, as it worked out, the date we left school coincided with the last day of the third quarter,” he said. “We are scheduled to announce class rank and Top 10 on May 14th, we’re right on schedule to make that happen and stay true to the calendar.”

How this period will affect underclassmen, however, remains to be seen.

“Our class rank for the seniors has pretty much been set in stone, but as far as how this is going to impact classes, whether it’s this year’s juniors or sophomores, we’re really not aware of that yet,” Williams said, noting that Jamestown schools have converted their grading to a pass/fail measure.

“The big thing was we don’t want to compound problems and add to issues during a stressful difficult time by making kids worry that they’re going to fail, they’re going to get held back,” he said. “We don’t want to do that. The goal is to pass and get as many kids through as completely possible. If kids were doing well prior to school closing, they really shouldn’t have any problems. If kids were borderline and they’re working with their teachers during this time … if they’re trying, they should be okay also.”

Still, that doesn’t soften the blow of Friday’s announcement for seniors who have worked hard throughout their academic career to experience all of the rewards of this school year in particular.

“All of these things, they’re meant to be gatherings — people together,” Williams concluded. “That’s where it takes on a new realm. You have to start thinking about it: it just looks and appears so different. I hold out hope that we can do something later in the year and have these gatherings. It’s going to be tough. Beyond anything, I want people to know that we are going to have something. We are going to have a recognition, whatever we’re allowed to do within those confines, we’re going to give them something.”