Education

In the pandemic, dance competitions, school theater programs, and other creative opportunities were unceremoniously interrupted, as if a Band-Aid had suddenly been ripped off. But with the gradual improvement in Covid-19 statistics — a lower seven-day average positivity rate, for example — has come the return of performing arts programs. High school musical theater productions have resumed, albeit with many modifications in place, and groups like Our Fabulous Variety Show and the Neo-Political Cowgirls are also planning programs.

By now, it's an open secret: A single gathering of teens, reportedly held two weekends ago at a house in Sag Harbor and attended by students from multiple schools, has resulted in a spate of positive Covid-19 cases.

The March-April season has thus far gone swimmingly, at least as far as most of East Hampton High's teams are concerned, for the girls teams especially.

The East Hampton Library will offer kids a chance to learn about turtles and tortoises today, and starting Saturday, Bay Street Theater will host online storytelling sessions with a diverse lineup of children's authors, each at 10:30 a.m., for eight weeks.

East Hampton High's footballers may have lost 18-8 last Thursday, but their improved performance augured well.

Since playing to a 1-1 tie with Hampton Bays on March 12, Don McGovern's team defeated Wyandanch 4-0 on the 15th, shut out Shoreham-Wading River 4-0 on the 17th, and blanked Bayport-Blue Point 2-0 here Friday.

The Amagansett School Board on Tuesday voted to add two separate propositions to the May 18 budget ballot, one for renovating outdoor basketball courts, the other for technology and energy upgrades.

Two local school districts, Bridgehampton and Sagaponack, are searching for candidates for the role of superintendent. Both have announced surveys to solicit feedback and direction from their families and communities.

Educators view prekindergarten programs as important in boosting children's social and emotional skills and laying the foundations for academic success. For the 2021-22 school year, at least four local districts are planning to return or ramp up their pre-K offerings into full-day programs.

The McCoy Bus Company, which has taken Montauk School students back and forth from home to school for at least 25 years, will sell most of its fleet to the district at the end of this school year.

During a board of education budget workshop on Tuesday, Jack Perna, district superintendent and school principal, confirmed that the company will stop busing children in June.

LTV, East Hampton Town's public access station, has announced a new scholarship program "to support community media and free speech." The scholarship is intended for students with a dedication to community, love of media, and belief that all people should have access to accurate and unfiltered information.

East Hampton High's boys soccer team, which was to have played at Wyandanch Monday, at Shoreham-Wading River Wednesday, and is to play here on Friday with Bayport-Blue Point, has shown itself to be a good one.