LOCKPORT, N.Y. — Schools across New York state have been making efforts to keep students learning in person during the pandemic.

In Syracuse, some districts recruit college students to fill in as substitute teachers due to staffing shortages. In the Hudson Valley, students and staff are being tested daily to keep them in class. Schools had to close for a handful of days in places like Irondequoit because of absences.

The bottom line is that communities are getting creative to keep an in-person connection between teachers and students. Melissa Bundrock is an assistant principal at Western New York's Starpoint Middle School. Even in the face of a crippling pandemic, she's an optimist.

“There is the silver lining in it all," said Bundrock.

The latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in teachers calling in sick. With a nationwide shortage of substitute teachers to call on, schools like Starpoint had to get creative.

"Whether it’s to provide coverage for a class or even helping out in the cafeteria from our school counselors, to administrators just jumping into those roles and helping out," Bundrock said. "Doing whatever is needed to make sure our students are staying in school is most important."

Last week, the former social studies teacher was needed in a different role.

"There was a sixth grade science class that I was able to jump into and we were learning about energy and being there to assist the students," said Bundrock. "I think I'm learning more from them than I'm actually giving to them."

Bundrock's building principal, the district's assistant superintendent, and others have all been called back into the classroom at times. More than 75% of district leaders nationwide reported having trouble finding enough substitutes to cover teacher absences last year. Bundrock says it's a problem likely to persist even after the pandemic.

"COVID has changed people's perception of getting into education," she said.

Right now Bundrock is focused on two things: Keeping the doors of her school open and finding her "silver lining" in what's been a trying time.

"I talked about being extremely difficult," Bundrock said. "But you know teachers, as well as myself and other support staff here at Starpoint Middle School, being able to jump in and help whenever they're needed and being able to interact with students that maybe we wouldn't have interacted with at this level before."

This is Bundrock's first year as an administrator she's looking forward to seeing what the job is like post-pandemic. In the meantime, the New York State Department of Education has implemented policies to address the teacher shortage. One of them is an emergency COVID-19 certificate that allows people to work for two years in a state public school while taking exams for emergency certification.