KIDS & EDUCATION
Ulrich calls on city to keep schools open, loosen closure guidelines
BY BILL PARRY
It was back to school Monday for
more than 55,000 of the city’s public
high school students across the five
boroughs as Mayor Bill de Blasio welcomed
students in grades 9 through 12
back for the first time since November,
calling it “a hopeful sign about our future”
as the city’s recovery from the
COVID-19 pandemic progresses.
But the positivity rate remains
high or is rising in parts of the southern
Queens district of Councilman
Eric Ulrich, who is calling on the city’s
Department of Education to change its
protocols for COVID-19 closures. In a
recent letter penned to new Schools
Chancellor Meisha Porter, Ulrich detailed
the many challenges parents
are currently facing as a result of
school closures.
“For more than a year now, students
have had their entire academic
lives upended by the pandemic. Distance
learning simply does not provide
the same quality of education and
necessary social interactions for our
students,” Ulrich wrote. “Additionally,
as parents and guardians have been
returning to work, finding childcare
during the school hours has become
a massive burden — and oftentimes, a
costly one. During a time of such economic
uncertainty, we cannot afford
to put parents in a position where they
must choose between putting food on
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the table and caring for their child
during school hours.”
High school students have been
learning remotely since Nov. 19, when
de Blasio shut down the school system
due to an alarming rise in the COVID
infection rate. Elementary schools
reopened in December, and middle
schools reopened in February.
In his letter, Ulrich notes that
his office has been inundated with
hundreds of complaints from school
parents.
“In recent months, schools in my
district have been opened and closed
so many times that parents have contacted
my office to complain,” Ulrich
wrote. “In some cases, entire buildings
were closed on account of just two
positive cases.”
Ulrich went on to explain that no
other facility or business has such a
strict standard for operating, urging
DOE to ease up on the protocols.
“While we can agree that the safety
of our children and DOE staff is the
highest of priorities, no other businesses,
offices or facilities have such
strict guidelines for closures,” Ulrich
wrote. “In order to begin returning to
normalcy, it is imperative we provide
our children in-person learning and
reopen our schools.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail
at bparry@schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4538.
Councilman Eric Ulrich urges the city to keep schools open and loosen the COVID
closure protocols going forward. Courtesy of Ulrich’s offi ce
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