NYC school reopening plan still on track
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza tour Village Academy in Far Rockaway to observe how the school is preparing for a
socially distanced reopening. Photo by Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Offi ce
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | AUG. 21-27, 2020 15
BY ALEJANDRA O'CONNELL-DOMENECH
New York City’s school reopening
plan is moving ahead despite principal,
teacher and staff unions calling on
Mayor Bill de Blasio to delay in-person
classes.
On Wednesday, Aug. 12, principals
union the Council of School Supervisors
and Administrators and the
United Teachers Federation released
statements asking the city to postpone
students’ return to school buildings
until the end of next month. The extension
would allow for teachers and city
officials to better figure out to make inperson
classes safer for everyone during
the novel coronavirus pandemic.
But during a tour of Village Academy
in Far Rockaway, hours later Mayor
de Blasio said he was set on launching
in-person classes when the new school
year begins on Sept. 10.
“What is the alternative? The alternative
is to deprive our kids of the very
best education available,” de Blasio told
reporters outside of Village Academy.
“I haven’t met an educator who believes
that you can do the same things with
remote learning that you can do in person.”
Both unions argue that there are
still too many unanswered questions
about the logistics of reopening schools
for the city to give the green light next
month for blended learning.
If all goes as planned, 700,000 out of
the city’s 1.1 million public school students
will take classes inside of school
buildings every other day of the week
this fall. Roughly a quarter of families
opted for remote learning classes only.
But both unions, along with parents
and teachers, have expressed concern
over a lack of nurses in schools; poor
ventilation systems; how the city plans
to fully equip teachers and students
with sufficient personal protective
equipment; and a lack of guidance for
teachers of students with special needs.
Just how teachers and students are
meant to keep completely socially distant
when entering school buildings or
in between classrooms is also cause for
major concern.
“While the city’s messaging suggests
that reopening plans have been
developed collaboratively with our
union, the city has failed to address
many of our crucial concerns and ignored
repeated appeals from school
leaders to allow enough time to implement
highly complicated protocols,”
CSA President Mark Cannizzaro said
in today’s statement. “Since last school
year ended, our members have been
working tirelessly to reimagine the
upcoming school year and pleading for
more information on the city’s incomplete
reopening plans. The slow rollout
of guidance has forced us to once again
address an unfortunate truth: schools
will not be ready to open for in-person
instruction on Sept. 10.”
Roughly an hour after the CSA statement
was released, UFT President Michael
Mulgrew issued a statement in
support of the delay.
“The UFT has said repeatedly that
we cannot re-open schools unless they
are safe for students and staff. The principals
union — whose members will be
responsible for enforcing coronavirus
safety protocols in the schools — now
believes that school buildings will not
be ready to open in September,” Mulgrew
said in a statement. Both unions
have worked with the de Blasio administration
to create the current school reopening
plan. But according to a source
familiar with the situation, City Hall
ignored some union requests during
the initial planning process.
“I hear their concern but this ball
game is far from over. We are going to
make these schools safe,” said de Blasio
after he and Schools Chancellor Richard
Carranza viewed the school’s socially
distanced setup.
Large yellow lines cut run down
halls with markers on either side to
direct children and to ensure that they
stay as physically distant from one another
as possible, according to a pool
report by Daily News reporter Micheal
Elsen-Rooney.
In keeping with city guidelines,
students will eat their lunches at their
desks. And classrooms have been
equipped with electrostatic cleaners
that spray disinfectant. In order to improve
school ventilation, classroom
windows were opened a few inches. Village
Academy is scheduled to get central
air conditioning before classes begin
to help air circulate in classrooms,
according to Principal Doris Lee.
School administrators have set up
20 desks in one classroom half marked
with yellow placards and the other half
with blue. Only 10 students will be allowed
in the classroom at any given
time. “A classroom this big with only 10
students in it,” de Blasio said.
“The irony is for years and years, everyone
wanted smaller class sizes, this
is not the way we wanted to do it, but it’s
striking how different it will be.”
WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE
ST. MEL'S EARLY
CHILDHOOD CENTER
OFFERING NURSERY THROUGH 3RD GRADE
SAFE, NURTURING ENVIRONMENT l SMALL CLASS SIZES l CENTER-BASED
EARLY LITERACY/MATH SKILLS l SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING l MUSIC
REGISTER FOR FALL:
stmelsacademy.org
154-24 26 Avenue | Flushing, NY 11354
(718) 539-8211
/QNS.COM
/stmelsacademy.org
