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Adjusting to remote classrooms
How elementary school teachers are navigating online learning
By Rose Adams
Brooklyn Paper
As classrooms move online
to prevent the spread of the
novel coronavirus, elementary
school teachers have scrambled
to find ways to engage
students — a challenge they
face even in the classroom.
Educators had only one
week to cobble together online
lesson plans after the
mayor and Schools Chancellor
Richard Carranza announced
on March 13 that
city’s 1,600 schools would
close to stop the spread of the
virus. Schools will likely remain
closed through the end of
the school year, Mayor Bill de
Blasio said ten days later.
Every public school, including
preschools, must institute
some type of remote
learning during the closures,
although schools are free to decide
how to implement it. To
make sure the city’s 300,000
students without reliable internet
access at home remain
connected, the Department of
Education has been providing
LTE-enabled iPads to children
in need, a spokesperson for the
Governor closes playgrounds gether, for fear of youngsters
By Kevin Duggan
Brooklyn Paper
All playgrounds in the
city will be closed to stem
the spread of the novel coronavirus,
because young
New Yorkers have consistently
failed to keep six feet
apart from each other, Governor
Andrew Cuomo said
April 1.
“You still see too many situations
with too much density
by young people,” Cuomo
said. “I’ve said this 100 different
ways, the compliance is
still not where it should be.”
Parks will remain open,
however, allowing quarantined
New Yorkers some space
to breathe, the state’s commander
in-chief said.
“Use the open space in a
Courtesy of Success Academy
From Success Academy, Aiden Nolasco (left) shows
off his Pokemon drawing and Nina Kudryavsky
(right) shows off her sculpture.
agency said.
But even for the students
with access to internet, the
switch to online classes hasn’t
been easy — especially for
younger children who need
constant direction to remain
engaged.
One third grade teacher in
Coney Island said she uses a
wide range of online resources
to recreate the lessons and activities
park, walk around, get some
sun, great,” he said. “No density,
no basketball games, no
close contact, no violation
of social distancing, period.
That’s the rule.”
The gubernatorial power
move overrode Mayor Bill
de Blasio’s March 31 order
to close 10 playgrounds where
law enforcement consistently
found people violating social
distancing, including four in
Brooklyn. Hizzoner had noted
that, in most playgrounds,
people were complying with
the health guidelines.
Cuomo said that he spoke
to Council Speaker Corey
Johnson prior to his announcement,
who has previously
called for de Blasio
to close the playgrounds alto-
students complete at
school, but with added downtime.
“We’re trying to loosely
mirror the schedule we would
have in a normal day, but we
incorporate a lot of breaks,”
said Dichaba McGinty, a
teacher at PS 90. “There are
alternating 20 and 25 minute
breaks.”
McGinty’s 24 students start
the day chatting in a video
conference before completing
assignments posted for
them on Google Classroom.
The assignments often redirect
students to McGinty’s prerecorded
presentations, math
problems on Kahn Academy,
or reading material on Read-
Works. Meanwhile, McGinty
remains online to answer the
students’ questions — many
of which revolve around technical
difficulties.
“There’s been a learning
curve for the students and for
me,” she said. “A lot of of what
our communications have been
about are the sort of unprecedented
things the kids don’t
know how to navigate.”
Sarah Mallory, an art
teacher at a Cobble Hill charter
school, also uses a range
of devices to connect with
her students. Every week,
she posts a weekly “art challenge”
online, and calls a set
number of students on Face-
Time every day to check in
on their progress.
“I’ll ask them questions
about what they’re making,
give them a compliment, suggest
ways that their project
can go,” said Mallory, who
teaches kindergarten through
fourth grade at Success Academy.
“Then kids send me
their drawing projects over
the week.”
Mallory posts the students’
projects every week on Instagram
so that other students
can see them and respond to
them — just as they would
in art class.
To lessen the burden of
remote learning, Governor
Andrew Cuomo officially
called off standardized testing
statewide on March 20.
While teachers still worry
about their students falling
behind, many say that the
online shift has allowed for
a new type of learning and
deeper connections with their
students.
“Students are so excited
to be on FaceTime. It’s honestly
like seeing an old friend
or a family member,” Mallory
said. “I’ve also had a couple
parents who are working with
their kids on the art projects.
It’s been really fun to get to
know everyone.”
spreading the highly-contagious
virus among themselves
before bringing it home.
“I’ve spoken to Speaker
Johnson in New York City,
who feels very strongly about
this, who did from day one,”
Cuomo said.
While the city and state
leaders originally planned to
keep the playgrounds open by
using police officers and Parks
police as enforcers, Cuomo
said that this had not worked in
keeping New York’s youngest
apart from each other.
“We agreed initially with
the mayor that we would try
compliance and the mayor was
going to try to use the NYPD
to enforce compliance. Social
distancing in playgrounds, it is
still a problem,” he said.
New Yorkers breaking social
distancing rules will face
fines of up to $500, de Blasio
said on March 29.
Photo by Mike Groll/ Courtesy of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Office
Governor Cuomo on April 1 announced his plans to
close all playgrounds in the city.
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