In-person learning coming
No remote option for NYC public school students in
September as de Blasio vows children will return to classes
REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Caribbean Life, MAY 28-JUNE 3, 2021 23
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced
on May 24 that New
York City public schools will
reopen on Sept. 13 without a
remote option — backtracking
on early commitments to
offer families worried about
sending their children back
into classrooms with fully online
classes.
“I am very pleased to announce
that New York City
public schools will fully reopen
in September, every single
child will be back in classrooms,”
said de Blasio. “We
are going to have so many
protections in place as we
proved even during the toughest
months of COVID that we
could keep kids and staff safe
with a gold standard of health
and safety measures.”
In March, de Blasio said he
planned on scrapping hybrid
learning this fall and would
instead work to bring back
all public school students into
schools for fi ve day a week live
instruction while also offering
a fully remote option for
families that might still be
afraid to send their children
back into school buildings in
September.
On May 24, when asked by
reporters why he chose to reimagine
his previous vision on
how classes would look this
fall the mayor cited the effi -
cacy of the COVID-19 vaccines
and the CDC relaxing of some
health and safety guidelines
as reasons for the change.
“We got to understand we
are leaving COVID behind, we
can’t live in the grip of COVID
forever,” de Blasio said. Some
health and safety guidelines
rolled out during the pandemic
will be lifted once students
return to classrooms
this fall. Schools will return to
pre-pandemic rules in terms
of student illness.
In a letter sent to families,
Schools Chancellor Meisha
Ross Porter assured parents
that masks will still be required
in all school buildings
and those with COVID-19
symptoms will continue to be
asked to stay home. In addition,
this fall students, teachers,
and staff will continue to
take daily health screeners at
home and COVID-19 testing
will still take place in school
buildings as long as the CDC
sees fi t.
The city’s teacher union,
the United Federation of
Teachers, which has increasingly
supported expanding inperson
learning, expressed
concerns over how a full return
to school would impact
the city’s small number of
students with severe medical
challenges.
“For that small group of
students, a remote option may
still be necessary,” said UFT
President Michael Mulgrew
in a statement.
The issue of whether
schools can accommodate all
students while still abiding by
the CDC’s social distancing requirements
came under question
again on Monday. Currently,
the CDC recommends
students in k-12 schools sit or
stand three feet apart regardless
of the virus’ transmission
rate in the school’s surrounding
community.
According to de Blasio, city
public schools “have a lot of
classrooms” that could allow
for students to maintain three
feet of social distance and for
those that can’t the Department
of Education plans on
using alternative space to accommodate
students or make
other adjustments.
“But I don’t see that,” de
Blasio added. “So we’ll have a
plan a, plan b as always but I
have no doubt we’ll be able to
accommodate our kids.”
The majority of the city’s 1
million public students–about
65 percent–are enrolled in
fully remote learning which
raises questions as to how
comfortable families will feel
sending their children back
into schools this fall. A recent
survey showed about 65
percent of families with students
enrolled in fully remote
learning would most likely
send their children back into
schools while the remaining
35 percent are unsure.
Education
We are leaving
COVID behind, we
can’t live in the grip
of COVID forever.