NYC Kids RISE gives $1.5 mil.
BT TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | JULY 30–AUGUST 5, 2021 19
BY ALEJANDRA
O'CONNELL-DOMENECH
Back in May, Mayor Bill de
Blasio officially announced
New York City public schools
would open this fall without a
remote option — backtracking
on previous comments suggesting
the city would most
likely offer a purely online
option to appease parents worried
about sending their children
back into the classroom.
“I think there are only two
realistic pieces here: a full
five-day-a-week calendar and
then a purely remote option
for families that just won’t be
ready at that point,” Mayor de
Blasio said during an interview
on WNYC’s “The Brian
Lehrer Show” in March.“But I
do not foresee blended being a
part of the equation anymore.”
In the months since the official
announcement, the mayor
and chancellor have repeatedly
said all New York City
public school students will be
returning to classrooms this
fall and that the Department
of Education will abide by all
health and safety protocols
outlined by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
in September.
But many details on how
exactly the city will do that
have been sparse, and a growing
number of parents are
raising concerns over a return
to classes. Some, along with
Brooklyn Council member
Mark Treyger, are calling for
a fully remote option to be reinstated
for this upcoming
school year.
Members of one of the most
vocal parent groups calling
for a remote option, the Bronx
Parent Leader Advocacy
Group, told amNewYork Metro
the reasons families would
like the option to keep their
children remote are varied.
In part, some parents would
prefer to have their children
home due to concerns about
COVID’s delta variant, which
now makes up 83 percent of
new virus cases.
New York City has seen
a spike in new COVID cases
this month, along with hospitalizations.
According to New
York City’s COVID tracker, on
June 18 city health officials
reported 198 new cases of the
virus across the five boroughs
based on a seven-day rolling
average. That number jumped
to 618 a month later.
Another reason some
parents are hesitant to have
their children return to the
classroom stems from a lack
of trust in the city’s handling
of the multiple systemwide
shutdowns and blended
learning.
“A lot of parents, as much
as they wanted to send their
children back to school, they
did not opt into in-person
learning because they did
not feel like they could trust
the Department of Education
to keep their children safe,”
Bronx Parent Leader Advocacy
Group member Tajh Sutton
told amNewYork Metro.
Throughout the pandemic
school year, the Department
of Education has offered families
a few chances to enroll
their fully remote children
into blended learning with the
last “opt-in” period ending in
March. After the enrollment
window closed, about 51,000
additional public school families
chose to “opt in” to the
hybrid model. But the bulk
of public school students —
roughly 700,000 out of 1.1 million
children — chose to stay
fully remote.
An additional reason some
parents want to keep their
children in remote is because
some students have preferred
remote classes. One Manhattan
mother told amNew York
Metro that her teenage son
has done “exceptionally well”
academically while taking his
classes from home.
“One thing he will say is,
‘Mom, I was able to focus,’”
said the Manhattan mom
who did not wish to share her
name. “If the other children
were doing something else
that they weren’t supposed
to be doing, he didn’t have to
hear that, and the other thing
he says is that he felt safe.” Her
son did not just feel safe from
the virus, but also safe from
school environment that traditionally
does not support him
as a Black student.
“This story of learning loss
and Black children is a fairy
tale,” she said. “There are
number of children that have
done exceptionally well.”
A reporter” reached out to
the DOE for comment on parents’
calls for a remote option
and is awaiting a response.
Reach reporter Alejandra
O'Connell-Domenech by email
at adomenech@schnepsmedia.
com.
BY JULIA MORO
Over $1.5 million in emergency
disaster relief has been
distributed to first-, second-
and third-grade families in
Queens neighborhoods hit
hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic
since April 2020.
The funds were distributed
through the Save for College
Program, which helps families
open scholarship accounts
with $100 seed money through
NYC Kids RISE, a nonprofit
organization with more than
13,000 families participating
in the program citywide. Additional
funds for the program
are donated by other community
organizations, businesses
and community members.
Each of the nearly 5,000
eligible families in Queens
received at least $150 in disaster
relief. Families could use
the funds for anything they
needed.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced
a commitment to
the citywide expansion of the
popular Save for College Program.
With the expansion, every
kindergartner enrolled in
a New York City public school
will access a scholarship account.
“This emergency financial
relief made a difference for my
family as we worked together
to make it through this challenging
time,” said Nahida
Nasrin, a Save for College Program
parent. “I am deeply
grateful to be a part of the NYC
Kids RISE community alongside
countless other families,
businesses, schools and local
leaders here in Queens.”
Councilman Jimmy Van
Bramer, whose Council District
26 also encompasses
School District 30, where there
are many NYC Kids RISE students,
said the program is essential
in supporting every
child regardless of income or
ZIP code.
“It’s so important that networks
of mutual support like
the one created by NYC Kids
RISE are there to respond
and adapt to meet families’
needs in times of crisis, and
also there to cheer them on
in moments of triumph,” Van
Bramer said.
The NYC Kids RISE program
launched in 2017 in partnership
with the NYC Department
of Education and the city
of New York. By next year, the
program will expand to all
public school kindergarteners
in the city.
“This emergency relief effort
highlights both the versatility
of the Save for College
Program distribution
platform and demonstrates
the continued importance
of investing in the social infrastructure
within neighborhoods,”
said Debra-Ellen
Glickstein, executive director
of NYC Kids RISE. “We are
proud that this $1.5 million
not only supported families’
urgent needs but also that
much of the $1.5 million was
dollars that were circulated
at businesses in our neighborhood.”
The emergency relief was
made possible by Robin Hood’s
Relief Fund, the Gray Foundation,
District Council 9 and
the International Union of
Painters and Allied Trades
(IUPAT), The Thomas and
Jeanne Elmezzi Private Foundation
and the Zegar Family
Fund.
Reach reporter Julia Moro
at jmoro@schnepsmedia.com.
P.S. 148 students enrolled in NYC Kids Rise.
Photo courtesy of NYC Kids RISE
Photo via Getty Images
Some NYC parents want a
fully remote option this fall
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