Your Neighborhood — Your News®
THE NEWSPAPER OF JAMAICA, HOLLIS & ST. ALBANS
75 cents
GET THE LATEST NEWS EVERY DAY AT QNS.COM
Sept. 25-Oct. 1, 2020
Mayor visits Elmhurst’s Mosaic Pre-K
Center on fi rst day of in-person school
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
In celebration of the first
day back to in-person school,
Mayor Bill de Blasio, first lady
Chirlane McCray and Schools
Chancellor Richard Carranza
paid a visit to the Mosaic
Pre-K Center in Elmhurst on
Monday, Sept. 21.
“This morning, the chancellor
and I, and the first lady,
we were given the opportunity
to see pure joy, pure hope, pure
possibility at the Mosaic Pre-K
Center in Elmhurst, Queens,
to see kids ready to get into
that school and see their
friends and get all the blessings
of a pre-K education,” de
Blasio said during his morning
briefing. “Teachers, educators,
staff, everyone was
ready to go, ready to serve
those kids and families, excited
to get back to work the way
they know works best, right
there in person with kids, parents
feeling such excitement
as well.”In March, Elmhurst
emerged as the epicenter of
the epicenter of the COVID-19
pandemic.
On Monday, 90,000 students
returned to in-person schooling.
The Department of Education
announced 54 percent
of students opted for their
Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Offi ce
blended learning.
Officials reported 734
school buildings would reopen
for live instruction along
with 1,050 community-based
early childhood education programs.
A few days before the start
of the 2020-21 academic school
year, the city announced it
will roll out a phased-in approach
for students who opted
to return to hybrid in-person
classes.
Students in pre-K, 3-K and
District 75 schools (which
serves the city’s disabled students),
returned to school
buildings on Sept. 21. Students
in K-5 and K-8 grade schools
will now return to buildings
on Tuesday, Sept. 29. Middle
school, high school, secondary,
transfer and adult education
students will go back to
their physical classrooms on
Oct. 1.
But calls for a delay to inperson
classes until it’s safe
for educators, students and
their families persist. Teachers
are also concerned about
staffing shortages due to the
blended remote and in-person
models, but the city and UFT
have reached an agreement to
hire 2,600 more instructors.
During his Monday press
conference, de Blasio spoke
about how he witnessed the
4-year-old students wear their
“masks with no problem at
all.
“The chancellor and I have
had the pleasure of going to
opening day many times, and
this is probably one of the best
days of the year, maybe the
best day of the year, but this
year was special,” de Blasio
said. “This year was powerful
because we’ve had to overcome
so much. The first time
our kids are going back into a
school building in large numbers
since the middle of March,
and to see those children so
engaged, so happy to be there,
it was truly inspiring.”
Vol. 8, No. 39 28 total pages
VOTE NOW!
VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE PIZZA PARLORS, PLASTIC SURGEONS, PET GROOMERS & MUCH MORE
THROUGH OCTOBER 26TH AT 2021
BESTOF.QNS.COM
To see winners and keep up to date with the competition, follow us @bestoftheboro
/QNS.COM
/BESTOF.QNS.COM
