14 SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
AACEVEDO@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
In celebration of the fi rst day back to
in-person school, Mayor Bill de Blasio,
fi rst 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 fi rst 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
briefi ng. “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
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
Photos by Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Offi ce
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 in-person
classes until it’s safe for educators,
students and their families persist.
Teachers are also concerned about
staffi ng 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 fi rst 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.”
EDUCATION
Mayor visits Elmhurst’s Mosaic Pre-K
Center on fi rst day of in-person school
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