How New York will take care of 100 thousand children who will not be able to attend school since the fall

In the fall, New York schools will partially resume their work. The city promises to take care of children who can’t attend school full time. At first, 100 children will receive support, but they plan to expand this program in the future. The publication shared the details Politico.

Since the beginning of the new school year, state New York schools plan to switch to blended learningcombining full-time and distance learning. It is planned that schoolchildren will be able to attend educational institutions from one to three days a week. On the rest of the days, they will study remotely. Reducing the number of people in buildings is believed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

However, parents did not appreciate this format of education, because many of them are forced to work, they simply have no one to leave their children with on those days when they do not go to school.

In this regard, the city authorities figured out how to get out of the situation. In particular, the mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, has launched a plan to expand city-sponsored childcare programs so that 100 children from pre-school to eighth grade have a place to go on weekends. The city's public school system has 1,1 million students, which is the largest indicator in the country.

“A lot of parents said they wouldn't be able to work if they didn't get more childcare,” de Blasio said. - We tried to find all the ways to create a new kindergarten and build it from scratch. We have to create something that did not exist on such a scale before. "

The city is currently looking for places, including community centers and libraries, that will be converted into childcare centers. Private homeowners are also encouraged to allocate space in the city for a school or kindergarten. “There are just under two months left before the start of school. We have a lot of things to do, and during this time nothing like this has been done, - said the mayor. "But we will find a way to do it, and hopefully much more."

Many issues remain to be resolved, in particular, which family the city will help in the first place and how much it will cost.

On the subject: Distance education in New York: city authorities want to know the opinion of Russian-speaking students and their parents

It is already known that such classes will be able to accept no more than 15 children so that social distance is maintained between them. This was told by the director of the city budget, Melanie Hartzog.

During online learning, it is suggested that children be curated. Also, as part of the program, art and recreational activities and, possibly, local excursions will be available for students.

In addition, the city will provide money to pay for masks and other personal protective equipment. As soon as 100 children are recruited, they hope to expand the program to reach even more children.

“Our local teams are in contact with non-profit organizations, libraries, business communities, business groups, individuals. We are everywhere all over the city and we will find a place, ”said Lorraine Grillo, head of the School Construction Authority. "We are concentrating in all five districts."

It's worth noting that when New York City schools open for classes this fall, they may be very different from the schools we're used to. About how schools will look after resuming training, read here.