New York postpones start of full-time classes in most schools: new opening schedule

Many schools are postponing full-time classes until October. The edition writes about it NBC New York.

Face-to-face classes in New York City schools for grades 8-12 are postponed until at least October. This was announced on Thursday, September 17, by the mayor of the city, Bill de Blasio. This decision was influenced by pressure from unions and parents concerned about staff shortages and other problems.

The start of classes in schools K-5 and K-8 will also be postponed, but by about a week.

It was previously planned that students in public schools who chose full-time education will return to their desks on September 21. However, the city authorities have changed their minds, and now they plan to take a phased approach to opening schools.

For example, students in 3-K, Pre-K and School District 75, which serves students with special needs, will begin face-to-face classes on Monday, September 21st, as planned. In schools K-5 and K-8, face-to-face classes will be postponed to September 29, and for middle and high school students - to October 1.

Distance learning will start on September 21 throughout the city for those whose schools face-to-face attendance has been postponed.

On the subject: Classroom lunches and an abbreviated day: how New York students will learn from fall

De Blasio said the last-minute changes were prompted by ongoing discussions over the past month, which culminated in lengthy negotiations on September 16. As a result, it was decided to postpone the start of full-time education in schools. According to the mayor, different schools have different levels of readiness, and he admitted that his “colleagues have expressed real concerns” about this. “They recognized that progress has been made, but more needs to be done,” de Blasio said. - Nothing replaces personal learning. We believed that from day one we could not only ensure health and safety, but also high quality education. It must be fair and equal. "

According to some educators and parents, education is neither fair nor equal for many students. Schools in some areas have ventilation problems and some classrooms lack windows at all.

On Wednesday, September 16, one of the Brooklyn schools, trying to start distance learning, faced a lack of Wi-Fi.

The start of this school year in New York is unprecedented, de Blasio said. On the first day of school, a variety of complaints were received, from technology to personnel. At the same time, the authorities finally admitted that the city does not have enough teachers to ensure that everyone who opted for distance learning has a constant teacher presence in real time.

Distance learning was chosen by 42% of New York families, up 15 percentage points over the past two weeks. Over half a million students have chosen a hybrid learning model.

Meanwhile, New York continues to monitor the health situation. As different parts of the state are in different stages of reopening, Gov. Andrew Cuomo continues to monitor test results in each region on a daily basis to identify potential hotspots before they arise. Here is the latest tracking data by region. For the latest nationwide results click here.

With many schools facing staff shortages, de Blasio has pledged to add 2500 more teachers to the approved 2000. Still, 4500 full-time staff will not save the day, according to city trade unions, arguing that the city needs at least 10 teachers to provide quality student learning. ...

De Blasio said that adjustments will be made gradually to the plan, and 4500 teachers are needed to start the school year. “We think this is essential to start,” he said. "We will continue to improve as we move forward, and we will continue to adjust and figure out what we need in terms of staffing."

According to the head of the New York City Department of Education, Richard Carranza, the announced changes give the city a chance to start the school year as correctly as possible.

President of the city's largest teachers' union, Michael Mulgrew, thanked Bill de Blasio's administration for agreeing to another delay. “This is an unprecedented challenge. Most people would try to escape so as not to face this responsibility, Mulgrew emphasized. - We need to retreat. We need to figure out how to proceed. Over the past 10 days, we have seen that there are some gaps that we need to fill, and we are going to do that. "

On the subject: Cuomo Says All School Districts In State Are Eligible To Reopen In Fall

The changes announced on Thursday, Sept. 17, are not an acknowledgment that the current plan to reopen schools is not working, Mulgrew said. On the contrary, they ensure that the current plan works for everyone - for students, their families and teachers.

Educators and trade union representatives have mentioned problems in schools over the past few months. They stated that there was a lack of ventilation in educational institutions, a lack of staff, and that testing and contact tracing were not fast enough.

On Wednesday, September 16, a group of educators marched from one school with ventilation problems to another. Another group of parents and teachers protested outside Hunter College; they also complained that some of the classrooms did not have windows to ventilate the rooms.

As of September 15, 56 city schools have had one or more confirmed cases of COVID-19. This was announced by the Department of Education. Click on hereto see a complete list of affected schools.

The city's Independent Budget Office estimates that reopening public schools amid the pandemic and following the necessary guidelines will incur an additional $ 32 million per week.

The Department of Education soon issued a response to these findings, stating, "The mayor made it clear that safely reopening city schools is a priority and we will have the resources we need to keep all students healthy, active, and supported."