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51,000 More NYC Public School Students Opt In For In-Person Learning
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 12, 2021
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NYC Mayor's Office
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 12, 2021
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An additional 51,000 students have decided to return to NYC public schools for some form of in-person learning, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday.
Friday was the last day for families of 3K, elementary schools, and District 75 programs to opt back into in-person learning. The last time families could make that decision was in November. Currently, 315,000 students are learning in school buildings at least some part of the week, while 645,000 children are still learning remotely.
Of the students who have opted in, 26,500 are 3K through 5th grade; 10,000 are in middle school, 13,000 are in high school; and 1,500 are in D75 programs.
De Blasio declared that the "safest place" during the COVID-19 pandemic has been the city's schools, and these returning students can head back to classrooms starting on April 26th.
"We'll welcome back all our kids," he said.
Students in 3K, elementary, and D75 schools have been in classrooms since October, when buildings reopened for the year, and transmission rates have been low. Middle and high schools only reopened in February and March, respectively (studies have suggested that COVID-19 transmission and cases begin to increase when children start to hit puberty, around 10-12 years old).
Both de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter were confident that schools would be able to accommodate the additional students. "We have 2 weeks to get everything ready," de Blasio said, and explained that wherever possible students would continue to be distanced by six feet, while some classrooms might use the new CDC guidelines of three-feet for distancing.
Porter added that for schools that may need to utilize the three-feet distancing, schools will reach out to families to let them know and make sure they feel comfortable as well.
"We feel quite confident that with the team we have in place now, we can accommodate the families that have chosen opt-in," she declared. "Our goal has been to get as many students back in as want to."
When asked if he thought there would be only about a third of the overall student body in school buildings, de Blasio said, "The fact that we were able to help hundreds of thousands of kids... even with the imperfections along the way, I think that's what we were really called to do—help families and kids have that opportunity."
Admitting it wasn't perfect for everyone, de Blasio said at least the city was able to offer a "life line" to some families, while some families may not have wanted to their children back in because they've developed a routine and don't want any further disruption. Families who opted for in-person learning have had to deal with the whipsaw closures due to school COVID-19 cases, prompting the city to change its closure policy to four cases in a school from two cases.
Looking ahead, de Blasio said the past school year had "taught us how to prepare to bring back school for everyone in September."
Tagged
COVID-19
pandemic
mayor de blasio
schools
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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