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"Between A Rock And A Hard Place”: Principals To Submit Blended Learning Schedules To City
By
Sophia Chang
Published Aug 14, 2020
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By
Sophia Chang
Published Aug 14, 2020
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As New York City barrels towards in-person school reopening in September, most of the city's 1,600 public schools have submitted their blended learning schedule choices and school-specific plans to the city’s Department of Education ahead of a Friday deadline.
The DOE released figures Friday showing 573 schools chose Model 1, where the school population is split into two cohorts who attend in-person class two days a week, and one alternating day.
Another 279 schools chose Model 2, where the school population is divided into three cohorts with one consistent day a week, and two alternating days.
Middle and high schools also had the option of Model 3, chosen by 151 schools. In this schedule, the school population is divided into three cohorts on a six day rotation.
District 75 schools that serve students with disabilities also had two more schedule options that allow “students in school every other week for five days straight, with potential for some groups to be in-person full-time, dependent on student need,” the DOE said.
The DOE also said 125 schools were approved for exceptions to the schedule models, though the names of those schools were not immediately available. Another 236 applications for exceptions are under review, the DOE said. Schools will start notifying families of their schedules next week.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced this week that more than 700,000 students may start the school year with some in-person instruction, based on a survey for enrollment. The city has the largest school district in the country with, about a million students expected to enroll this fall.
The DOE said this week that 26% of children—or 264,000 students—have so far elected to enroll in remote-only learning. Here's a map of how each district's enrollment looks:
In District 26 (Bayside, Oakland Gardens, Fresh Meadows, Douglaston, Little Neck, Glen Oaks, Floral Park, Bellerose, Jamaica Estates, Jamaica Hills, Hillcrest, and some of Hollis Hills and Holliswood) and District 20 (Borough Park, Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, and part of Sunset Park in Brooklyn), parents were most inclined to select remote learning.
Clarisa Diaz / Gothamist, with NYC DOE information
One assistant principal of a Queens elementary school, who didn’t want to be identified because he’s not authorized to speak to the media, told Gothamist his school’s administration tried to request an exception so that their students would attend school on alternating weeks: one week in-person, one week remote. But the DOE said that schedule was only available for District 75 schools and rejected their application.
Ultimately, his school will have the first scheduling model that splits the school week between two cohorts, and alternating Mondays.
“Neither option was good,” the assistant principal said. “We wanted to be as thoughtful as possible and weigh it all out. It was just one of those things where we really just felt like we were between a rock and a hard place.”
Another principal of a middle school in Fresh Meadows, trying to decide what schedule model to adopt, said it’s difficult to plan without knowing crucial details like enrollment and staffing numbers.
“We cannot schedule a school, especially of my size, if we don’t know how many kids are going to be here and how many adults are going to be here, right?” Reginald Landeau Jr, principal of George J. Ryan Middle School, told WNYC.
His school typically has 1,600 students, though the in-person enrollment this fall will be affected by students who elect for full-time remote learning.
Echoing the pleas of many educators, school staffers and parents, Landeau says principals need more information and more time to prepare.
“I don’t think that it’s feasible for us to be able start right now with any degree of effectiveness or success without a delay,” he said.
The DOE has a deadline to submit school-specific plans for its schools to the state Education Department by Friday.
Earlier this week the United Federation of Teachers union and the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators principals’ union officially called on de Blasio to delay the first day of school. While de Blasio has said he would like to see students back in school on September 10th, no official first day has been announced.
With Jessica Gould / WNYC
Tagged
COVID-19
coronavirus
schools reopening
Sophia Chang
Sophia Chang is a former WNYC and Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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