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Some families report hiccups as NYC public school students log on for remote learning
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Jan 26, 2026
Modified Jan 26, 2026
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Angela Weiss / AFP via Getty Images
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Jan 26, 2026
Modified Jan 26, 2026
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A half-million New York City public school students were expected to attend class via laptops and tablets Monday following Sunday’s snowstorm, but some families said the remote-learning tech crashed for their kids even as education officials said the day has gone smoothly so far.
“It was all right to start, but as expected with everybody trying to get on, Google Classroom has crashed a few times,” said Joe Soccoa, who teaches STREAM — science, technology, robotics, engineering, art and math — to Kindergarten through fifth graders on Staten Island.
Other parents expressed frustration on social media with the intermittent outages, posting photos of the error messages they were getting when trying to log on with their kids. And some said their children were skipping school entirely, in favor of a traditional snow day.
Still, Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said it was a “smooth start to the day,” with most students and school staff able to log on quickly. At a press conference, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said more than 400,000 students, parents and staff were able to access virtual schooling as of 9:15 a.m. Monday.
City officials said they plan on reopening schools for in-person learning Tuesday as the snow cleanup continues.
Mamdani said he visited a classroom remotely with the chancellor Monday morning and "reiterated my offer to students that they could pelt me in the face with a snowball” for having kept schools in session online.
“They were very excited about that and asked for a time and place. I said you can find me anywhere in New York City,” he said.
Nicole Brownstein, a spokesperson for the city's education department, said public schools "experienced only minor hiccups" with remote logins Monday morning.
"Our Helpdesk has reported that the number of support requests is in line with a normal school day, and our students are logged in and engaging in virtual schoolwork," she said in a statement.
Samuels said any families experiencing issues with remote learning could call the education department at 718-935-5100 to request assistance.
Post-pandemic attempts to deploy remote learning have not always succeeded. During a February storm two years ago, the city Department of Education oversaw a technical meltdown when students tried to log on en masse — an episode Samuels called “a day that will live in infamy.”
Samuels said the system had been stress-tested in December but also acknowledged no one expected younger students to be logged on for the full school day. High school students and those in schools only serving grades six through 12 already had Monday off for teacher professional development.
Mamdani said his administration had worked to prepare families all last week, “ensuring devices are in hand, families are informed and educators are ready to welcome students online.”
Queens mother Rachel Pardoe said her 7-year-old daughter was excited to log onto Zoom for her second-grade classes, but her older daughter, who has bad memories of remote learning from the COVID-19 pandemic, decided not to participate.
“I’m completely fine with that,” Pardoe said. “I think a lot of the teachers probably expect that. It's not valuable. It's probably more aggravating than worth it. So we're just not going to be involved.”
Mamdani acknowledged a tight calendar contributed to his decision to keep schools operating virtually despite the winter storm’s impacts. The state requires 180 instructional days annually, and the addition of new holidays in recent years has narrowed the window for days off.
“ I get, you know, we have to make sure that there's instruction. But me personally, even going back to the COVID days, I just didn't think remote learning was the best option,” Soccoa said.
He added that he and his wife, who is also a teacher, were struggling to balance the demands of remote learning with caring for their own kids, both under 4 years old and home for the day.
All after-school, adult education and other school-based programs remain cancelled Monday due to the weather, City Hall said.
Two high schools in each borough are open as warming centers for people struggling with the extreme cold, according to the city’s Emergency Management agency.
This is a developing story and has been updated with additional information.
Tagged
Winter Storm January 2026
Zohran Mamdani
education
new york city
weather
Brittany Kriegstein
Brittany Kriegstein covers all breaking news around New York City, with a focus on crime and gun violence. Got a tip? Email Brittany at [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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