SCHOOLS OF HARD KNOCKS
Brace for ‘serious downsides’
Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Richard Carranza painted a grim picture Tuesday of what the city’s public schools could look like in the fall — warning of continued remote learning amid staggered classes and partitions.
“We’re going to look at any and all options, [and] of course, something like staggered hours or a hybrid approach will be considered,” de Blasio said at a press conference.
Carranza — who last week urged education leaders to “never waste a good crisis” in terms of making changes amid the coronavirus — said the school community should brace itself for moves that have both “real and serious benefits and serious, serious downsides.”
He did not elaborate on what the potential “downsides” might be — but some educators and parents have had plenty to say about them.
The lack of live lessons inevitably hurts the learning process, while trying to ensure students attend even virtual classes can be a nightmare, they say. There are also daunting technical challenges for the system’s 1.1 million students to learn remotely, as well as an ongoing debate over how to assess student work given the upheaval.
Carranza, speaking at a City
Council hearing around the same time as de Blasio’s press conference, said, “We know that in September, we will probably have to be doing social distancing.
“Do we need to do additional partitions? . . . Do we then bring all students back at the same time, or do we have a phased approach?”
He said one possible scenario would involve part of a class staying home and learning remotely while their classmates get instruction in school. The groups would alternate according to a schedule. The move would lower daily class size to enable social distancing, he said.
The chancellor said the Department of Education was also exploring a “shift” model that would split classes up into morning and afternoon segments.
“I’m not saying [all] this is going to happen, but I want to give you a taste of what it might look like,” Carranza said.
“All of [the options] have real and serious benefits and serious, serious downsides,” Carranza acknowledged.
In addition to classroom-learning changes, kids might be subjected to regular temperature and COVID-19 tests before being allowed to attend class, officials said.
A single mother with two public-school kids in Brooklyn called remote learning “not sustainable.
“What happens when I eventually have to go back to work? Who is going to stay home with my kids, let alone help them with their remote learning?’’ said the mom, whose kids are in third and sixth grades.
“Is anyone actually thinking this through?”
A Park Slope parent predicted that parents will start looking for exit strategies if the public schools either don’t open in the fall or remote learning continues indefinitely.
“Continuing like this is not going to work. I think we all know that on some level,’’ the dad said.