In class - but still on laptops
School kin rip Blas ‘reopen’ boast
Angry parents lashed out at Mayor de Blasio on Thursday, saying his socalled reopening of schools was a “farce” and a failure.
Many complained that serious staffing shortages had created bizarre situations in which kids sit at desks to watch a teacher broadcast lessons to their laptops from a nearby room.
Others say their kids are lucky if they attend school five days a month.
“It’s a farce,” said Kate Cassidy, a mother of two kids in Manhattan District 2.
“There is zero live in-person teaching at my school,” she said. “None. To call this a reopening is ridiculous.”
A mom at MS 167 in Manhattan said: “These schools are not reopened. And they know that.”
Others stressed that the limited time their kids have in school is continually threatened and disrupted by school closures, which occur if two students or staffers test positive for COVID-19.
On any given day, hundreds of city schools are closed for up to two weeks because of the protocol.
De Blasio has repeatedly suggested that the rule might change given increasing vaccinations and improved COVID-19 case counts — but parents say they’re tired of waiting.
The city first reopened elementary schools in late December, and middle schools reopened last month. High schools are slated to reopen Monday.
Social-distancing requirements have severely limited class sizes and forced principals to use staggered schedules. Kids are expected to wear masks through the day.
Roughly 70 percent of kids in the nation’s largest school system are still on a remoteonly format.
De Blasio has heralded the city’s model as the “gold standard,” but Cassidy said the mayor’s triumphant portrayal of “reopened” classrooms was false.
“It’s like he’s being intentionally obtuse about the whole thing,” the parent said, adding her kids average about five days in school a month. “It’s infuriating.”
Parents believe staff shortages could be helped by allowing vaccinated teachers back to schools, especially since they were given priority for the shots.
Teachers-union boss Michael Mulgrew said on WNYC Thursday that he wasn’t ready to rework the COVID rules.
“We can’t just say — because they are an inconvenience — we don’t want them,” he said. “And then we make a mistake.”
Other parents urged caution on a fuller reopening.
Gians, a parent at PS 92 in Flatbush who wouldn’t reveal his last name, said: “I don’t think it’s safe right now. I’m not sure kids are gonna want to wear their mask at all hours of the day.
That’s not very fun.”
The Department of Education said on Thursday that it was reevaluating several key reopening policies.
“There are more New York City students in classrooms than any other city in America, and all of our in-person students are in classes with qualified educators and caring adults,” said spokesman Nathaniel Styer.