On March 16, the New York City Department of Education shut down schools and the country’s largest school system moved to remote learning to alleviate the spread of the coronavirus.
The process has been anything but smooth. In April, data showed almost a quarter of high schoolers weren’t logging in. And parents say their kids’ teachers have abandoned live instruction.
But a new study shows many moms and dads are worried about sending their kids back to schools. And recently, a new COVID-19-linked inflammatory disease, now called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children or MIS-C, has sickened at least 147 Big Apple kids.
So what are the chances that Big Apple schools will reopen in some form for the fall 2020 school year — and how will the institutions change when kids do return? Here’s what experts, officials and teachers say.
When will schools in NYC reopen?
All New York City schools and colleges will be closed for the rest of the school year.
City schools Chancellor Richard Carranza told principals recently there is a “50-50” chance that public schools will reopen in fall 2020 in time for the usual September start to the school year.
Under Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s four-phase reopening plan, schools will be permitted to open during the last phase, which could come as early as mid- to late July if the city meets Cuomo’s seven COVID-19 benchmarks by the beginning of June.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday that remote learning will continue through the summer for the nearly 178,000 public school kids who need summer school.
He told reporters “we will make the decision at the right time” when it comes to reopening NYC schools come September.
“Plan A is unquestionably open the schools as normal because that’s what it’s in the interest of our kids and our families,” de Blasio said.
“But we have to make sure kids are safe, family members are safe, educators are safe, staff is safe, we have to make sure that we are confident of that. For any reason we’re not confident in that, then there’s a plan B, a plan C, a plan D.”
But a high-ranking DOE official — who spoke to The Post on the condition of anonymity, because they are not authorized to speak to the press — said it’s “highly unlikely” schools will return in September because the agency is currently conducting a massive overhaul of its remote learning system.
Currently, each public school has its own G-Suite page, but the DOE is creating a “central digital platform” where all schools will be accessed from one page.
“Why would you do that for a month and a half? That’s a lot of work,” the official said. “All of the tech people are freaking out.”
A Brooklyn public school teacher said there is not “one teacher that isn’t desperate to go back to normal.”
“But they just want to be guaranteed a safe environment,” the teacher said. “Many staff members go home to small kids and elderly parents of their own, so it’s very risky.”
The teacher said “parents are all incredibly nervous” and “aren’t sure they would be comfortable sending their kids back in the fall, especially hearing the fall might be so bad with a second wave during flu season.”
Success Academy, the city’s largest charter school provider, which operates outside DOE control, sang a different tune Tuesday.
CEO Eva Moskowitz said it plans to open as scheduled in August with a mix of remote learning and in-class instruction, as long as testing and contact tracing are widely available and key public health metrics are met.
“If by August, public health experts deem it unsafe to return, we will open remotely. But we are optimistic that by then we will be able to open school under the hybrid model, and we hope that by later in the fall, we will all be safely back together,” Moskowitz said.
“Even though I think our remote learning is strong, it’s not the same education kids in our school community get. We can’t play basketball. We can’t have community circles. We can’t do all the things that come with schooling.”
How will schools in NYC change due to the coronavirus crisis?
Controlling the spread of the virus will be particularly tough in schools, especially in New York City, where classrooms are already overcrowded, according to experts.
“Schools are going to be a tough one from all levels, from school buses to classroom size to hallways and cafeterias,” said Dr. Henry Raymond, an epidemiologist from the Rutgers School of Public Health.
“All things are on the table right now — from limited face-to-face interaction for certain events to staggered schedules so you can maintain social distancing and smaller class sizes and then fully online.”
Resumption of in-person classes will be heavily influenced by members of the city teachers union, who have vowed not to return to the DOE’s 1,400 school buildings without a long list of safety guarantees.
“We want the schools to open,” UFT boss Michael Mulgrew told The Post.
“But we have to know what that looks like first. We have to look at these issues first and have protocols. Whatever the medical professionals say we need to get in place, we will get in place.”
Those guarantees include COVID-19 testing for kids and staff, daily temperature checks for people entering and exiting the school and deep cleaning after any possible infection.
Another demand is social distancing — which would require remote learning to continue in some form to lessen daily attendance. Some kids would remain home while their classmates are in school and they would alternate.
Education officials are also considering having students in two different daily shifts — meaning some kids would come to school for the morning and early afternoon and others would come during the late afternoon and evening.
The main objection to staggered classes and the continuation of remote learning is that it will require parents to find some form of child care if and when they have to return to work themselves.
Parents are also bracing for major grading and admissions changes when schools finally do reopen. The DOE scrapped regular grades for all K-8 kids this year and will adjust screened school admissions accordingly for next year.
While Carranza has promised not to make any permanent policy changes with grades or admissions during the crisis, a recent survey conducted by the pro-academic screening group PLACE found that 92 percent of respondents are “extremely or very concerned” about the changes.
Another thing that could be different for city school kids upon a reopening is not seeing their old classmates.
Many parents, faced with the possibility of more remote learning, have told The Post they’re pondering options they’ve never considered before. Those include homeschooling, hiring private tutors or making dual-income houses single-income so one parent can stay home with their kids.<