Important update on just-announced NYC school closings and other important developments
After several weeks of resistance, Mayor de Blasio just announced that starting tomorrow, Monday March 16, NYC public schools will be closed, and will remain closed until at least April 20, to stem the rapid spread of coronavirus. For the next week, schools will be open only as a place for parents to pick up food if they need it for their families, and teachers will be trained in online learning starting Tuesday.
The following week, starting March 23, students will begin to engage in “remote learning”, and “Regional Enrichment centers” will be opened throughout the city to provide child care for first responders, health care and transit workers, and “our most vulnerable populations.”
Chancellor Carranza said that online devices will also be provided to the approximately 300,000 kids who don’t have them. A schedule of events is available on the DOE website here. The Chancellor strongly urged all parents to sign up for School Accounts to stay in the loop, if you haven’t already; instructions here.
- The Mayor delayed this necessary decision for weeks, even after most public health experts, parents, teachers, union officials, and other elected leaders had begged him to close the schools, as nearly every other large district and more than 15 states have already done. More on about this in a blog post I wrote on Thursday. With more than half a million kids in overcrowded schools, and more than 325,000 in classes of 30 or more, it would be simply impossible to prevent the rapid spread of the virus among our children, teachers and other staff, which currently is our best chance to prevent our health care system from becoming quickly overwhelmed.
- Yet I am also very skeptical as to the value of online learning even under the best of conditions; and there is growing consensus among independent researchers that it doesn’t work well, especially for kids who need help the most. I and others also have many privacy concerns, some of which are outlined on our Parent Coalition for Student Privacy blog, where I also offer some alternative suggestions as to what might be better ways to keep your kids engaged, both physically and intellectually, during the weeks ahead.
When online instruction begins in NYC, I will be eager to hear from all of you, including parents, CONTINUE READING: Important update on just-announced NYC school closings and other important developments | Class Size Matters