NYC’s first schools reopened on Monday amid optimism and concern | The NY Journal
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This September 21 marked the first stage of the return to face-to-face classes only with pre-kindergarten children and special education students, which is expected to add 90,000 by the end of the week
With your mask on, a colorful briefcase and a huge smile on your face, this Monday, September 21 Alejandro Martinez, 4-year-old student came to his school in Long Island City to officially start the school year. His father, Juan Martinez, confessed to feeling a mixture between joy and concern, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that although it seems to be controlled in the Big Apple, where daily infections are below 1%, On average, it is not without concern.
“I like to see him smile and at home I have tried to teach him what I could to protect himself. But I prefer that he attend face-to-face classes, because it seems to me the healthiest mental and emotional thing for all, besides that this way we can work more calmly ”, assured the Colombian father of a family, referring to his son, who was one of almost 90,000 children that according to educational authorities, this Monday they were scheduled to attend their first day of face-to-face classes.
Although it was expected that the September 21st will mark the return to the classrooms of some 600,000 students in more than 1,700 schools in the five counties, last week the scheme was changed and decided to be done in three stages. The smallest, the children of 3K, pre-kindergarten and special education, they were authorized to return to classes this Monday. Kindergarteners, elementary school and up to grade 8 will return on next September 29 and the older ones, high school and middle school, will start in their schools on October 1st.
He Mayor De Blasio participated in the opening day of face-to-face classes, with a visit to the San Bartolomeo School, Elmhurst, Queens, a neighborhood that suffered disproportionately from the deadly effects of COVID-19.
There, from early and in two shifts, each one of an hour and a half of classes, the teachers welcomed the first students to arrive, and he was confident that it is the right way, although he continues to receive darts from different sides who even fear that the return of children to educational establishments will trigger coronavirus infections. A total of 737 schools in the five boroughs they were opened on the first day.
“The teachers, educators, staff, everyone is ready to go, ready to serve those children and families, and they are excited to get back to work the way they know it works best, right there in person with the children, the parents also feeling that emotion, “said the mayor, noting that the remaining 1.1 million students started their classes remotely.
“This week, 90,000 children will return to classrooms between 3K, pre-K and our special education classrooms in District 75. Next week, hundreds of thousands more. But what we also saw was a true devotion to health and safety, a devotion to social distancing, a devotion to temperature controls, all the smart measures to keep people safe. And the masks, everyone wore a mask, “he added. De Blasio.
The president also called on parents to take into account a new security protocol, which has to do with taking the daily temperature of your children, that they must inform, through a form.
“That means they check the temperature and they just give the status. It is very important to do that every day. We will make it easier for you. They can do it online. You can send a sheet of paper. Remember, all parents, we need you to do this, this is something we ask of all parents: check your child’s temperature in the morning. If they have an unusually high temperature, leave them at home, “added the president.
The Chancellor of Education, Richard Carranza, He also defended the opening of schools in person, and said that it is also a way to help heal the pain and trauma that the children of the Big Apple have faced with the pandemic.
“The evidence is overwhelmingly clear that the best environment for a child is in a school environment With a caring, well-trained teacher and the support systems that come with in-person learning, the benefit we have in New York City, ”Carranza said.
“Having been the epicenter of the epicenter in March, but thanks to the hard work of my fellow New Yorkers, we have been able to suppress this virus to a level that allows us to have in-person learning. We can’t waste that chance“Added the official, warning that currently 3,600 children of those who started their classes are receiving free child care. The promised quotas for the entire city were 100,000 and there is talk that for now some 30,000.
The teacher Ivette Pérez, from the San Bartolomeo school, said that on this first day, she had four students in each of the two cycles in which the children arrived, and she was confident that everything will go well.
“Do not be afraid, we will get ahead doing things well and we have to do it for the children, who arrived today excited, without a single cry and eager to learn, “said the Puerto Rican teacher, who commented that her first class was to review basic safety protocols with a story read to stay safe.
Another teacher who only identified herself as Cristina, who works in Queens, on the contrary, he was not so optimistic and assured that at this point, he does not even have a class of his own assigned to start next week. “I keep assuring that the mayor was quick with this decision and I hope I’m wrong, but in a few months we will be seeing that opening the schools was not the right decision, ”said the teacher.
Facts about returning to face-to-face classes in NY
- 90,000 pre-kindergarten and special education children are expected to attend classrooms from Monday, September 21 through Friday
- 737 of the more than 1,700 schools in NY reopened this Monday
- 1,050 early childhood education programs have already started
- 3,600 pre-school children are receiving free after-school child care
- September 29 will be the first day of face-to-face classes for Kindergarten and Elementary through Grade 8
- October 1 Middle and High School Children Will Return to Face-to-Face Classes
Where to get information
- To enroll in the free child care program, you can register at this link: schools.nyc.gov/learning bridges
- If you have any questions about the status of your child care application, please write a message to [email protected]
- To clarify other doubts call 311
.
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