[[link removed]]Dear John,

The NYC Department of Education has put forward the outline of its plan [[link removed]] for our public schools next fall. They call it “blended learning.” But to many parents, it sounds more like “disaster.” Many of you have been asking: with kids in school only one-half or even one-third of the time, how could I possibly go to work? It’s a question we can and must answer.

About half of elementary school families (and nearly 30% of those with middle schoolers) indicated in a recent survey [[link removed]] that they would need child care for the time their kids aren’t in the classroom. But so far the City has no plans to provide it. Under the proposed DOE plan, you can have a kid, or you can have a job, but you can’t really have both [[link removed]] .

Sign our petition to Mayor de Blasio to demand a real plan for working families. And give your ideas to help develop it further. [[link removed]]

The challenges of this plan for parents are amplified by vast socio-economic and racial inequalities. Upper-middle-class parents may be contemplating leaving the city or leaving their jobs, which will disproportionately push women out of the workforce, and further damage the City’s fiscal health. But low-income, working-class, Black and immigrant families with less flexible jobs, in grocery stores, food production, construction, domestic work, health care don’t have those choices. They must work to pay for rent and food. They can’t afford to move. These families don’t have resources to pay for private child care. So many lack good access to technology for remote learning. They will suffer the most by far.

The constraints of COVID-19 are all-too-real, so there’s no way school can be anything like normal. Thirty NYC teachers and 40 other school staff died from COVID-19 this spring. There is some evidence [[link removed]] from around the world that kids are less likely to catch the virus and less likely to spread it, but public health experts and officials do not have enough clear data to draw concrete conclusions.

So we must take aggressive steps to make school safe for staff and students alike, including dramatically smaller classes, mask-wearing, hand-washing, cleaning, and regular testing. Teachers and families can be forgiven for a lack of confidence, when so many schools don’t even have working sinks.

But no matter what scheduling gymnastics we employ to make classrooms safer, we must plan holistically to make back-to-school work this fall. We can and must provide safe, educational, wrap-around child care for younger kids, and meaningful enrichment activities for all our students.

In the Daily News [[link removed]] yesterday, I proposed a plan for the City to rapidly scale up child care and enrichment activities for all families who need it , with creative utilizations of space working with not-for-profit community organizations, settlement houses, summer camp operators, after-school programs and more.

This is a massive undertaking, just like scaling up our hospital capacity was, and we need to start right away. The City (not just DOE, who must not be expected to solve this problem alone, but the Department of Youth and Community Development, and the NYC Economic Development Corporation) should immediately issue RFPs for space, programming, and staff.

New York State has millions of dollars still unallocated from the CARES Act for child care, but much more federal funding will be necessary.

Working parents, teachers, and child care providers need a holistic plan to make back-to-school safe and possible. Sign our petition calling on the City to step up. And offer your ideas for how we can make it work. [[link removed]]

DOE’s plans do get some things right. Some students and some teachers, who are at increased risk for COVID or with family members who are, will need to stay out of the schools. New York City families will be able to keep their children home this fall [[link removed]] and opt for a full remote school schedule, regardless of medical need. Teachers will be able to seek a medical accommodation to teach remotely if they meet the CDC guidelines for having pre-existing conditions that put them at greater risk.

Some other students will really need to be in-school full-time, including students in District 75 programs, and as many pre-K, kindergarten and first grade students as we can. The DOE should do everything it can to allow for these young and vulnerable students to be in class as much as possible, including creatively utilizing outdoor spaces as well as unused seats in under-capacity schools. In our district, we will be pushing to make the most of existing space (e.g. the 436 new seats at P.S. 32) to prioritize as much time in the classroom as possible, especially for students with IEPs and the youngest grades.

New York City should also require employers to accommodate employees whose working hours are limited by school availability. Many employers have provided flexibility, but as the economy starts to open back up, if we are only going to make it possible for working families to have half-time schooling, we’ll need to mandate that accommodations are made for half-time working, too. In 2017, the City Council passed a law requiring “fair scheduling” for fast-food and retail workers that can serve as a model.

Finally, we should work together to make school next year largely about healing and resilience in the face of trauma. The learning our students do over the next year may not be the kind measured by state tests. But if we organize it right, our students can learn valuable lessons about social solidarity and resilience, in addition to academics next year.

There is some amazing work taking place in our schools already, like that of the Bronx Healing-Centered Schools Working Group [[link removed]] , who have offered a community roadmap [[link removed]] for schools that help students heal and thrive amidst trauma. The Department of Education should support this work. Let’s cancel the traditional State tests now, rather than have students anxious about them all year, and re-align curriculum to match more thoughtful and realistic goals.

This is one of the hardest policy challenges ever. But we can do it, and we must. It is our responsibility to make sure that the steps forward in our schools don’t make life impossible for working parents. And that they do not not deepen the inequality divide in our city. A just economic recovery must center working families.

Brad

In this email:
Important Dates for Parents
City and State Updates
Upcoming Events

Important Dates for Parents

Over the next month, schools will be making decisions about which of the DOE’s proposed schedules [[link removed]] to follow, and holding sessions for parents to give feedback and answer questions. The first DOE parent session will be July 16. Principals will also soon schedule parent sessions over the next month, look out for those.

The parent portal will open on July 15 for parents to sign up for fully remote school. The deadline to opt for fully remote is August 7 . Families will be able to transition back into in person school on a quarterly basis, and will be able to choose to go fully remote at any time if the in-person schooling is not working for their family.

City and State Updates

*
Latest
Virus
Data:
As
of
yesterday,
there
have
been
214,061
cases
in
NYC.
More
than
55,360
people
have
been
hospitalized.
We
have
lost
18,637
people
from
the
virus,
and
another
4,610
are
presumed
to
have
died
from
the
virus
as
well.
You
can
follow
the
City’s
progress
along
important
health
milestones
here
[[link removed]]
.
Around
the
country,
virus
cases
are
rising
alarmingly.


*
Child
Care
Centers
Reopening:
The
Board
of
Health
voted
this
week
to
allow
child
care
centers
to
reopen
[[link removed]]
with
strict
social
distancing
starting
July
13.
Child
care
providers
are
still
scrambling
to
follow
the
guidance
and
need
far
more
funding
to
adapt
to
the
current
requirements.


*
Eviction
Moratorium
Extended
:
Bloomberg
reported
[[link removed]]
earlier
this
week
that
25%
of
New
York
renters
have
missed
rent
payments
since
the
crisis
began
in
March.
The
universal
eviction
moratorium
has
been
extended
[[link removed]]
by
the
courts
until
at
least
August
6th.
Senator
Zellnor
Myrie
has
introduced
legislation
[[link removed]]
in
Albany
to
put
a
true
moratorium
on
evictions
in
place
for
one
year.
Last
week
Governor
Cuomo
signed
a
bill
that
prevents
evictions
for
nonpayment
—
but
allows
money
judgments
—
for
tenants
who
can
document
financial
distress
as
a
result
of
Covid-19.


*
Census
Deadline
Extended:
Completing
the
census
is
critical
to
ensuring
that
our
communities
get
all
the
federal
funding
and
political
representation
we
need.
The
deadline
has
been
extended
to
complete
the
census.
It’s
easy
to
do
online
at:
my2020census.gov
[[link removed]]
.


*
Reopening
Support
for
Businesses:
We
are
still
accepting
applications
for
the
interest-free
loans
up
to
$25,000
provided
by
the
Hebrew
Free
Loan
Society
and
The
Change
Reaction.
Read
more
about
this
resource
and
apply
here
[[link removed]]
.
And
NYC
has
a
reopening
business
hotline
if
you
have
questions
about
the
guidelines
or
need
support
navigating
requirements:
888-SBS-4NYC
(888-727-4692).


*
SYEP
Application
is
Open:
The
Summer
Youth
Employment
Program,
which
was
threatened
by
proposed
budget
cuts,
is
happening
to
a
smaller
extent
virtually
this
year,
and
young
people
have
just
a
few
days
to
sign
up.
NYC
youth
ages
14-24
are
eligible
to
apply
to
the
program,
which
runs
July
27-August
28
and
comes
with
a
$1,000
stipend.
The
application
is
here
[[link removed]]
and
closes
July
15.


*
Volunteer
to
Keep
Prospect
Park
Clean:
Due
to
funding
cuts
there
are
less
staff
to
help
keep
Prospect
Park
clean
and
green
this
summer,
and
more
volunteers
are
needed
to
help.
I’m
hoping
to
join
the
Prospect
Park
Alliance’s
Greeters
team
[[link removed]]
this
weekend
to
hand
out
free
trash
bags
and
encourage
park
users
to
take
their
garbage
and
recyclables
home
with
them.
Park
goers
can
sign
up
[[link removed]]
through
the
Prospect
Park
Alliance
to
borrow
a
“green
and
go”
kit
with
trash
grabbers,
garbage
bags,
and
gloves.


*
Internet
Access:
The
City
will
accelerate
the
expansion
of
broadband
[[link removed]]
for
low
income
families,
including
connecting
over
200,000
NYCHA
residents
over
the
next
18
months.


*
Parades
Cancelled:
The
City
has
canceled
[[link removed]]
all
large
permitted
events,
including
parades,
concerts,
street
fairs,
and
festivals
through
September
30th.


*
Alternate
Side
Parking:
Is
back
in
effect
under
the
new
rules
[[link removed]]
starting
on
Monday
July
13.


*
Travel
Restrictions:
Governor
Cuomo
has
put
19
states
with
rising
virus
cases
on
a
list
[[link removed]]
for
travelers
to
quarantine
upon
arrival
in
NY.



Upcoming Events

Sunday, July 12 from 1:00 to 3:00 PM: Free mask and hand sanitizer giveaway.

Councilmember Levin and I will be on Court Street at President Street near Carroll Park with masks and hand sanitizer and encouragement to fill out your Census! Swing by to get counted and get supplies.

Tuesday, July 14 from 6:30 to 8:00 PM: Heat/Cool Smart Brooklyn Green Rowhouse Webinar with Brad Lander and Brooklyn SolarWorks

Heat/Cool Smart Brooklyn (HCSB) campaign is promoting green retrofits in Brooklyn to save energy, money and the planet! Join us to learn about how your home or building can qualify for a free energy audit and talk about how communities can take action together towards sustainability. Register here [[link removed]] .

Lander for NYC
456 Fifth Avenue, 3rd Floor, Suite 2
Brooklyn, NY 11215
[email protected]

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