From Councilmember Brad Lander <[email protected]>
Subject COVID-19: Last Minute Changes to Pandemic Schooling
Date September 17, 2020 4:06 PM
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[[link removed]]Dear John,



You’ve probably seen the news already: with just two days to go before students were supposed to be in classrooms, the Mayor and Chancellor announced today that in person learning will be phased in by grade.

Here’s the new schedule for blended learning students going into classrooms:
Monday September 21: 3K and pre-K, and D75 schools start
Tuesday September 29 : K-5 and K-8 schools start
Thursday October 1: Middle and high school students start

A phased in approach to blended learning by grade level that will give us time to get the details right would have been a good approach to take weeks ago. Many families, teachers and principals called for it, and I supported their call.

But to blindside everyone with this decision now is really a massive failure of leadership. Stubbornly denying the reality of the challenges, delaying decisions, and then switching course at the last minute amid mounting public pressure does not build the public confidence and cooperation needed to get us through this pandemic together.

Families have scrambled to get child care in place and adjust work schedules. Teachers have scrambled to get lesson plans together with insufficient information about who they would be teaching, where and when. Many of them were on calls with students for remote orientation, talking about what next week would look like when this announcement was made at the press conference this morning. REC centers serving children of essential workers have already closed, and the Learning Bridges childcare program is still scaling up, so many more families are being left in a lurch.

I’m worried about the later in person start coinciding with the opening of restaurants into indoor dining and colder weather pushing more of us indoors. I’m worried too that in all the reopening chaos, teachers have not had enough support to help make remote learning be the best it can be. And I’m worried that the latest change to not require synchronous learning on days when blended learning students are remote will further isolate students who are struggling and deepen inequities.

For parents, anxiously trying to make the best decisions for your family to keep everyone healthy, happy, learning, and working, and for educators, anxiously trying to figure out how you can show up for your students while keeping yourself and colleagues safe, the last few weeks have been agonizing.

I’m grateful to the teachers, principals, and families who have been working hard to make sure that school reopening is safe. I really hope that the extra time and staffing the mayor has announced can help us make it so.

But I sure wish our city leadership had made these decisions and communicated them sooner.

We’ll be doing what we can to help schools in our district get their needs met, and to advocate for families all around the city. Stay in touch with us about how we can support your communities.

Sending strength to the teachers, administrators, parents, and students who are trying to make the best of this pandemic year.

Brad

Updates and Resources

*
Latest
Virus
Data:
There
were
253
new
cases
identified
yesterday,
and
sadly
4
more
New
Yorkers
died
from
the
virus.
We
have
lost
23,762
people
in
NYC
from
the
virus,
and
243,314
total
cases
have
been
identified
in
the
city.
Currently,
the
7-day
rolling
average
percent
of
tests
that
came
back
positive
citywide
remains
low,
0.9%
as
of
yesterday,
although
we
know
that
the
infection
rate
varies
widely
across
neighborhoods.


*
Rapid
Testing:
The
City
is
now
providing
rapid
testing
with
48
hour
(or
much
shorter!)
turn
around
at
a
number
of
sites.
Rosa
and
I
made
an
online
appointment
on
Tuesday
and
the
whole
thing
was
very
quick
and
easy.
Schedule
a
rapid
test
here
[[link removed]]
,
or
learn
more
about
how
to
get
a
test
with
a
faster
turnaround
time
here
[[link removed]]
.


*
Unemployment:
The
$300
a
week
[[link removed]]
in
additional
federal
funding
is
supposed
to
start
going
to
people
receiving
unemployment
this
week.
Retroactive
payments
of
$300
for
the
weeks
ending
August
2,
August
9,
and
August
16
will
be
available
to
all
UI
recipients
and
Pandemic
Unemployment
Assistance
(PUA)
recipients.
The
Department
of
Labor
says
that
many
recipients
will
need
to
submit
additional
certification,
so
keep
an
eye
out
for
communications
and
follow
instructions
to
get
the
benefits.


*
Voting:
NY
voters
can
request
absentee
ballots
now
at
nycabsentee.com
[[link removed]]
.
Ballots
will
begin
to
be
mailed
next
week.
Due
to
the
timing
of
executive
orders
and
legislation,
voters
who
requested
absentee
ballots
before
August
20th
may
need
to
do
so
again
[[link removed]]
.


*
Census:
We
are
running
out
of
time
to
make
sure
all
New
Yorkers
are
counted.
If
you
have
not
yet,
please
complete
the
Census
at
my2020census.gov
[[link removed]]
and
tell
your
friends
and
family.


*
Get
a
Flu
Shot:
Getting
the
seasonal
flu
shot
this
year
is
more
important
than
ever
to
protect
each
other.
Flu
shots
are
available
at
most
drug
stores
or
Health
and
Hospitals
sites,
more
info
here
[[link removed]]
.


*
Health
Insurance:
The
deadline
for
health
insurance
special
enrollment
has
been
extended
through
December
31,
2020.
New
Yorkers
without
health
insurance
can
apply
for
coverage
through
the
NY
State
of
Health
Marketplace
[[link removed]]
,
by
phone
at
1-855-355-5777,
or
by
connecting
with
a
free
enrollment
assister.



456 Fifth Avenue, 3rd Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11215
718-499-1090
[email protected]

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