This week, about 50,000 students are returning to their classrooms for the first time in a year, bringing the total number of kids in-person up above 350,000. Many kids are going from two days to five days a week. That’s a great step forward.

But 650,000 of our students are still learning fully remotely. And many “in-person” high-school students are just doing Zoom in classrooms instead of at home. 

Meanwhile, among both in-person and remote families, trust has eroded. Communication has been rocky, confusing, behind closed doors. Schedules and guidelines change at the last minute, making it impossible to provide children with the consistency they need for meaningful learning. Many remote students still don’t have access to reliable internet or are in ultra-large classes where they don’t get the support they need. So it’s no wonder many families and teachers remain hesitant and frustrated. 

To reopen our schools in the fall, in-person, five days a week -- safely and supportively for all our students -- we need to do a much better job of planning together. And we need to start now. 

In a recent editorial in Gotham Gazette, NYC Kids PAC president Naila Rosario, public school teacher and activist Liat Olenick, and I discuss how we can do it: 

• We should immediately establish School Reopening Councils (SRCs) in every school. These should include the principal, teacher and staff representatives, and parent/caregiver and student reps. SRCs should survey families and staff to see what they need to feel confident in coming back, help decide how American Rescue Plan money should be spent based on the particular needs of their school, and ease the transition by addressing the specific concerns and lived experiences of their school communities.

• We need a real, resourced, collective focus on the social and emotional health of our students. In his budget address on Monday, Mayor de Blasio spoke of an “intensive academic recovery.” But we aren’t going to be able to help our students learn if we don’t help them heal. So many of our students, families, and teachers, particularly people of color, have lost loved ones this year with little institutional support or understanding from our school system. That’s where our focus needs to start as we prepare the fall. There are so many creative ways that educators and school communities can support healing and resilience -- but they need resources, time, and the flexibility to tailor programming to meet the needs of their students. And we must stop criminalizing students. Schools can’t really build healing, resilience, and trust when they make 14-year-olds stand in line to go through metal detectors every day.

• City Hall and DOE must establish clear guidelines and policies so families and staff have a real understanding of what the school year ahead will hold. Everyone over 16 should be required to be vaccinated for Covid-19, and we should move quickly to vaccinate students under the age of 16 as soon as the FDA/CDC authorize it. And we need to clearly answer the basic questions that parents and teachers will be asking: What level of citywide vaccination and threshold of Covid-19 cases do we need to achieve? What safety protocols will remain? What will happen for families who still want to remain enrolled in remote learning? 

We have the resources to do all of this. Thanks to President Biden’s American Rescue Plan and the big education win in Albany, when the Mayor released his Executive Budget proposal on Monday, new federal and state funds were allocated for many forms of recovery our children need. Every school’s budget will be increased to provide 100% of the Fair Student Funding they were supposed to have had for years. There are expansions of 3K, summer programs, special education, school social workers, PSAL sports, and technology.

But there’s still so much critical work to do. The mayor proposed $500 million for “intensive academic recovery,” but did not speak to the planning process for when schools will know how much they are getting -- or whether they can decide to use it for social and emotional learning needs. So many schools still don’t have a guidance counselor.  

The City Council is also calling for using $250 million of new “Foundation Aid” funding from Albany (which will recur every year) to reduce class size. Smaller classes will help address Covid fears and give remote-learning families more confidence to come back to school buildings, will help teachers meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of their students, and will improve educational outcomes in the long term.

Beyond these monetary investments, an extraordinary return in the fall will require rebuilding the solidarity, trust, and creativity that can make our school communities extraordinary places. It takes that special glue made up of teachers, students, guidance counselors, caregivers, school food workers, crossing guards, paraprofessionals all showing up to make our schools the engines of enrichment, mutual support and opportunity we know they can be. 

Let’s work together to make it happen. 

Brad
 

Covid-19 Updates and Resources

• NYC will fully reopen on 7/1: More than 6 million vaccine doses have been given to  New Yorkers, and as a result, the Mayor announced today that on July 1 all restaurants, bars, stores, shops, small businesses, hair salons, barbershops, gyms, fitness classes, arenas, stadiums, theaters, music halls, and museums will fully reopen. Subways will reopen for 24 hr service on July 1 as well. The Mayor expects at least 400,000 jobs will come back to the city this calendar year.

• New mask guidance: The CDC announced yesterday new guidelines around outdoor mask wearing for fully vaccinated people that allows for participation in outdoor activities and recreation without a mask, except in crowded settings and venues. I’m excited to be able to run in Prospect Park without a mask! But please keep wearing masks in all indoor public settings, and in crowded outdoor ones as well.

• Latest Virus Data: In NYC, 1,151 new COVID cases were reported April 28th, for a total of 924,187 cases since the start of the pandemic. We have lost 32,461 people in NYC from the virus, including sadly 5 reported on April 28th. The number of new cases and the positivity rate have been declining; the average daily number of cases has dropped 44% over the past two weeks. The citywide 7-day rolling average of people testing positive is now 3.18%. City data here.

• Vaccine Data: As of today 7,513,165 vaccine doses have been delivered to New York City, and 6,427,404 have been administered. For more information on vaccine eligibility, locations, and data, visit the NYC Vaccine Command Center’s Website. (And you can review our office’s Vaccine FAQ here).

• Beware of COVID Vaccine Scams: Please ignore any individual or organization claiming to be able to provide a vaccine in exchange for payment. No vaccine distributors will ask you for Social Security, credit card, or bank account information. The vaccine is completely free, regardless of whether you have health insurance. If you suspect any fraudulent activity relating to COVID-19, please call the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Action Center Hotline at 718-250-2340.

• Get Tested: Even with these new vaccines in circulation, it is still so important to keep up our social distancing, wear masks, and get tested. For information about testing sites around the city, visit New York City’s Covid-19 testing website.

• Self Senior Sign up: If you are a senior or know a senior who would benefit from free friendly calls from the Neighbor Network during this isolating time, you can now sign up here by filling out this form or calling 914-572-5526.

• Sign up for Neighbor Network Vaccination phone banking: My office helped to launch Neighbor Network last March, in partnership with Heights and Hills and Greenwich House, to combat social isolation for home-bound older adults and help address food, medicine and other needs as the pandemic hit. The neighbor network has now also pivoted to vaccine outreach. Do you want to help? Join the Neighbor Network to phone-bank with vaccine information, become a “vaccine navigator,” or make wellness calls. 

Education Updates and Resources

• Summer Rising registration is now open: DOE’s new universal program Summer Rising, free and open to all K-12 NYC residents. For more information about the program, a list of school locations, as well as program dates and the link to register visit https://www.schools.nyc.gov/enrollment/summer. K-8 registration does not operate using your MySchools or NYC Schools accounts. Be prepared to set up an NYC account if you do not already have one.

• 3-K for All Districts: Starting this fall, DOE will expand 3-K programs across the city. In school districts in and around this part of Brooklyn (15, 13, 20) DOE will offer 3-K seats to as many families as possible. New programs for next school year will continue to be added to the 3-K application through May. You can sign up for the 3-K admissions email list to be notified as new 3-K programs are added. You can find out your school district by calling 311 or visiting schools.nyc.gov/Find-a-School. Then visit MySchools to create your MySchools account through which you can explore 3-K options, build your application, and apply online. The 3-K application deadline has been extended to May 28.

• Vote for your CEC candidates: Beginning this Saturday, May 1 all parents of New York City public school students can vote for their Community Education Council (CEC) representatives for the first time ever! Education Council representatives serve as the voice of our families, offering important advice to the Chancellor and the NYC Department of Education. To vote, you just need an NYC Schools Account. More information on voting can be found here.

Other Updates and Resources

• Legal Services Hotline: NYC Financial Justice Hotline is a free legal hotline for low-income NYC residents.  The hotline is staffed in English and Spanish, provides free legal information, advice, and referrals on a wide range of financial justice issues--from discriminatory banking practices to predatory debt collection. You can find more information here.

• COJO Flatbush Tax Collection: They are offering free tax services for tax season.  If you need assistance filing your taxes you can find more information and contact them here.

• Access Benefits Helpline through Legal Aid: Anyone having trouble with an application to apply for or recertify for HRA cash assistance, SNAP, or Medicaid benefits, can all the Legal Aid Society’s Access to Benefits Helpline at 888-663-6880 M-F 10 am-3 pm.

• Support Gowanus and West Brooklyn Mutual Aid Produce: Community mutual aid groups West Brooklyn Waterfront Mutual Aid (WBWMA) and Gowanus Mutual Aid (GMA) are partnering with GrowNYC to launch a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program: Gowanus and West Brooklyn Mutual Aid Produce. For just $11 a week, you can provide a household in need with a bag of fresh produce. Make a monthly or one-time contribution. Or purchase a WBWMA tote bag here for $23 and after the cost to make the bag ($12), $11 will go directly towards this new food initiative and help to fund one week of fresh produce for a Brooklyn family. Interested in volunteering? Contact WBWMA and GMA about Gowanus and West Brooklyn Mutual Aid Produce.

• We are redirecting our Fresh Direct Bag Program: After collecting and redistributing more than 50,000 bags, we are transitioning our Fresh Direct bag donation effort now that Fresh Direct has established its own program to connect bag donors with nearby food pantries. A couple of our partners, Masbia and People in Need, are now signed up for direct bag drop off through Fresh Direct’s program. You can find the complete list of partners with times and locations here. Thank you to the many constituents who have continued to collect and donate their extra bags over the course of the pandemic. This has provided a much needed supply of durable bags to food providers, and helped reduce the number of these bags entering our waste stream. We hope you will continue to donate directly through this new program.