The New York Times
New York was the first major school district to be reopened. This is what happened.
NEW YORK – For Julie Zuckerman, a Manhattan elementary school principal, this past summer felt like an endless day of fear and confusion over New York City’s plan to resume personal teaching. But in the months since the class opened in September, something has changed. Teachers at the school, Public School 513 in Washington Heights, seem more at ease, with some saying they would like to be in their class even when the building closes due to coronavirus cases. Parents also seem more confident: about half of the students are in the building most days, against less than a third in September. Zuckerman expects more children to return this spring. Subscribe to the New York Times Morning newsletter “People have made peace; they are not in crisis the same way, ”she said. “I feel like there is a huge difference between night and day between what was going on last spring and what happened this year.” New York’s attempt to become the first major school district in the country to reopen classrooms last fall was a risky and risky experiment. It has had its share of miscommunication, logistical hurdles and disruptions – especially when classrooms and school buildings are often closed due to virus cases. But in interviews, parents, teachers, school principals and union leaders also gave reasons for optimism halfway through the academic year. The transmission of the coronavirus in school was very low, and it was also agreed that children benefited from being in the classroom. “Having the kids here is so much better for them, for everyone,” said Zuckerman. The strength of the plan will be tested again in the coming weeks as approximately 62,000 high school students will return to class for the first time since November. New York also offers the clearest preview in the United States of what other major boroughs – notably Chicago, where more schools will open next month – can expect as they get closer to reopening classrooms after nearly a year of distance learning. Despite pressure from President Joe Biden to reopen more schools this spring, some districts – including Los Angeles, the country’s second-largest system – have no plans to reopen entirely this school year. On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said schools should open as soon as possible, especially for young children. The CDC found that vaccines for teachers are not a prerequisite for reopening, a finding so far supported by the New York safety record. The guidance came as teacher unions across the country continued to push for plans to be reopened. Districts reopening to students in the coming weeks and months are likely to find that it is only a first step. New Yorkers are struggling to cope with the frequent disruptions in learning – and parental schedules – caused when virus cases are detected among students or staff and classrooms and entire school buildings are forced into remote instruction. The city is demanding that schools close for up to 10 days if two unrelated positive cases are confirmed in a building. Individual classrooms close when one or more positive cases are detected. The number of closed classrooms and schools has increased significantly in recent weeks as test positivity rates in the city have remained high and the number of weekly tests at school has increased. Between January 4 and February 10, 580 of the 1,052 open school buildings were closed for a maximum of two weeks. Less than 400 school buildings have not had any closure in the new year. For example, Zuckerman said her school will only be open about 10 personal days in 2021. The rule was developed at a time when it was unclear whether Mayor Bill de Blasio had the political backing to reopen schools, and when was much less evidence that schools could reopen safely. The protocol was part of a package of security measures agreed with union leaders over the summer that allowed New York City to open its schools at all. De Blasio said earlier this month that he would reevaluate the rule of two, although city officials said it was highly unlikely that security measures would change before the high schools reopened. For parents of elementary school children, the reopening experience has sparked a rollercoaster of emotions: despair about the limits of distance learning; joy to see their children back in classrooms; and frustration with the chaos caused by closures. For example, last month, Hien Sosa finally got the news that her son could soon be returning full-time to his first-class classroom in East Elmhurst, Queens. “I was like, wow, I feel like I just won the lottery,” recalls Sosa, a hospital nurse. She and her husband, a police officer, could not stay at home on the days when their son heard from a distance. Sosa’s mother, who helps with childcare, speaks limited English and has difficulty supervising her grandson’s lessons. Sosa said she felt “ready to give up.” But her relief at the new schedule was short-lived. Just a few days after her son went to school five days a week, Sosa learned that the school would close for ten days because two people in the building tested positive. He returned a few days ago and happily returns home at the end of the day. “I know he’s really learning, just a regular school day like he always had,” said Sosa. But she said she felt like she was on borrowed time until school closes again. As the number of closures has increased, some parents have called on the city to change the rule. But the city’s influential teachers’ union has vigorously protested any change, saying schools are safe in part because of the conservative barrier to closure. But the union, the United Federation of Teachers, may be under increasing pressure to accept changes as a rule as more teachers are vaccinated. According to a union spokesman, the union directly vaccinated about 15,500 teachers, while many other teachers got their photos through mainstream channels. Even before vaccines arrived in New York, the city’s schools had not seen a high transmission rate; the average test positivity rate in city schools was 0.55% between October and last Thursday. The seven-day average for the entire city hovers around 8%. The statistics are explained in part by the random weekly tests of asymptomatic students and staff, resulting in lower rates than city-wide testing of people showing symptoms or thinking they have been exposed to the virus. But the statistics of the schools also reinforce the view, widely held by health experts, that classrooms can be relatively safe if educators enforce safety measures, such as wearing a mask and social distancing, that are required in city schools. After de Blasio shut down the entire system in mid-November due to increasing virus cases, he only reopened classrooms for children with complex disabilities and elementary school students in December. He recently announced that high schools would reopen Feb. 25. City officials say most high schools can accommodate many students five days a week. About 500 of the 878 primary and children’s schools for children with disabilities that are already open, most serve students full-time. It is not clear whether the secondary schools in the city will reopen this school year. Once both primary and secondary schools are open, up to 250,000 of the city’s approximately 1 million students can return to class. Still, the vast majority of city families – about 70% – have decided to let their children learn from home for the rest of the school year. White students, who are a minority in the overall system, are over-represented in open classrooms. Chloe Davis, a teacher in the Parkchester section of the Bronx, said her elementary school has closed several times since Thanksgiving. That prompted some families to switch to distance learning to regain cohesion. “We couldn’t find a rhythm at all,” she said. Davis’ school shares a building with two others, and if two students test positive in one of the three schools, the entire building is closed. The flood of closures is especially frustrating for working parents like Elisa Muñiz, a second-grader pediatrician and single parent in Washington Heights. Muñiz said her son, who is receiving special education, had been in his class for less than 30 days since September. ‘I can’t tell you how often the school is closed; it’s a ton, ”she said. “It not only disrupts family life. I am someone who has a responsibility to be personally at work. It requires a lot more flexibility than we can sometimes have. Muñiz has seen her son, an only child, thrive on the days he is in class with his friends. But he is easily distracted and restless when he switches back to online learning. She wishes she could ask the mayor: How are we going to help the kids who aren’t making progress? ”New York teachers say they are working harder than ever before to answer that question. taking herself in front of a group of students learning online, and another in person, due to a staff shortage at her school. She livestreams her lessons daily from her classroom for all students to follow, and spends nights and weekends on lesson plans. never regret it, but it was incredibly chaotic and difficult at times, “she said of her schedule.” I use it every day. “Some days, Koo isn’t sure whether the reopening tradeoffs were worth it. rd. Still, she understands why so many parents and students want classrooms to be fully open as soon as possible. She just asks that New Yorkers be patient. “We all wish this were different,” she said. “Let’s just be nice to each other. We all try to do our best. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. © 2021 The New York Times Company