STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- With Mayor Bill de Blasio holding firm on his decision not to close New York City public schools next week, some teachers are taking matters into their own hands in an attempt to sway his decision making.
City teachers are planning a “mass sickout” for Wednesday, Mar. 18, where droves of employees will call out sick to show their disapproval of the mayor’s decision, multiple teachers told the Advance.
One teacher from Staten Island, who works at an elementary school in Manhattan, said that her school has already seen numerous faculty members decide to stay home, with approximately 20% of school staff not showing up for work on Friday.
The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) continues to vehemently oppose the mayor’s decision to keep schools open, with a Change.org petition encouraging the closure of New York City’s public schools garnering over 75,000 signatures within a day’s time.
“New York City should follow the example of affected jurisdictions around the region, the nation and even the world and close public schools. We understand the immense disruption this will create for our families. But right now more than a million students and staff crisscross the city every day on their way to schools, putting themselves and others at risk of exposure and increasing the likelihood of bringing exposure into their homes and communities,” the petition reads.
“We must find ways to keep our children safe and to see that they are fed. We must do all we can to help ensure that our students can continue to learn. But we have reached the point where continuing to keep our classrooms open poses a greater lasting threat than the disruption that will result from school closings,” the petition continues.
SCHOOLS REMAIN OPEN
On Saturday afternoon, de Blasio said that, as of now, there’s been no change in the city’s plans to keep public schools open next week, which will ultimately be determined by “a day-by-day examination of all the facts.”
“I think we have a lot to balance, but I’m holding where we are right now,” de Blasio said during a Saturday afternoon press conference.
The mayor again referenced guidance from the Centers for Disease Control on school closures to help explain his decision. The guidance points to issues that de Blasio spoke about, including working parents, particularly those in medical fields, who would need to leave the workforce to care for their children.
“It expresses the sheer complexity that attends to this, particularly when you’re talking about such a vast number of kids in such a densely-packed city,” de Blasio said. “When you close, you create a series of additional new problems in terms of health and safety.”
“When you close, you potentially compromise the hospital system and the health care system by the impact it has on health care providers who would hold back and not go to work to stay home with their families and with their kids. Let alone, of course, the impact it would have on children’s education,” he continued.
The mayor also cautioned that closing the city’s school could create another issue of hundreds of thousands of students wandering the city without adult supervision.
“I think a very sobering fact is hundreds of thousands of teenagers without adult supervision. I think that’s not just about health, it is, but it’s about all the other impact that has on their life,” he said.
He also said that if the city closed the largest school district in the country, it might not reopen for the rest of the school year.
“My tremendous fear here is when we shut down, if we shut down, we will not see this school year again. So now we’re saying the kids are going to have these months and then the summer, and then we don’t know when schools come back,” de Blasio said.
“So what are they [students] going to do? They’re going to go out into their neighborhoods, they’re not staying indoors, they’re not staying in isolation, guaranteed. They’re going to go out and create all sorts of new social networks, all sorts of opportunities for spread,” he continued.
If conditions around the outbreak change, the mayor said that all decisions regarding closures are subject to change.
“That doesn’t mean that at some point I might not say, at any point, ‘Now I’ve factored in all the equations and I’ve decided we’ve reached that tipping point,'” he said. “But I’m not there today."
TEACHERS REACT
Multiple teachers told the Advance that, while they understand the mayor’s reasoning to a degree, they don’t believe that keeping schools open is doing any good at this point.
“My initial thought is that he [de Blasio] is not doing anyone any favors. I understand his point of view of not wanting kids to run wild in the streets, but I think that role has to fall more on the parents at this point,” said one elementary school teacher.
“I think that it’s not the right decision,” said a high school teacher, whose class was missing two-thirds of its students on Friday. “I understand why he made the decision, but ultimately, I don’t think it’s the right one at this moment.”
The high school teacher said that students who have continued to attend have been on edge, taking safety precautions, and in some cases, leaving school midday to ensure their safety.
“It’s been a little chaotic. I’ve seen a lot of students wearing masks. I noticed a lot of people leaving school early. There’s just a lot of uneasiness among the students,” the teacher said.
Meanwhile, at the elementary school level, many students don’t have a firm grasp on exactly what’s happening, but understand the cause for concern based on the reactions of their families.
“A lot of our kids don’t know what the virus is called. They don’t know what it is still. But they do know that their parents are concerned and that something is going to change soon,” the second grade teacher said.
To voice their collective frustration, the high school teacher said that many staff members at their school have been calling 311 to express their belief that closures are needed.
“When I called 311 yesterday to put in a complaint and say the school should be closed, the woman who was handling the call told me that many teachers have been calling throughout the day,” the teacher said.
One point of contention, specifically for teachers working outside of their home borough, is the need to commute to work in large crowds despite advisories from top elected officials to avoid crowded mass transit.
“A lot of us are obviously commuting back and forth to school. We’re in a state of emergency when we’re being told to stay put and stay safe and not put yourself in these crowds. But the DOE and the mayor are essentially telling us to go to school and take the subway, take the ferry, take the buses with all these other people and then go teach all of these kids within a confined classroom. It’s contradictory so people are getting very angry,” said the elementary school teacher, who commutes via bus, ferry and subway on a daily basis.
Teachers have also grown frustrated with the mayor’s continued insistence that schools need to remain open simply to provide food and supervision to the students.
“It’s frustrating and I think the general consensus among teachers is we’re being asked to encompass a role that we definitely didn’t sign up for,” the high school teacher said. “It all goes back to the job description. We’re there to educate and that’s the one thing that de Blasio is pushing, classroom instruction. But if the attendance rate continues to trend the way it is, it’s counter-intuitive to have face-to-face classroom instruction.”
“I understand what they’re saying regarding that the kids need food and there needs to be someone to watch them, but as an educator, my job is to teach your child, not to make sure they are fed, although I often do that too if the students don’t have food," the elementary school teacher said. “I’m also not a babysitter. That’s what it turns into when half your class or half the staff is absent. It turns into a babysitting job. Kids are coming to school to watch a movie or play games because there is no way to provide academic learning when so many people are absent.”
CONFIRMED CASES IN S.I. PUBLIC SCHOOLS
On Friday, New Dorp High School closed its campus after a student in the Hungerford School Program, which operates out of the building, tested positive for the disease.
The mayor said the school would likely reopen on Monday after being cleaned, but noted that would be determined after the school is cleaned and an evaluation done over the weekend.
On Saturday it was announced that a student at Prall Intermediate School (I.S. 27) tested positive.
The Department of Education sent a letter to parents at the school confirming that “a member of the I.S. 27 community has a positive test result for COVID-19.”
“We are handling this situation with the utmost seriousness. At this time, it is important to listen to facts and not respond to fear,” the letter, which was shared with the Advance/SILive.com, states.
According to the letter, the school will be cleaned and disinfected over the weekend.
“We anticipate that we will have school open on Monday, March 16, pending confirmation from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene,” the letter continued.
DOE PREPARING FOR OFF-SITE SCHOOLWORK
Despite the mayor remaining committed to keeping the city’s public schools open amid the growing spread of the illness, the DOE is preparing additional educational resources for students in the event of school closures or students are forced to remain home due to illness or quarantine.
Citing concerns about student and staff safety and the need for preparation, the DOE has developed grade-level-specific instructional resources in English for students ranging from Pre-K to 12th grade. The supplementary learning resources are now available on the DOE website.
“The health and safety of our students and staff comes first, and it is our responsibility to be prepared for everything and for learning to continue. We have developed grade-level instructional resources for grades Pre-K through 12 so that our students can engage in educational material in the event that they need to be home from school," said DOE spokeswoman Danielle Filson.
Due to the inconsistent availability of access to internet-enabled devices among the city’s student population, the work will not be graded, but rather used to prevent the loss of learning during a potential closure, according to the DOE.
‘NON-ESSENTIAL’ SCHOOL ACTIVITIES CANCELLED
The city has also announced that all non-essential, non-instructional school activities will be cancelled or moved online, if possible.
“There are non-essential, non-instructional activities that we will alter. They’ll either be moved online, if they can be, or they will be cancelled, it depends on each activity,” de Blasio said Thursday.
“That includes PSAL activities, games and practices, assemblies, parent-teacher conferences, PTA meetings and school plays and recitals,” the mayor continued.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS CLOSED
On Thursday, the Archdiocese of New York Superintendent of Catholic Schools Michael J. Deegan announced that Catholic elementary schools across the city will be closed next week from Monday, March 16, to Friday, March 20, with the possibility of a lengthier closure, according to a notice posted on the Archdiocese’s school website.
After being informed by expert health officials and the Health and Safety Task Force of the Office of the Superintendent of Schools, the decision was made out of an abundance of caution, according to the notice.
“The health and safety of our students, staff and families is of the utmost importance,” said the notice.
In addition, various Catholic high schools have announced they will be shifting to virtual learning beginning Monday.
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