New York small business owners and working parents are bewildered by the city’s plan for hybrid learning and fear the need for parents to manage remote learning will have a detrimental effect on productivity.
A recent survey by close to 300 small businesses by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce found that business owners were mainly concerned about the effects remote learning would have on their employees, as many of these employees rely on school as their primary source of childcare.
“It’s a huge concern, I can tell you that much,” said Randy Peers, president of the Brooklyn Chamber. “The majority wanted schools to re-open.”
This month the city announced they will begin the 2020 school year by allowing parents and their children to opt into either total remote learning or a Department of Education hybrid model that involves children attending school via distanced in-person sessions staggered five times over two weeks and remote learning on the other days.
For working parents, the notion of needing to watch their children engage with the hybrid model is daunting. The experience of the spring left a sour impression in some as they recall struggles their children had with Zoom classrooms and a lack of structure.
“Being able to watch over our daughter who is 10 and having done remote learning was really difficult,” said Claudia Opel, an architect at TPG Architecture. “It’s been gut wrenching for me to watch her be bored and lose interest in learning and not have the time to spend on playing with her or help her learn and explore new ideas.”
Parents who opted for strictly remote learning said they were provided a laptop and content by the city but not much else other than the feeling of having to figure out much of it on their own.
The lack of direction or guidance from city leaders like Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza has left some working parents adrift.
“I live in a one-bedroom apartment and I’m supposed to set it up like a school?” said Rabbi Ezra Weinberg, a single parent of two children, ages nine and three. “I can’t quite imagine how this will work.”
The city and state’s reluctance to open up schools for the sake of business owners and working parents is formed out of concerns that large groups of school-age children can serve as spreaders for the coronavirus, putting teachers and principals especially at risk for transmission.
Parents and business owners were quick to point out that New York continues to have some of the lowest numbers of positive coronavirus cases in the nation. On Thursday Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the 13th straight day with an infection rate below 1% and that Covid-19 hospitalizations were the lowest number since March 18.
“I think most parents, despite some concern, really want to see their kids back in school in whatever scale they can get them back. That’s what I’ve heard from my employees,” said Robert Schwartz, owner of Eneslow Shoes and Orthotics. “There’s a feeling of complete overkill and we’re down at this very low rate.”
Schwartz believes fear is the main factor in the reluctance of government officials to open up schools to more in-person learning.
On Friday, Gov. Cuomo admitted he is not sure if he would send his children to New York City public schools for in-person learning.
“We continue to use this abundance of caution and fear is the really the biggest driver,” Schwartz said.
Opel emphasized that the mayor and governor need to understand that when it comes to schooling, one size does not fit all and there must be an opportunity for schools to make their own plans and for schools to understand the needs of their kids.
“What’s important is to get some sense of normalcy back for the children, especially the younger ones,” she said.
Working parents and employers said that outdoor spaces, lunchrooms, and gymnasiums should all be utilized in a way to promote in-person learning while maintaining social distancing. Outdoor education was another suggestion until the seasons change along with the use of alternative learning spaces once the weather becomes colder to allow for less pressure in densely packed classrooms.
Some small business owners cautioned city leaders on the threat of locking down the economy or shutting down schools again in the event of a moderate outbreak or rise in cases.
“It will have a detrimental effect on quality education of children, family relations, labor productivity and small business in ways people don’t think about,” said Timothy King, managing partner at SVN CPEX Real Estate in Brooklyn. “The unintended consequences of what’s happening is epic and won’t be able to be seen for some time.”
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August 24, 2020 at 06:00PM
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Working parents bemoan Department of Education plan to restrict in-person learning - Crain's New York Business
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