(The author of this guest post wishes to remain anonymous.) Caveat – my vantage point is primary school; I have a kindergartner and a third grader and I believe that the principal and teachers at my daughters’ school are genuinely and in good faith trying their best to make this school year as positive an… Continue reading NYC Mom Asserts, “Remote Learning? It. Does. Not. Work!”
Even though they had six months to plan for re-opening New York City’s schools, Mayor Bill De Blasio and Chancellor Richard Carranza still insisted on doing everything at the last minute. Schools were supposed to begin remote learning for all on Wednesday, September 16, and blended/hybrid for those who chose it on Monday, September 21. … Continue reading Straight From the Trenches: Parents Report What Really Happened During NYC’s First Days Of School
Last May, I reported on how the Department of Education lost dozens of Gifted & Talented tests — and waited almost four months to inform families (after weeks of telling them the tests weren’t lost, the parents must have done something wrong!). Retests were offered to those affected along with students new to New York… Continue reading Lost Scores, Retests & The Current State of Gifted & Talented Programs in NYC Schools
Fearing a teachers’ strike, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio pushed back public schools’ starting date from September 10 to September 16 for all remote learning, and September 21 for the hybrid model. Since Hizzoner closed public school buildings on Monday, March 16, communication and information have been in painfully short supply. Families have… Continue reading Parents’ Top 5 Concerns About NYC Schools 2020
Mayor Bill De Blasio officially shut down New York City public schools as of Monday, March 16, 2020. Since then, he and School Chancellor Richard Carranza have had over five months to plan for how to reopen them in September. In July, they announced that families would have a choice: They could opt to continue… Continue reading The (Last Minute) Plans of Mice and Men… and NYC Schools
(This is a guest post by Rebecca O’Neill, executive director of the Robertson Center at Success Academy. She previously served as Vice President of Communications at Teach For American and Vice President of Pro-Social Initiatives at CIVIC. She completed her graduate work at Columbia University’s Institute for Research in African American studies, where she focused… Continue reading What We Can Learn From Educators in the Pandemic: Remote Teaching and Learning Guides
As of Monday, August 24, clicking on the link: https://www.schools.nyc.gov/calendar produces the message: No items were found. That’s certainly reassuring. Nonetheless, the majority of stakeholders, from Mayor Bill De Blasio to School Chancellor Richard Carranza to UFT President Michael Mulgrew to, oh, yeah, parents and students (remember them?) are operating on the assumption that the… Continue reading De Blasio & Carranza: Open (Schools), Says Me
(This is a guest post by Joseph S. Lento, a licensed Teacher of Orchestral Music and School District Administration. In 2014, President Obama named him a National Teacher of Arts and Humanities. Joseph also has commendations from Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. In 1999, he was named NYC Public Schools Bronx County… Continue reading The Challenges of in Person Learning During the COVID -19 Pandemic
New York City parents have lots of questions about schools in September 2020: Remote Or Hybrid Instruction? Who Will Teach My Children? If We Leave Now, Will Our Children Be Allowed To Return To Their Public Schools Later? Not to mention: Whatever happened with those lost G&T Scores? But, because this is New York City,… Continue reading Getting Into NYC Kindergarten 2021: COVID-19 Edition
On Wednesday, August 26, education activists and organizations around the country are staging a national day of action, demanding that every student have access to broadband internet. Back in March, more than 50 million schoolchildren were forced to learn from home. At least 15 million of them (nearly a third) were unable to log on… Continue reading Demand #InternetForAll for 15 Million Students Who Are #LoggedOut
