In 2019, Brooklyn’s District 15 unscreened all of their middle schools, meaning incoming 6th graders couldn’t be assessed for admission via grades, test scores, portfolios or interviews. All schools now had to accept students exclusively by lottery. Yes, even the arts schools. Before any classes selected via this method had graduated, before any classes selected… Continue reading NYC Middle School Admissions 2022: Changes… and Hypocrisy
My daughter came home from her first day back to New York City public school on Monday, January 3, 2022 and announced, “There are so many teachers and kids out it’s like after The Snap.” Not exactly. While Thanos, of Marvel movie fame, snapped his fingers and made half the residents of the universe disappear,… Continue reading Back To School NYC: What Really Happened the First Week
When New York City shut down due to the Covid pandemic in March of 2020, my middle child was a sophomore in high school. We were informed that Spring parent-teacher conferences would be held over Zoom. I was excited by the idea. At that point, I’d spent close to a decade of my life attending… Continue reading Are Remote Parent-Teacher Conferences Here To Stay?
November 2, 2021 was Election Day in New York City. Schools were closed, as many of them were being used as polling places. (However, many a parent did wonder why they weren’t allowed into their child’s school building due to Covid restrictions – but unvaccinated strangers were.) However, instead of the traditional day off, students… Continue reading NYC Parents Speak Up About Remote Learning on Election Day – And On All Future Snow Days
New York City’s vaccine mandate, which required anyone who works in a public school or a community-based center contracted by the Department of Education (DOE) to have gotten at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine in order to continue working, finally went into effect on Monday, October 4, 2021. Although Mayor Bill de Blasio… Continue reading NYC Vaccine Mandate Doesn’t Stop Teachers Protesting Or Parents Debating
New York City public schools reopened on Monday, September 13. Despite the demands of some parents for a remote option – and a threat to keep their children home in protest – those who lobbied for in-person only carried the day. Immediately, I heard from families: SS: DOE’s Health screening app that parents must submit… Continue reading Vaccine Mandates, New Quarantine & COVID Testing Rules: NYC Parents React
I am exhausted. Stressed. Frustrated. Sad. The “back and forth” with the vaccine mandate for educational staff is just ridiculous. Three days before the “official“ start of school, the mayor proclaimed that CBO Pre-K teachers and staff who were contracted with the DOE would have NO testing option. We would be forced to get the… Continue reading NYC Educator Says, “Enough! Who Will Teach Our Neediest Children?”
Earlier this week, we printed a post from New York City public school parents willing to go on strike to demand a remote learning options for their children, and from those who insisted it wasn’t necessary and would only make the upcoming year worse. One incensed parent wrote me: TM: Parents are afraid of unvaccinated… Continue reading Parents Stand Up For Teachers In Possible NYC School Covid Strike
Yesterday, we wrote about parents threatening to strike on the first day of New York City public school — and beyond — because they don’t trust the Department of Education to protect their children’s health. They demand a remote schooling option until Covid, including the Delta variant, is no longer a threat. We heard from… Continue reading NYC Parents Against Any Remote Schooling Option
Despite last week’s City Council hearing on the September 13, 2021 return to school plans, where Education Committee Chair Mark Treyger and a cohort of parents advocated for a remote education option, Mayor Bill de Blasio and School Chancellor Meisha Porter insisted that, save for listed medical exceptions*, all students, vaccinated or not, would be… Continue reading Will NYC Parents Strike On the First Day Of School – And Beyond?
