(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
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
Last week, New York City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza boasted how public school teachers have been receiving remote instruction training all summer long, and that his Department of Education has been strategizing to reopen schools safely in September since March. "A huge amount of effort has gone into getting our schools ready months and months… Continue reading Remote Or Hybrid Instruction? Decisions Due This Week: What NYC Parents Are Planning!
As soon as New York City public schools switched to remote learning in March 2020, the narrative was set: All teachers and administrators are heroes now. Any dissent, whether it came from run of the mill parents or a Pulitzer Prize-winning one was labeled: Teacher Bashing. Taking the name-calling in stride (not my first time… Continue reading NYC Parents To Department of Ed: Who Will Teach My Children?
In response to my June 15, 2020 post, Are All Teachers Equally Good? What Parents Can Learn From Watching Their Child’s Remote Instruction, a mom wrote: I’d love a column on what is working with remote learning, meaning specific examples of what teachers are doing that they think is working great, as well as examples… Continue reading NYC Parents & Teachers Reveal What Worked In Remote Learning and What You Should Demand For Your Child
War metaphors have been flying hot and heavy these past few months, as politicians, statesmen, and journalists search for ways to characterize our fight against COVID-19. They leave ordinary people wondering how we can do our part. What’s COVID-19’s version of Rosie the Riveter, air-raid wardens, victory gardens, collecting scrap metal, rolling bandages, or driving… Continue reading Holding Out For a Hero: How You Can Help Heal NYC (School Edition)
