NYC Schools To Reopen In “Blended Learning” Model

CBS New York reports:

New York City students will return to school in the fall with a “blended learning” model, the mayor announced Wednesday. Mayor Bill de Blasio said most students will attend in-person classes two or three days a week, depending on the week.

Families who aren’t comfortable sending their children back to school may continue remote learning. They will have the chance to opt back in on a quarterly basis.

Last week, the mayor said a DOE survey found 75% of families wanted their kids to return. He said face coverings and social distancing will be required, along with hand washing stations and new cleaning protocols.

The New York Times reports:

The mayor’s release of his plan for the system, by far the nation’s largest, capped weeks of intense debate among elected officials, educators and public health experts over how to bring children back safely to 1,800 public schools.

The decision to opt for only a partial reopening, which is most likely the only way to accommodate students in school buildings while maintaining social distancing, may hinder hundreds of thousands of parents from returning to their pre-pandemic work lives, undermining the recovery of the sputtering local economy.

Still, the staggered schedules in New York City schools for September reflect a growing trend among school systems, which are all trying to find ways of balancing the urgent need to bring students back to classrooms and campuses while also reducing density to prevent the spread of the virus.