(Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)
March 24, 2021 By Allie Griffin
Public school parents have another opportunity to send their kids back to in-person classes for the remainder of the school year, starting today.
The city has opened a second opt-in period to students who enrolled in full remote learning to switch to the hybrid learning model in which students go to school buildings to learn in person for at least part of the week.
The opt-in period will run through April 7, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday. Parents who wish to switch their children to the blended learning can do so by clicking here.
“I’ve heard from so many parents who want the opportunity to send their kids back,” de Blasio said during a press briefing Monday. “That opportunity has now arrived.”
Students in 3-K through grade 5, including District 75 students, who decide to switch to blending learning will return to school buildings next month.
Students in grades 6 through 12 will return to buildings at a later date — still to be determined by the education department.
Students enrolled in the blended model program attend class in-person on some days of the week and stay home for remote learning on other days of the week. The number of in-person days varies school by school — with some offering all or a majority of students five days a week of in-person instruction.
Parents must fill out and submit a consent form allowing their child to be randomly tested for COVID-19 before the first day that their child returns to the school building.
The city decided to offer a second opt-in period after the Center for Disease Control (CDC) updated school guidelines to allow more students in a classroom. The CDC determined that desks can be safely placed three feet apart instead of the prior six feet.
“Our goal as always is to have as many kids in school as we can do appropriately, safely, smartly, and as many kids in five-day-a-week instruction as possible,” de Blasio said.
The mayor also announced today that the city will expand its free 3-K program for three-year-olds into all school districts by next school year. The program will expand to five of the six Queens districts — districts 24, 25, 26, 28, 29 and 30.
District 27, which covers Southeast Queens and the Rockaway Peninsula already offers 3-K.
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What DeBlasio didn’t point out is that students who return at this late point will have all new teachers and classmates, since they’re spent the majority of the year remotely. I’m not sure how this makes sense, unless parents/children are just really desperate to be back in the classroom for a few months before summer. It would be really nice if he’d spend his time planning for the fall, to see how all students, teachers and staff can come back safely.