New York City (AFP) – New York City is set to reopen its schools for the start of the September school year, with a maximum of three classroom days per week for students, with the rest of the education being conducted online, its school said on Wednesday. Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The decision of the mayor of the American economic capital remains to be validated by the governor of the State of New York, Andrew Cuomo.
The latter said on Wednesday that he would not take a decision on the reopening of schools until the beginning of August, after the 700 school districts of this state of 20 million people had submitted detailed plans to reopen their establishments, and taking into account the evolution of the pandemic, which continues to progress in the United States.
New York City, at the epicenter of the epidemic in March-April, had closed its 1,800 schools on March 16, not to reopen them until the end of the 2019-20 school year, forcing 1, 1 million pupils to follow a distance education.
The pandemic has since receded dramatically, but it is spreading in many US states, threatening to resume in New York like a boomerang.
According to the plan presented by the mayor, from September, the students will be divided into groups of a size smaller than that of a normal class, to be able to maintain a sufficient distance between them given the risk of the spread of the coronavirus.
They will be required to wear a mask, as will teachers and all school staff. The city will provide masks for those who do not have them.
According to the standard formula, two groups will alternate in the buildings and each will generally spend two days a week at school, with a third day alternating.
“We know that we cannot maintain social distancing and have 100% of our students in our schools five days a week,” said New York Department of Education official Richard Carranza. “It’s just geographically and physically impossible.”
Families will also be able to choose to have their children attend classes only remotely, said Bill de Blasio. “They have every right to it and we’ll be ready” for that, he said.
The announcement comes amid pressure from Republican President Donald Trump to reopen schools, which Governor Cuomo, a Democrat, has sharply criticized.
