What you should know
- New York City public schools are exploring adding virtual instruction for students isolated due to a positive COVID-19 test, but the mayor insisted any remote option will not expand beyond that.
- Eric Adams has faced increasing pressure on safety protocol and below average attendance levels. As of Friday, district-wide attendance was around 75%, meaning approximately 235,000 students were out of school.
- The Democrat insists that improved school policies around testing, both at school and at home, protect students and minimize disruption, especially as Omicron’s grip appears to be loosening.
—
New York City public schools are exploring adding virtual instruction for students isolated due to positive COVID-19 tests, but the mayor insisted Tuesday that any remote options for the nation’s largest system will not be expanded further. beyond that.
Mayor Eric Adams tried to leave no room for misunderstanding when he said, “I don’t want anyone mixed up in this. Our schools will stay open. We won’t do anything to keep our kids from going to school.”
“My administration determined from day one that we would not close our schools,” the Democrat added, vowing to continue to deliver on his promise that parents would not deal with the uncertainty seen in other large school districts, like Chicago.
There had been much speculation about a more comprehensive virtual learning option after a series of student walkouts, protests from Department of Education staff and demands from teachers’ unions to add one, citing ongoing concerns about whether the protocols intensified amid Omicron’s unprecedented surge were being properly and effectively implemented throughout the city’s public school system.
There has also been concern about below-average attendance numbers. Adams had said Thursday that he still believes the safest place for children to be is at school, “but we have to be honest that there are a considerable number of children, for whatever reason, parents don’t bring them.” to school”.
Attendance levels since students returned from winter break have been lower than usual, with between a quarter and a third of students not showing up for class most days. As of Friday, district-wide attendance was around 75%.
Total attendance would be about 938,000 students, according to the Department for Education, so that 75% rate means about 235,000 children are sick or missing school for other reasons. That does not necessarily mean that the same children are always outside.
Michael Mulgrew, union boss United Federation of Teachers representing the city’s public school teachers, was one of the union leaders who pressured Adams to postpone in-person learning altogether as Omicron rampaged through the city over the holidays, generating record case totals and surging hospitalizations.
Adams had at least two meetings last week with Mulgrew, fueling rumors that the new mayor would bow to the mounting pressure. The Democrat shut that down.
“There is no remote option that is ready to be announced at this time,” he said.
According to Adams, any conversations about remote learning he had with Mulgrew and others only involved students affected by positive COVID-19 tests who may have to miss a week or more of class and thus could fall behind, as countless others did. thousands when city schools went fully remote early in the pandemic.
The mayor insisted once again Tuesday that the city’s COVID plan for schools is stronger than ever, citing two major changes around testing that were implemented under his tenure, but at least one of which was introduced. by his predecessor, Bill de Blasio, in his decline. days in office last month. The biggest change has been the latter.
The city’s stay policy, which went into effect Monday as students returned to classes after winter break, has mitigated prolonged and disruptive closures of classrooms and school buildings by allowing children to remain in class in person if test negative with a city-provided test even if there has been a known exposure in class.
Adams said Tuesday that the city has distributed 4.5 million quick home kits so far. Those kits have identified 25,000 positives that the city has been able to isolate before infections run rampant in classrooms and schools, he added.
The Department of Education also doubled PCR testing, from the CDC-recommended and state-required threshold of 10% to 20%, which Adams said adds another critical layer of protection.
Vaccinated students and staff are now also included in the weekly random testing pools, given the apparent increased risk of breakthrough infections associated with Omicron compared to previous strains of COVID-19.
That the tide of Omicron appears to be receding in New York City and elsewhere in the state bolsters Adams’ confidence when it comes to schools as well.
After an explosive rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations during the first week of January, the average number of new cases in New York City has dropped sharply in recent days, fueling hopes that the peak of Omicron has passed.
“We are wining. We are wining. And we are going to win,” Adams said, vowing to continue to closely monitor COVID rates to ensure trends continue.
According to Dr. Dave Chokshi, New York City Health Commissioner, new daily cases are now below 20,000, which is less than half of the daily totals the city was experiencing at the peak of the spike. Omicron in early January. He said the city is also starting to see a decline in hospitalizations, though the overall numbers remain high.
“We are on the downslope of the Omicron summit, but we still have more work to do,” Chokshi said. “These numbers are still very high, which means that community transmission is still widespread and we will need to monitor these trends closely.”
Statewide, core COVID-19 rates continue to fall with New York City now having the second-lowest seven-day rolling positivity average (14.28%) behind only the Southern Tier, which conducts nearly 30 times fewer tests. of COVID daily.
Deaths, the latest lagging indicator, remain high, with another 152 reported by the state on Monday. Eighty of them were in New York City.
Adams, a Democrat who took office on Jan. 1, has taken an upbeat stance on the pandemic, urging New Yorkers to take precautions and get vaccinated and braced, but not let COVID-19 control their lives. He also repeatedly said the city cannot afford any more business or school closures.
The city’s school system was one of the first to return to in-person instruction after the pandemic hit in 2020 and schools closed in March for the rest of the year. A hybrid plan began in the fall of 2020, with most students in-school a few days a week and at home learning online the rest of the time.
New York City students returned to full-time, in-person instruction last fall.
As of Monday, there were 659 COVID cases currently reported in New York City schools, more than a third of them among students. No school or classroom orders mandated by the Department of Health are in effect at this time, says the DOE website.
– .
