New York City has a major problem – they have a terrible budget shortfall because of COVID-19: a combination of both massive expenditures and massive loss of income due to the pandemic.
So, it’s not surprising that the mayor and city council are making big cuts to the budget. What’s also not surprising is that the seemingly deep cuts to the NYPD are big on the “seem” but not as big on the “deep.”
The opposite is true for NYC schools — actual deep cuts. While cuts to already underfunded public schools are never good, in this case the cuts are even worse since the city is planning to re-open schools in a hybrid manner that would increase school expenses and put students and staff at risk.
Which brings me to this plea for action from my older daughter:
I'm a social worker in NYC public schools. I have worked the past four years in an elementary school in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Black and Brown children whose families cannot afford to do home schooling or go to private school largely attend NYC public schools.
I am on a reopening committee for my school, and we are being told we may have to go back inside schools in September, for staff full time, but will not be provided any PPE by the Department of Education or DOE funding for any other harm reduction methods. This is not surprising given that our city council and Mayor De Blasio voted to cut a huge amount of the DOE budget. This means our staffing is also decreased.
As you can imagine, and for those of you who have already been at work in person during this pandemic, it is very scary to think about being with groups of children inside these old and poorly ventilated buildings without proper protections. Especially considering it will near impossible to ensure all children and young people are properly social distancing, masking up, and washing hands throughout the day. And when we know elders and/or folks who are immunocompromised or have underlying conditions are raising many of our students.
However, we also know that huge numbers of our students' caregivers are essential workers and need childcare-- thus the large percentage of families surveyed who said they would tentatively want to send their kids back to school in September.
There is now research from The New York Times and many other news outlet documenting public health research and innovative ways schools across the world are successfully reopening schools safely by hosting classes outside -- in schoolyards, in parks, and in stadiums or sports arenas:
Schools Beat Earlier Plagues with Outdoor Classes: We Should Too
How Safe Are Outdoor Gatherings?
Students with special needs demonstrated longer attention spans and fewer disruptive behaviors while participating in outdoor learning activities
Calls grow louder to use NYC streets for outdoor learning this school year
In NYC, we could even use the mayor’s Open Streets program to have streets shut down expressly for the purpose of holding classes in open air tents funded by the city, while the weather holds through much of the fall.
There is historic precedent for this method, long before we had the technology and equipment available in 2020.
It is imperative to public health and the safety of Black and Brown communities that we find a safer solution for families, students and staff than the ones currently on the table.
Please take some action! Here are several options of things you can do that might help pressure the NYC government to do the right thing:
First, the easiest thing: sign this petition!
https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/outdoor-schooling-now-nyc-must-provide-outdoor-space-for-schools-to-safely-reopen to help us amplify the call to NYC officials to only open schools if we can do so safely outside this Fall.
If you’re a New Yorker, you can also contact your elected officials and demand they consider a safer solution for public schools in the fall:
Here is a link for a pre-written email and phone script but make sure to create a unique subject line for your email!
bit.ly/Letter2Officials
More links and phone numbers for relevant officials:
Call & Write Gov. Cuomo:
Message Cuomo
518-747-8390 / 212-257-6405
Call & Write Mayor de Blasio:
Message DeBlasio
311 / 212-NEW-YORK
Call & Write Sen. Gillibrand:
Contact Sen Kirsten Gillibrand
202-224-4451 / 518-431-0120
Call & Write Sen. Schumer:
Contact Sen Chuck Schumer
202-224-6542 / 518-431-4070
Separate Note: I wrote this diary for my NYC based daughters (both live in Brooklyn) in the smug knowledge that our own jurisdiction, Montgomery County Maryland, had chosen to close schools. Then our so-called moderate republican governor did this:
I’m up on twitter spreading this info as far as possible. Add Maryland to the places that need help from everyone!