A promise by Mayor de Blasio: schools will get what they need to reopen safely.

"Whatever our educators need, whatever the staff needs, whatever our kids need, we're going to make sure it's there,” he said.

What You Need To Know

  • Mayor de Blasio says a new hotline will help principals get supplies like hand sanitizer and masks for the new school year

  • But many principals are calling for the start of in-person schooling to be delayed, saying they're short on staff and supplies

  • And some families are voting with their feet: another 41,000 students opted in to remote learning in just the last week

  • Mayor de Blasio promises schools will get what they need to re-open safely. But some students are voting with their feet and choosing remote learning

But some students are voting with their feet — in the last week, the number of students committing to all-remote learning has grown by more than 41,000. That brings the online-only tally to more than 304,000 students, or 30 percent of the system's students, up from 25 percent as of last week.

It's a figure that could keep growing, as more parents complete a city survey. In addition, those who choose a mix of in-classroom and remote learning can switch to all-remote at any time. 

"A lot of folks didn’t respond to that survey so I would assume that there are more students that are going to be opting for remote than initially are indicated,” said Mark Cannizzaro, president of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, the union representing principals.

The uptick in virtual learners comes as the mayor faces growing pressure to delay the start of the school year from principals, who say they don't have the time to plan, or supplies they need, to safely open doors on September 10. The mayor says a new hotline will help.

"The hotline will be up and running this week, so that principals can call if there's anything they need. If they need additional PPEs for their educators, if they need additional cleaning supplies, it will be immediately delivered,” de Blasio said.

But principals say they also need enough staff to teach students in class and remotely. Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza acknowledged some remote students may be assigned teachers from other schools.

"Our goal has always been that students that are remote learning will have teachers from their school or a teacher from their school. There'll be some continuity. Obviously, that is our goal, but that's not a guarantee, because it's going to depend on how many teachers at that school are in remote mode,” Carranza said.

The chancellor says staffing questions are being hashed out with labor unions. 

The mayor, meanwhile, likened the start of the school year to a march to war.

"Some of this will be determined in the actual doing of it, like so much of the rest of life. We are in a full-blown crisis. This is, as I say, this is a wartime situation. Not everything will be perfect, but our job is to do the best we can for our kids and our families. And I have a lot of faith in our educators. They know a lot about how to be resourceful and creative,” de Blasio said.