Days before the city was to reopen classrooms for in-person learning, the mayor changed course, implementing a phased-in plan instead.
The announcement came before already-frustrated parents, principals, teachers and students could be notified.
“I think it is absolutely astonishing. The lack of leadership is beyond unbelievable,” said Public School Parent and PTA President Lytheia Smith. “When you put the health of the students and the teachers first this wouldn’t have happened.”
Lytheia was a guest on “One New York” Friday morning.
Under the new plan, students will return to school on a rolling basis over a period of 10 days. But until Thursday, students and teachers thought they were all reporting back to the classroom on Monday.
"It's at this point abusive because we are implementing trauma on these parents and on these kids and then we're saying they're resilient. What does that mean? Stop putting the trauma,” said City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
Many are challenging whether the city will get things right regardless of the delay.
“I don’t have a lot of faith in things getting fixed in the next few days because we’ve been at this for weeks,” said Fifth Grade Teacher Carmela Moretti of P.S. 234 in Astoria on “Mornings On 1.”
The city's Independent Budget Office said the Department of Education will need 11,900 teachers to run the blended learning program. The Mayor has said that only 4,500 additional teachers are needed, while the teachers union says the city needs 10,000.
And while most are challenging whether the city can actually pull off blended learning, the cost of the program is a whole other piece of the puzzle.
The city council's Education Chair Mark Treyger requested a report from the IBO in July. It found additional costs could increase to $32 million per week across multiple city agencies.
Most of the new expenses are needed to implement the safety guidelines from the CDC and state Education Department. The estimate offers a first look at the financial toll it will take to reopen schools.
