Bobson Wong, HS teacher, on why before reopening schools, NYC needs time and resources to get it right.

Bobson Wong is a math teacher at a NYC public high school and author of "The Math Teacher's Toolbox."   Here is what he wrote after I asked him how he would design a school reopening plan for NYC.  If others would like to offer their school reopening ideas to this blog, please send them to info@classsizematters.org. - LH

"I would focus on improving remote learning for everyone. School buildings should be thought of as places where students can come to do their work if they're unable or unwilling to work from home. They'd receive a place to work, technology and Internet access if necessary, and help in using it. If necessary, they could receive in-person help with content from teachers (think of it as tutoring). 

Teachers could rotate providing support. Most students and staff could then stay home, where we could focus on improving the remote learning experience for everyone. Thinking of school buildings as support centers would also enable schools to occasionally bring small groups of students into the building for specific reasons (e.g. invite seniors in so guidance counselors could help them with college applications, or inviting students in crisis to receive emotional support). 

Thinking of school buildings as support centers is also compatible with other ideas, such as organizing outdoor learning experiences. They are not mutually exclusive. Focusing on providing support for remote learning is the simplest plan right now, given the limited resources that schools have available. Most of the hybrid schedules I've seen have left everyone - students, parents, and school staff - confused and exhausted. 

Some people argue that children, especially younger ones, don't transmit the virus and can return to schools safely. That may be true. We could have spent the last six months coming up with a workable plan in which younger students could have been invited back to school buildings. 

We could have pressured legislators to increase resources to schools so that we could provide adequate academic and social-emotional and support for everyone. Unfortunately, we've squandered the last six months doing nothing. 

The city has mismanaged the reopening of school buildings. Every teacher I know, myself included, quickly recognized the many gaps and flaws in the city's plans. We know how to organize complicated tasks, but to my knowledge K-12 educators were not part of the planning process, so our expertise has been wasted. 

Instead, as is often the case, teachers are left filling in the gaps. In this environment, pushing to reopen school buildings right now is simply irresponsible. The city needs time and resources to get it right. Until then, we should focus on improving remote learning, not on tweaking a flawed plan."

Parent and educator concerns on the reopening of schools from our online survey and conference

Below is a letter we sent last week from Class Size Matters and NYC Kids PAC to Chancellor Rosa, the Board of Regents and the NY State Education Commissioner, with copies to Chancellor Carranza and other education decision makers, highlighting some of the most important concerns and ideas offered by parents, teachers and others who contributed to our online survey and our June 20 conference on the reopening of schools.  Below that is a more detailed summary of the views expressed in the form of a power point.  

The online survey garnered the detailed thoughts of nearly 400 parents and educators, CBO reps and concerned New Yorkers, while the conference featured ten break out groups with nearly one hundred participants.  What was clear from those who responded was that while most parents want to send their kids to school in the fall, given the highly deficient nature of remote learning, there is a strong minority who would prefer to keep them at home until there is a reliable vaccine.  This is both because some family have pre-existing conditions that make them more vulnerable to Covid, and because some kids do better with online learning than others.  We recommended to the Regents that families and teachers should have that choice.

A top concern of most everyone was whether the schools will have the funding to provide the health and safety protections, teachers and space necessary for social distancing and smaller classes.  These concerns are further reinforced by the severe budget cuts  and staffing freeze that will be imposed on  NYC schools next year, and the egregious lack of funding by the federal government and the state to deal with the COVID crisis.

This was made worse by the fact that Governor Cuomo hijacked the federal funds that were supposed to go to schools to deal with the pandemic to fill holes in the state budget, as pointed out in the letter below.  Contrast that with  millions in federal and state funds provided to districts in Massachusetts for this purpose.

Another prominent finding from our survey is there is very little confidence, either by parents or teachers, that the Mayor or DOE officials are listening to their concerns in planning for the reopening of schools.  See slides 3 and 4 of the power point below.  This lack of trust results from the lack of consultation and communication that the DOE has engaged in, from the beginning of the COVID crisis to this day.

This is especially unfortunate, as the administration should be reaching out as broadly as possible to get help from volunteers, community groups, businesses and others to provide the in-person tutoring and support necessary to help support kids' learning, social development and health next fall, given the limited space and staffing that schools will be able to provide on staggered schedules.

Finding an adequate solution is made even more difficult by the chronically overcrowded conditions of NYC schools and classrooms, with more than half a million students attending over-utilized schools according to DOE's own data, and at least 275,000 students in classes of 30 students or more last fall.

As I wrote below, "If there was ever a time for creative thinking and broad outreach to the larger community by NYC and other districts, this is the time." Instead, DOE continues in its usual insular manner, making decisions based on non-transparent data with little public input.

Please check out the letter and power point summary below, and let us know what you think in the comment section.  Thanks!

Please join us Saturday, June 20 for a conference: Sharing Ideas & Solutions for Reopening Schools: The Path Forward

Class Size Matters and NYC Kids PAC will be holding a conference via Zoom called Sharing Ideas and Solutions for Reopening Schools: The Path Forward on Saturday, June 20 from 11 AM to 1 PM.  A flyer you can download is here.

During this conference, we will collect ideas from parents, guardians, teachers, students and concerned New Yorkers about what precautions and programs should be in place next year, if and when schools reopen.

If schools are to reopen in the fall, it should be done the right way to ensure health and safety of students and staff and to maximize academic and emotional support. Though the Mayor and the Governor have their own advisory panels, few parents or educators have been appointed to these panels.

At the end of the conference, we will summarize the ideas of participants and present them to city and state decision-makers.

Please register here if you’d like to attend this conference, and we will send you the Zoom link beforehand. Space is limited so please do it now. 

On the registration page, we are also asking you to select your first, second, and third choices of break-out groups, so we can assign you to the appropriate one. These groups' discussions will form the major portion of the conference. If you do not have a preference, you can leave that part of the registration blank.

Co-sponsored by CEC 4, CEC 8, CEC 14, CEC 17, and CEC 32.

thanks so much, Leonie 

PS Also if you haven't already, please fill out the survey here, to help us structure our discussions in advance.

Save the date! and please respond to our survey on Reopening Schools

 

Class Size Matters and NYC Kids PAC are holding a conference on Saturday, June 20 from 11 AM to 1 PM called Sharing Ideas & Solutions for Reopening Schools: The Path Forward.

During this conference, we will seek ideas from parents, guardians, teachers and concerned New Yorkers about school reopening. If schools reopen this fall, it must be done the right way to ensure health and safety of students and staff and to maximize academic and emotional support. We will present our proposals at the end of the conference to city and state decision-makers.

The Governor and the Mayor have appointed advisory boards on reopening schools, but with few parents or NYC educators.

We want to gather ideas from you before the conference, to collect questions, concerns, and suggestions to help frame our discussions at the conference. To do so, please fill out our brief survey no later than Monday, June 15 at 5 PM.

Thanks!