On Monday morning, nearly 1 million New York City students returned to their classrooms—but on the first day of school, the New York City Department of Education’s health check website collapsed.
The screening on the website requires teachers and students to complete every day before entering the building, and refuse to load or crawl some before the first bell rings. Recovered before 9 in the morning
“The U.S. Department of Energy’s health screening tool is back online. We apologize for the short downtime this morning. If you encounter problems accessing the online tool, please use a paper form or verbally notify school staff,” New York City Public The school tweeted.
Mayor Bill de Blasio solved the problem, telling reporters, “On the first day of school, with a million children, this will overload things.”
At PS 51 in Hell’s Kitchen, when the children lined up to enter, the staff was asking parents to fill out a paper copy of the health check.
For many students, Monday is their first return to the classroom in 18 months since the COVID-19 pandemic closed the country’s largest school system in March 2020.
“We want our children to go back to school, and we need our children to go back to school. This is the bottom line,” the mayor said outside the school.
He added: “We need parents to understand that if you walk into the school building, everything is cleaned, well ventilated, everyone is wearing a mask, and all adults will be vaccinated.” “This is a safe place. ”
The principal of the school, Mesa Porter, admitted that there are still students left at home because their parents are worried about this highly contagious virus, which is making a comeback across the country due to the mutation of Delta.
According to data released by the US Department of Energy on Monday evening, the initial attendance rate on the first day of school is 82.4%, which is higher than last year’s 80.3% when students face-to-face and remotely.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, as of late Monday, about 350 schools had not reported attendance. The final figures are expected to be announced on Tuesday or Wednesday.
The city reported that 33 children tested positive for the coronavirus on Monday, and a total of 80 classrooms were closed. These figures include charter schools.
The official enrollment data for the 2021-22 school year has not yet been collated, and Bai Sihao said it will take a few days to figure it out.
“We understand hesitation and fear. These 18 months have been really tough, but we all agree that the best learning happens when teachers and students are in the classroom together,” she said.
“We have a vaccine. We didn’t have a vaccine a year ago, but we plan to increase testing when necessary.”
De Blasio has been advocating a return to the classroom for months, but the spread of the Delta variant has caused a series of problems before the reopening, including concerns about vaccination, social distancing, and lack of distance learning.
Angie Bastin sent her 12-year-old son to Erasmus School in Brooklyn on Monday. She told the Washington Post that she was concerned about COVID.
“The new crown virus is making a comeback and we don’t know what will happen. I am very worried,” she said.
“I’m nervous because we don’t know what will happen. They are children. They won’t obey all the rules. They have to eat and they can’t speak without a mask. I don’t think they will obey the rules they tell them over and over again. Because they are still children.”
At the same time, Dee Siddons-her daughter is in eighth grade at school-said that although she is also worried about COVID, she is happy that her children are back in the classroom.
“I’m glad they are going back to school. This is better for their social and mental health and their social skills, and I’m not a teacher, so I’m not the best at home, but it’s a bit nerve-wracking,” she said.
“I worry about them taking precautions, but you have to teach your children the best way to take care of themselves, because I can’t take care of other people’s children.”
There is no mandatory requirement for vaccination for students over 12 years of age who are eligible for vaccination. According to the city, about two-thirds of 12 to 17-year-old students have been vaccinated.
But teachers must be vaccinated-they have already received the first dose of vaccine before September 27th.
Facts have proved that the directive is challenging. As of last week, there are still 36,000 Ministry of Education staff (including more than 15,000 teachers) who have not been vaccinated.
Last week, when an arbitrator ruled that the city needed to provide accommodation for DOE staff who had medical conditions or religious beliefs who could not be vaccinated against COVID-19, the United Teachers’ Federation had been fighting against some of the tasks and won the Victory of the city.
UFT President Michael Muglu greeted the teachers at PS 51 in Hell’s Kitchen on Monday. He praised the returning staff for their efforts to help reopen the school system.
Mulgrew said he hopes that last week’s ruling on the fate of unvaccinated teachers will lead to a surge in the number of injections-but he acknowledged that the city may lose thousands of educators.
“This is a real challenge,” Mulgrew said of trying to ease tensions related to vaccines.
Unlike last year, New York City officials said they would not choose full distance learning this school year.
The city kept schools open for most of the previous school year, with some students doing face-to-face learning and distance learning at the same time. Most parents choose full distance learning.
Students who are quarantined or medically exempt due to COVID-related illnesses will be allowed to study remotely. If there are positive cases of COVID in the classroom, those who have been vaccinated and asymptomatic will not need to be isolated.
The mother of four Stephanie Cruz reluctantly waved her children to PS 25 in the Bronx and told the Post that she would rather let them stay at home.
“I’m a little nervous and scared because the pandemic is still happening and my children are going to school,” Cruz said.
“I am worried about my children wearing masks during the day and keeping them safe. I am hesitant to send them away.
“When my children return home safely, I will be ecstatic, and I can’t wait to hear from them on the first day.”
The agreement implemented by the city for the reopening includes mandatory wearing of masks for students and faculty, maintaining a 3-foot social distancing, and upgrading the ventilation system.
The city’s principals’ union-the committee of school supervisors and administrators-has warned that many buildings will lack space to enforce the three-foot rule.
Jamillah Alexander’s daughter attends kindergarten at PS 316 Elijah School in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and she said she is concerned about the content of the new COVID agreement.
“Unless there are two to four cases, they won’t close. It used to be one. It had 6 feet of space, and now it is 3 feet,” she said.
“I told her to always wear a mask. You can socialize, but don’t get too close to anyone,” Cassandria Burrell told her 8-year-old daughter.
Several parents who sent their children to PS 118 in Brooklyn Park Slopes were frustrated that the school required students to bring their own supplies, including disinfectant wipes and even printing paper.
“I think we are supplementing the budget. They lost a lot of students last year, so they are financially hurt, and the standards for these parents are very high.”
When Whitney Radia sent her 9-year-old daughter to school, she also noticed the high cost of providing school supplies.
“At least $100 per child, honestly more. Common things such as notebooks, folders and pens, as well as baby wipes, paper towels, paper towels, own scissors, marker pens, colored pencil sets, printing paper .Those that were once public.”
Post time: Sep-14-2021