Angry New York parents have lashed out at Mayor Bill de Blasio, saying his so-called reopening of schools is a “farce” and a failure.
Many complain that serious staffing shortages have created bizarre scenarios where kids sit at desks to watch a teacher broadcast the lessons to their laptops from a nearby room.
Others say their kids are lucky if they attend school five days a month.
“It’s a farce,” said Kate Cassidy, a mother of two kids in Manhattan’s District 2.
“There is zero live in-person teaching at my school,” she said. “None. To call this a reopening is ridiculous.”
A mom at MS 167 in Manhattan said: “These schools are not reopened. And they know that.”
Others stressed that the limited time their kids have in school is continually threatened and disrupted by school closures, which occur if two students or staffers test positive for COVID-19. On any given day, hundreds of city schools are closed for up to two weeks because of the protocol.
De Blasio has repeatedly suggested that the rule might change given the vaccine and improved COVID-19 numbers — but parents say they’re tired of waiting.
The city first reopened elementary schools in late December, and middle schools reopened last month. High schools are slated to reopen Monday.
De Blasio has heralded the NYC model as the “gold standard,” but Cassidy said his triumphant portrayal of “reopened” classrooms was false.
“It’s like he’s being intentionally obtuse about the whole thing,” Cassidy said, adding that her kids average about five days in school a month.
“It’s infuriating.”
The Blaz's gold standard is a shit sandwich
