Good Morning in New York, where back to school divides in the midst of Covid-19
Audio 03:58
First day of start to Pre-K School at the Mosaic Pre-K Center in Queens in New York, September 21, 2020, after a delayed start due to Covid-19.
Timothy A Clary / AFP
By: Loubna Anaki Follow
9 min
The start of the school year in New York takes place in several stages.
This week, nursery schools are reopening.
In all, the city has over 1.5 million schoolchildren.
A recovery far from going smoothly.
New York was hit hard by the coronavirus at the start of the pandemic with 23,700 dead.
And even if today, the epidemic is under control, teachers oppose the return to school.
Publicity
From our correspondent in New York,
Since Mayor Bill De Blasio announced this summer that the city is opting for face-to-face attendance, teachers and unions have been protesting.
It should be noted that New York has the largest school system in the country with more than a million students.
But it is also one of the most unequal.
Often, public schools have few resources, some classrooms do not have windows or ventilation.
Which raises a lot of questions.
“
We know we work in dangerous conditions,”
explains Jane Taylor, a teacher at an elementary school in Manhattan.
According to the mayor, it does not matter that children eat in classrooms without their masks, although until now, in New York, it is still forbidden to eat inside restaurants.
And so, many of us are afraid of having children without masks in rooms with very little ventilation.
"
Automatic screenings had also been promised, but it will ultimately be random.
According to the unions, there are not enough nurses in schools, teachers have not been trained enough.
The impression of a badly managed return
“
It feels like an experiment,”
continues Jane Taylor.
And it's going to be sad when someone in our building gets sick.
What are we going to do if someone dies from Covid?
You know my dad is 74 and I know I'm not going to see him for a while.
I'll be exposed to so many people, I don't want to subject him to that.
"
What teachers want is to start the year online, in order to have time to prepare for a face-to-face return in better conditions.
They blame the mayor for wanting to open schools at all costs.
Not to mention that the start date has been changed at least three times, then finally at the last minute, that the mayor has decided to postpone the start of primary schools, colleges and high school.
All this gives teachers the impression that the start of the school year is poorly managed.
Return to normal life
Parents have the choice between, on the one hand, a hybrid formula where children spend two or three days at school and the rest of the week, everything is done online, and on the other, 100% teaching at distance.
Almost 60% of parents have chosen to send their children to school.
Many because they simply don't have a choice, if they are working and have no one to stay with their children, or they don't have access to the Internet or computers.
Like Julia Albores, some believe that this is the best thing for their children: to find a semblance of normal life.
“
I think it was hard for them to be in their room, on a chair, in front of a computer all day,
” she says.
I think it tired them out and affected them emotionally.
My son Emilio sometimes started to cry.
And even if we want to avoid any risk for ourselves, our neighbors and the community, we had to take their mental health into account.
"
Demonstrations of teachers and parents
Elissa Berger, she chose to keep her children at home and says she shares the teachers' concerns about safety.
“
They are the ones who know best what is going on in the classroom.
I think the city should listen to them and trust them.
What will happen if my 6 year old cries in class?
Who will console him?
It all matters to me.
I would love for my children to find their teachers, but we are not ready!
"
Just last weekend, several protests by teachers and parents were held in New York.
They still hope to convince the mayor to delay the return to school for a few weeks, the time to be sure that everything is in place.
And avoid having to close schools again because of possible contamination.
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To read also: Good morning from Wilmington, in the stronghold of Joe Biden
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