Parent-teacher conferences in NYC schools remain virtual this year
New York City officials have pushed for the return of pre-pandemic life in schools, ending social distancing requirements, revoking mask mandates, and keeping buildings open. But one ritual won’t revert to normal this year: parent-teacher conferences. Those meetings must generally be held remotely and many caregivers are finding that other back-to-school events meant to introduce […]
In surprising setback to Mayor Adams, education panel rejects NYC school funding formula
From Chalkbeat: The city’s Panel for Educational Policy voted Wednesday night against the routine approval of New York City’s school funding formula, raising significant concerns about school budgets for next academic year. The panel’s rejection, stemming from longstanding concerns that the funding formula is outdated and inequitable, was a stunning setback for Mayor Eric Adams. […]
Home schooling nearly doubled in NYC since pandemic’s start
From Chalkbeat: Mirroring trends across the nation, the number of children being home-schooled has dramatically increased in New York City. This school year, roughly 14,800 children across the five boroughs have opted to learn outside of school walls, according to internal education department data obtained by Chalkbeat. That number jumped by nearly 7,000 — or […]
I am an elementary school educator, and I embrace critical race theory.
From Chalkbeat: My lessons center on my students’ lives and stories. As a new teacher in Arizona 20 years ago, I found myself in the middle of a campaign against bilingual education. Arizona voters had recently passed Proposition 203 restricting bilingual education and English as a Second Language instruction, as it was called then, following […]
My students thrived last year because they weren’t policed (The COVID era showed us why punitive policies don’t work
From Chalkbeat: A couple of years back, one of my students, a fifth grader, had an emotional outburst that led him to leave the classroom and run around the school. There was no plan in place for how we, as teachers and administrators, would handle a crisis like this. It ended with adults chasing the […]
‘How do we rebuild a sense of community?’ A Brooklyn school seeks to find joy and connection after a devastating year
From Chalkbeat: Milagros Reyes’s husband was in the first wave of New Yorkers to succumb to the coronavirus, taking his last breath in their East New York apartment. His death in April 2020 left Reyes alone with her two children, ages 3 and 10. Reyes called 911 to retrieve her husband’s body, which was quarantined […]
New York City’s long and winding school year ends on a full day for most students
From Chalkbeat: The year is ending the way it started: with confusion. Friday marks the end of this year’s wild ride of a school year for the nation’s largest system, and unlike previous years, it will be a “full” day of school, rather than a half day, education department officials confirmed this week. Several educators […]
COVID rates are down, but some Bronx parents are not ready for in-person learning
From Chalkbeat: For the first time in almost a decade, Bronx mom Lourdes Jibodh did not receive a letter from her son’s school saying that his promotion to the next grade level was in doubt. Instead, her 17-year-old son Christian Camacho has been performing well academically while learning online during the pandemic. The junior at […]
