NYC education panel approves school funding formula after last month’s rejection
Following a stunning rejection last month, New York City’s education panel approved Wednesday the city’s school funding formula for next year, as Schools Chancellor David Banks promised to create a group that will review the 15-year-old formula. The commitment from the city followed concerns from some panel members and public school advocates who want the […]
NYC parents: Was your child exposed to COVID? Here’s what to do next
Once again, New York City parents are facing questions about when to keep their children home from school or get them tested for COVID as they learn of possible exposures. Though the omicron variant appears to be slightly loosening its grip, nearly 2,200 students and school staffers reported positive coronavirus cases last weekend, according to […]
Amid omicron surge, NYC schools prepare to reopen after winter break
New York City teachers and students prepared to return from winter break Monday to schools with ramped up testing and other measures designed to contain the spread of the surging omicron variant. The reopening of the country’s largest school district was greeted with apprehension among some parents and teachers unnerved by a surge in cases […]
NYC schools to allow on-site COVID tests for teachers once again
With children ages 5 to 11 getting vaccinated, New York City schools may soon see a drop in the number of students participating in their on-site weekly COVID testing program since the program is only supposed to test unvaccinated students. But the swabs might not go unused. The city’s education department plans to change its […]
NYC plans to screen nearly 200,000 students in the early grades to uncover struggling readers. Then what?
From Chalkbeat: In a massive bid to gauge reading skills following COVID-related learning disruptions, New York City’s education department is introducing literacy screening for its nearly 200,000 children in kindergarten through second grade. This fall’s early literacy effort is part of a wider $635 million infusion, almost entirely federally funded, aimed at getting thousands of […]
As quarantines send students home, what’s the plan to keep them learning?
From Chalkbeat: It was only her son’s third day of kindergarten when Sabrina Padgett got a call in late July that he’d been exposed to COVID and had to stay home for over a week. Soon after, that got extended when Padgett herself tested positive for COVID. Then her other two school-age children had to […]
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 […]
‘Literacy blitz’ and other ways de Blasio plans to spend $635 million to help NYC students catch up
From Chalkbeat: New York City will infuse public schools with $635 million for an academic recovery plan that includes a universal literacy screening through second grade, after-school help for students with disabilities, and college counseling services for all juniors and seniors, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter announced Thursday. The announcement provided […]