New York City has disclosed plans to close down public schools for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year.
While disclosing this on Saturday April 11th, the Mayor of NYC, Mayor Bill de Blasio said, “We will close NYC Department of Education Public Schools for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. This is a public health decision — and not an easy one. But it’s the right one. The social distancing strategies have been working, and we cannot risk a resurgence of the virus. Our health experts believe this is the safest, best approach.”
“I spoke to Dr. Anthony Fauci from the NIAID last night, and he agreed keeping schools closed was important to protecting New Yorkers,” he noted.
He confirmed that COVID-19 had impacted the life of every New Yorker, especially the kids.
“Our kids are resilient, but this is traumatic. Too many of them have lost someone they love. Each of them has lost normalcy,” he said.
While speaking about the initiatives introduced to engage the students while at home, Blasio affirmed that closing school buildings is not the end to academic activities.
He announced that the government will complete deliveries of internet-enabled digital devices for every student who needs it for remote learning, stressing that the delivery will be complete before the end of April.
He therefore informed parents and students who have requested or still need a device to call 311 or sign up at schools.nyc.gov right away.
He equally explained that while parents are provided information and IT support, new online activities and programs will be launched to help teachers efficiently engage the students.
“We won’t let this crisis come between our seniors and their graduation. They’ve worked too hard to miss out on this major life milestone. They’ll have one-on-one support in the weeks ahead,” he concluded.
