Mayor Eric Adams is thinking of allowing the nation’s largest school district to return to some form of virtual instruction. This is in an East Coast city and state do weather a wave of Corona Virus cases. This is a reversal from his pledge a week ago to keep children in schools.
Mayor Eric Adams – Safest Place for Children is School
On Thursday, at a news conference, Adams said, he believes the safest place for children is to be in school. “However, there is a major number of children, for whatever reason, for the parents are not bringing them to school.”
Since students have returned from Winter break, the attendance levels have been lower than usual. It is anywhere from one-quarter to one-third of students that are showing up to class most days. Attendance districtwide, as of Wednesday, was 76%. This is according to city Department of Education numbers. There were 220,000, in a district of close to a million students. It means about 220,000 that were either out sick or alternatively miss school.
Also, more than 100 schools were reporting attendance of less than 60%. It is more than 50 reported less than half of all the students who attended a class on Wednesday.
In January, it was peaking the first week in that month. In fact, the average number of new cases in New York City has only slightly declined. This is in the most recent days. It does raise some hopes among the officials that the Omicron tide is slowing down.
Adams, in the office on the first of the year, has taken a bullish stance on the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus urging New Yorkers to take precautions and then get vaccinated. Also to not let COVID-19 control their lives. Adams repeatedly said the city, in fact, cannot afford more shutdowns of businesses or schools.
The president of the United Federation of Teachers, Michael Mulgrew, did represent the city’s public school teachers. He was asked by the mayor to postpone in-person learning as Adams did take office.
