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Reopening of In-Person Classes at City Schools Delayed Yet Again for Most Students

Public School 33 Edward M. Funk School in Queens Village (Photo: Queens Post)

Sept. 17, 2020 By Allie Griffin

The start of in-person classes at the city’s public schools has been delayed yet again for the majority of students.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the reopening of most school buildings will be pushed back further — on a rolling basis — just four days before they were set to reopen on Monday.

Students in 3-K, Pre-K and District 75 schools will still return to classrooms on the original opening date of Sept. 21. All other students will see delays.

Students in K through 5 and K through 8 schools will head back on Tuesday, Sept. 29. Meanwhile, students at middle schools, high schools and secondary schools will be the last to return to in-person classes on Thursday, Oct. 1.

All students will have remote instruction until the dates their school buildings reopen.

The announcement followed criticism from parents, teachers, administrators and elected officials worried about safety and the quality of education with a staffing shortage. It was also the second time de Blasio has pushed back the opening of school buildings, which were originally set to open on Sept. 10.

The leaders of the teachers union and principals union joined de Blasio at a press conference this morning to announced the last-minute switch-up. The mayor met with the two leaders for hours yesterday to discuss the challenges and gradual reopening.

“If we’re going to do this we have to make sure we get this right,” Michael Mulgrew, President of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), said. “This is an unprecedented challenge.”

One of the main reasons for the postponement was a shortage of teachers.

De Blasio announced that the city will bring in another 2,500 teachers to public schools on top of the additional 2,000 already announced on Monday.