School districts around the country are preparing to begin a new academic year in the midst of Covid-19, with students from Nyc’s public schools, the nation’s biggest school system returning to the classroom on Monday for comprehensive, in-person instruction. The Chancellor of the New York City Schools, Meisha Porter, told in an interview on Friday that her administration has been laboring for 18 months to prepare for this moment.
The Nation’s Biggest School System Welcomes New York kids Back To Traditional Classrooms
As the new coronavirus began spreading across the United States in March 2020, the state of New York became the first to implement a remote school policy. Even before closing schools and reopenings disrupted in-person teaching as conditions changed last year, many students opted for a virtual learning environment.
There will not be a remote option available for the roughly 1 million pupils in the district this time. “I’m very happy to see kids again,” Kevin Jacobs, a United States history teacher and soccer coach at the Manhattan high school, says there are more benefits to having pupils in the classroom than online.
It is highly recommended that children in New York who are eligible for Covid-19 immunization (i.e., those 12 and older) be vaccinated, but there is no universal requirement for pupils, as was declared in the Los Angeles Unified School District last week.
New York kids who are eligible and participate in sports and extracurricular activities that are considered “high risk” are obliged to get their vaccinations. Despite this, Nyc Mayor Bill de Blasio said during a press conference last week that 65 percent of children between the ages of 12 had received at least one dose of the vaccine.
There is, however, a vaccination requirement for workers of the New York State Department of Education, who must have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by September 27 in order to remain on the job. Following a judgment by an independent arbitrator, the UFT) stated Friday that Nyc teachers who decline to get vaccinated and who have proven medical or religious exemption must be given non-classroom duties.
In a statement, the teachers union said that those who are reluctant must be provided unpaid leave that allows them to keep their health insurance or be given an outright termination deal. Until September 2022, the employee would be entitled to unpaid leave. When that deadline passed, it was presumed that the instructor had resigned since they had not returned to work after getting their vaccination.
In addition to vaccines, the district has implemented a number of additional risk reduction measures, including the requirement that all children and employees wear facial coverings, regardless of whether or not they have received a vaccination.
Inoculations will be offered at a number of school locations around the city for children who have not yet had their vaccinations. Moreover, Porter said that every classroom will be equipped with air purifiers and that each school would have a 30-day supply of protective equipment such as masks on hand at all times. Regular Covid-19 testing, on the other hand, is an important component of the district’s overall approach.