- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that New York City’s public schools will begin shutting down this week.
- The city’s public school system is the largest in the country, and its closing was at the center of a contentious debate among officials seeking to ramp up the region’s response to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
- New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Cuomo were vocal about the wide array of challenges they loomed if they closed schools, which serves many low-income families who depend on public school services for food and childcare.
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New York City’s public schools will begin shutting down this week as the city and surrounding areas ramp up its response to the novel coronavirus outbreak, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Sunday.
The city’s public school system is the largest in the nation, and will close immediately in the week ahead, in addition to those in neighboring counties such as Westchester and Long Island, the governor said.
A statement from NYC Department of Education released Sunday said that Monday March 16 would mark a city-wide system closure. Teachers and administrators will undergo sessions professional development on remote learning for the rest of the week as students pick up necessary technology and guidelines from their schools for remote learning.
On Monday, March 23, remote learning will go into effect for grades K-12 before schools reopen on Monday, April 20, according to the statement.
The move is the most disruptive yet in the city’s response to the virus, which could affect its 1.1 million students and 75,000 teachers, according to the New York Times.
The closure announcement came hours after New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio reiterated that the city’s schools would remain open, a declaration he repeated throughout the previous week as many of the city’s workplaces and other public institutions closed their doors to employees and visitors
NBC News reported that teachers across the city objected to the schools remaining open as similarly sized districts like those in Los Angeles and Seattle announced earlier this week they were closing in response to the spread of the virus.
As other major cities closed their school doors, de Blasio and Cuomo were vocal about the wide array of challenges they were weighing if they closed schools, including the effects on families’ needs for food and childcare that are tied to public school services.
“There are school districts that are in wealthier parts of the stay where the families are in a position where one parent stays home or they can hire a caregiver. But then there’s everybody else, right?” Cuomo wrote in an open letter to President Donald Trump demanding federal action.
“It sounds simple, it’s not simple,” Cuomo wrote. “You close the school, how do you feed the children? For many children the breakfast and the lunch are the two main meals they get and they get that at the school.”
—CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) March 15, 2020
When the announcement to close was made, the city had confirmed five deaths from the virus and 329 total confirmed cases. US as health officials have urged Americans to practice “social distancing” to decrease the chance of spreading infection and overall slowing the spread of COVID-19.
Bars and restaurants have been called to close. In addition to businesses and public spaces across the country, 21 other states and Washington DC announced the closure of K-12 schools for varying lengths and to varying degrees to enforce social distancing.
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