Gravesend/Homecrest [11223] (6.72 percent) Midwood [11230] (5.53 percent) Kew Gardens [11415] (3.61 percent) Edgemere/Far Rockaway [11691] (3.98 percent) Borough Park [11219] (5.26 percent) Bensonhurst/Mapleton [11204] (5.15 percent) Gerritsen Beach/Homecrest/Sheepshead Bay [11229] (4.05 percent) Flatlands/Midwood [11210] (4.08 percent) Kew Gardens Hills/Pomonok [11367] (3.04 percent)NYC elementary school students finally return to in-person learning after two delays - as Bill de Blasio says 'we have to continue moving forward' despite a spike in cases in Brooklyn and Queens
Hundreds of thousands of elementary school students are heading back to classrooms this week as New York City enters a high-stakes stage of resuming in-person learning during the coronavirus pandemic.
Tuesday was the first day of in-person learning for students in kindergarten through fifth grades whose families had chosen the hybrid learning plan, while some high school and middle school students are slated to be back in classrooms starting Thursday.
The COVID-19 outbreak is resurging in certain clusters of the city and keeping students at home in many other big US school systems.
But on Tuesday Mayor Bill de Blasio met young people on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and later said in a press briefing: 'We are going to continue moving forward.'
Elementary school students are welcomed back to P.S. 188 as the city's public schools open for in-person learning. Middle and high schoolers will start on October 1
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, center right, greets students as they arrive for in-person classes outside Public School 188 The Island School, Tuesday in Manhattan
A child has his temperature taken before attending the first day of grade 2 at P.S. 130 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City
ZIP CODES OF CONCERN
11223 - Gravesend/Homecrest (6.72%)
11230 - Midwood (5.53%)
11415 - Kew Gardens (3.61%)
11691 - Edgemere/Far Rockaway (3.98%)
11219 - Borough Park (5.26%)
11204 - Bensonhurst/Mapleton (5.15%)
11229 - Gerritsen Beach/Homecrest/Sheepshead Bay (4.05%)
11210 - Flatlands/Midwood (4.08%)
11367 - Kew Gardens Hills/Pomonok (3.04%)
New York City's positive COVID-19 test rate topped 3% 'for the first time in months,' de Blasio said on Tuesday, attributing the rise in the city's infection rate to nine particular zip codes.
The citywide daily positive test rate was 3.25%, the mayor said on Tuesday, while the seven day rolling average was 1.38%.
'Obviously everyone is concerned about that. That is something we all have to work on together to address,' de Blasio said.
By Thursday, 500,000 children will have returned to in-person learning after two delays and despite infection cases in certain neighborhoods dramatically spiking.
School principals have said the city's complicated, changing plans put them in a staffing bind. But de Blasio was pictured giving children elbow bumps as they headed inside Public School 188 The Island School Tuesday.
At PS 179 elementary school in Brooklyn's Kensington neighborhood, very young students were seen greeting a guidance counselor with a hug as older children had their temperatures recorded at the door.
The Health Commissioner says there's an 'alarming rise' in cases in a cluster Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods.
With over 1 million public school students, New York City initially had a more ambitious timeline than many other big US school systems for bringing children back to schoolhouses this fall.
Students greet Eddie Polanco, an elementary school guidance counselor, as they arrive at school in Manhattan
De Blasio has attributed the rise in the city's infection rate to particular zip codes in Brooklyn and Queens
Tuesday was the first day of in-person learning for students in kindergarten through fifth grades whose families had chosen the hybrid learning plan. A child is pictured in Brooklyn
Mayor Bill de Blasio said about spiking cases in Queens and Brooklyn: 'Everyone is concerned about that. That is something we all have to work on together to address'
De Blasio said about reopening schools amid a spike in COVID-19 cases: 'We are going to continue moving forward'
Families have the option of choosing all-remote learning, and a growing number are doing so - 48% as of Friday, up from 30% six weeks earlier, according to city Education Department statistics.
Pre-kindergarteners and some special education students began showing up September 21 as online instruction began for the rest of the student body.
'It's a big moment for the city,' Mayor Bill de Blasio said on cable news station NY1 Monday night.
Students were originally due back September 10. But the start date was pushed back, repeatedly, after the city teachers' union said it wasn't safe to open schools because of outdated ventilation systems, an insufficient number of school nurses and other issues.
At one point, the United Federation of Teachers threatened to strike.
Kindergarten student Katalina Vidal holds her father's hand as she waits to enter PS 179 elementary school in the Kensington neighborhood, Tuesday
A mother adjusts her daughter's hair they wait outside PS 179 elementary school
A school administrator directs a student and her mother as they arrive at PS 179 elementary school
Teachers line up their students before entering PS 179 elementary school in the Kensington
The union was still pressing for changes as recently as Friday, when the city agreed to let more teachers work from home when instructing students remotely, rather than having to come in to school to conduct online classes.
The principals' union said the late-breaking change was too much. Principals had already complained that the city was creating a staffing crunch by planning to have three different groups of teachers - one for all-remote students, another for in-classroom pupils and a third for blended-program students when they're at home.
Saying that de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza 'have entered into grossly irresponsible staffing agreements,' the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators called Sunday for the state to take control of the school system for the duration of the pandemic.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday that he understood the concern of the principals' union and that the state would monitor virus testing data to determine whether any steps need to be taken concerning New York City schools.
Both Cuomo and de Blasio are Democrats.
A child has his temperature taken before attending the first day of grade 2 at P.S. 130, Brooklyn
A child has her temperature taken before attending the first day of grade 2 at P.S. 130, Brooklyn
Sonam Zompa was excited for her 7-year-old son to go back to his elementary school on Manhattan's Lower East Side - and so was he. The third-grader, Tenzin Topdhen, said he liked his online classes but missed his friends - and in school, 'we have actual recess.'
Waiting for her daughter to go through a temperature check and questionnaire at the same school, Ashley Shelton said she hoped the start of school would be good for both of them.
Online learning was 'how can I put that - OK,' Shelton said, but her daughter missed going to school. And Shelton, a single mother, lost her receptionist job amid the pandemic. Now that school is starting, she´s looking for new work.
Still, 'I'm not going to say it was easy' to decide to send her daughter to school in person, Shelton said. 'Because I have my doubts, I have my worries, but God is good.'
Many other big school systems around the country began the fall term online, though some are reopening physical schools.
In Florida, for instance, students opting for in-person learning returned to schools September 21 in Palm Beach County, where the nation´s 10th largest school system has over 197,000 students.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio greets students near the welcome sign at P.S. 188. One child stands with his mask slipped below his nose
Pre-kindergarteners and some special education students began showing up September 21 as online instruction began for the rest of the student body
A child and adult hug before children head into school on Tuesday morning for the first day back
One student waves off her family as she wears a cartoon mask for a day of in-person learning
Students line up for in-person classes outside Public School 188 The Island School, Tuesday
One little girl waves as she arrives at Public School 188 The Island School on Tuesday