The city joins others schools across the country in re-opening schools , while still offering visual instruction…
New York City’s public school system, the country’s largest, will take another step toward a full reopening this month by welcoming middle school students back into classrooms that have been closed since November.
About 62,000 of New York City’s 196,000 middle school students will be able to return to classrooms starting Feb. 25 if they signed up for in-person classes last year. Mayor Bill de Blasio is set to announce more details of the reopening plan on Monday. The city does not yet have a plan to reopen its high schools.
Reopening schools has become one of the most fraught political issues in the country, and New York City was no exception. Mr. de Blasio battled with the teachers’ union for months before eventually settling on a reopening plan that included stringent safety measures. Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago announced a tentative agreement with that city’s teachers’ union on Sunday, after weeks of intensive debate there.
In New York, up to 250,000 of New York City’s roughly one million public school students will be back in school buildings by the end of February, with many rotating in and out of classrooms and online classes to allow for social distancing. The vast majority of city students — roughly 70 percent — have opted out of in-person classes altogether, and decided to learn from home through the rest of the school year….