DOE is handling back to school in the worst possible way.They are forcing the hand of parents as only 1/4 of students are actually going into school. I'm happy if those in remote stay in remote as my kids love the small class size in person.
Anyone who opts in starts in December. Which is 1/3 of the way through the school year. Our school has a 2-cohort, A/B schedule where kids get half time in person. If many opt in, they would have to go to a 1/3 A/B/C. And maybe back again in January, and back again in April, if NYC had followed the 4-window plan.
What they're doing just makes sense. You are free to stay remote---no one is keeping you from doing so
We are very happy with the hybrid option so far. Especially the small class sizes in person!
I don't understand this--you're happy but have nothing but complaints about how the DOE is handling things? Sounds like you're just looking to complain.
don’t know if you are right or wrong but I’m so tired of worrying about school shutting down. We have an A/B/C Schedule and so little school but I will be so upset if it’s shut.
@anonymous Are you sure it's only 25%? I read recently that it had fallen from 58% to 50% and am seeing also that many families are opting out completely to homeschool. Agree with what MidtownMom is saying -- a lot of people wanted in person or hybrid but chose remote because the hybrid options were unworkable.
And many schools also told their families that if hybrid the days they are home they will have zero live instruction - it will be all asynchronous; the only way they could guarantee daily live instruction was via the remote option. With many schools having a 1 day a week in person schedule - parents are not willing to have 4 days of "self study". I cannot imagine these families switching to hybrid.
It’s about 50/50 for who signed up to be remote. But only half of the hybrid kids have shown up. Hybrid was the default, and many didn’t realize they had to sign up separately to be remote.
Of course there’s always going to be a party complaining. I don’t think that should dictate the decision though. Promises are out the window at this point; they should do what is logical. Fwiw, everyone I know who chose fully remote has been really satisfied with the stability of their decision and most were not intending to come back in November, so I wouldn’t expect *that* much backlash if it was moved to January.
@anonymous As a hybrid family, I think this decision is perfectly logical. The sooner we all know what the rest of the year is going to look like and the kids can bond, the better.
We are very happy with our decision but would appreciate the same level of stability that your all-remote families are feeling.
@anonymous I know a bunch of fully remote families in our MS who planned to go to hybrid now. They were the more cautious ones who wanted to see how the in-person days and infection rates play out.There are families on both sides.
Teacher here. Makes sense to have one opt-in window. Does not make sense for it to be now and on such short notice. I’d give families until Xmas break to decide, and then give schools the flexibility to start the new cycle (with new redistribution of kids) at their choice of date, either after winter break, after MLK weekend, or after Feb break.
Exactly. So let the school choose the best date for them (sometime between winter and mid-winter break). Parents make decision in December. Elementary admins can decide to work over the break to make it happen for the New Year, or get their well-deserved rest and handle it upon returning (with the actually switch happening a few weeks later).
Yes. In HS, many students are in new classes in the 2nd semester. Since students are being regrouped anyway, the start of the 2nd semester would also be a natural time to rebalance between hybrid and remote.
What makes no sense is the timing. Of course they should do one opt-in window - about halfway through the year - late January. The timing of this is suspicious. Why NOW?
There was already an opt-in period planned for November, and schools most likely already planned for it. It was a huge undertaking and they most likely don't want to do all the work again.
I'm sorry but by this point, you should know what you want. It's not fair to anyone to keep playing musical chairs
I know a bunch of families doing hybrid option this Fall and who want remote for the winter months so they can go west, south or overseas to Mexico, Caribbean etc then opt back into hybrid in the Spring.
Makes perfect sense under the circumstances. The idea that families could chop and change every quarter was yet another Deblasio/Carranza ideal without the resources to back it up. Schools are already struggling to staff the hybrid model; they don't need to be scrambling to change it up every few months.
Agree with the poster above that the short notice is a problem though. Again, why did the DOE not recognize this from the start and set expectations accordingly?
Like
Unknown member
Oct 26, 2020
Constant reshuffling is an issue. However, there should have been one opt-in period only from the beginning and it should have been in Feb or so. Why Nov? Why the short notice? Because incompetence.
DOE is handling back to school in the worst possible way.They are forcing the hand of parents as only 1/4 of students are actually going into school. I'm happy if those in remote stay in remote as my kids love the small class size in person.
don’t know if you are right or wrong but I’m so tired of worrying about school shutting down. We have an A/B/C Schedule and so little school but I will be so upset if it’s shut.
I had the same thought - this will be used to shut things down.
Then there would be a different set of people complaining, because they were already promised a November opt-in period.
I think it's a great sign that they listened to the schools and the principals, even at the risk of pissing some people off.
Teacher here. Makes sense to have one opt-in window. Does not make sense for it to be now and on such short notice. I’d give families until Xmas break to decide, and then give schools the flexibility to start the new cycle (with new redistribution of kids) at their choice of date, either after winter break, after MLK weekend, or after Feb break.
What makes no sense is the timing. Of course they should do one opt-in window - about halfway through the year - late January. The timing of this is suspicious. Why NOW?
Lucky folks, going on a Caribbean vacation for months!!
I know a bunch of families doing hybrid option this Fall and who want remote for the winter months so they can go west, south or overseas to Mexico, Caribbean etc then opt back into hybrid in the Spring.
Right call, badly handled. But I’m glad. The strain on our principal has been unfair.
Makes perfect sense under the circumstances. The idea that families could chop and change every quarter was yet another Deblasio/Carranza ideal without the resources to back it up. Schools are already struggling to staff the hybrid model; they don't need to be scrambling to change it up every few months.
Agree with the poster above that the short notice is a problem though. Again, why did the DOE not recognize this from the start and set expectations accordingly?
Constant reshuffling is an issue. However, there should have been one opt-in period only from the beginning and it should have been in Feb or so. Why Nov? Why the short notice? Because incompetence.