Some city students are preparing to walk out of their classes over COVID concerns this week as teachers union officials push the state to test all 900,000 students for the virus.
A flyer circulating on social media calls for students to ditch their classes around noon Wednesday to amplify a series of COVID-19 safety demands.
“Join your fellow students in a walkout to urge NYC to offer the necessary remote learning options and safety precautions as COVID cases rise!” the flyer states.
Organizers are lobbying for teachers to provide all curricular materials online to allow for remote learning and to excuse any COVID-19 related absences.
“If we’re unable to get schools to shut down, the walkout will give students a platform to discuss alternative goals,” the flyer states.
These include remote options, more testing of students and staff and more rigorous DOE health screening.
Student absenteeism spiked sharply last week amid a surge in coronavirus cases, dipping all the way to just 44 percent on Friday in the wake of heavy snow.
Attendance hovered around 70 percent for students prior to Friday and schools Chancellor David Banks told The Post in an interview last week that he expected absenteeism to ease in the coming weeks.
Attendance did in fact jump to 75 percent on Monday, according to DOE figures.
Meanwhile, United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew told members this weekend that he is pushing the state to test all city students for the coronavirus.
“Now, we are pushing the governor and the state legislature to mandate testing for all students,” Mulgrew wrote without detailing how frequently kids would be tested.
Currently, the city tests about 80,000 kids per week — but can only screen students whose parents have submitted consent forms.
As of last month, only a third of city families have provided them thus far.
Despite the limited testing pool, cases among both staffers and students have soared in recent weeks.
Last Thursday, the DOE logged 13,179 new COVID cases — including 10,932 kids and 2,247 staffers.
The state Department of Health did not immediately comment on the union’s push for universal student testing.
Mulgrew also told members that the DOE was continuing to struggle to find enough substitute teachers to fill staffing gaps given the rise in teacher absences.
The labor chief added that he is pushing the city and DOE to establish a staff absence threshold that would automatically trigger a school closure.
COVID-19 - Latest - Google News
January 11, 2022 at 05:39AM
https://ift.tt/3qZbRAY
NYC students plan class walkout over COVID-19 concerns - New York Post
COVID-19 - Latest - Google News
https://ift.tt/2VQ2gy8
No comments:
Post a Comment