Parent advocacy group #keepnycschoolsopen released the results of its survey of 400 families about in-person learning in New York City schools.
"Every day counts. We should get them back in school full time right now if we can," said Mia Eisner-Grynberg. She is one of the organizers behind the group that has been working since November. She is also a parent herself.
"We were in an unprecedented situation that demanded some modifications. That's absolutely fair. But the important thing is that we're guided by the science and guided by the changes," Eisner-Grynberg said.
So the group decided to survey 400 families of sixth to 12th graders across the five boroughs about in-person learning in their schools during the 2020-2021 school year.
"Unfortunately, we found that what families have been telling us anecdotally is widely the case, that at the vast majority of the middle and high schools, at least those that we surveyed which are 125 schools across all five boroughs, almost all of the time students are doing some amount of remote learning. Only 10% of the schools that we surveyed have full time, full day live instruction from a teacher every day of the week," Eisner-Grynberg said.
New 12 reached out to the New York City Department of Education about this survey and it said, "All of our schools have been open since March, and this week we announced that we will welcome all of our students and staff back for a full opening this fall with no remote option. We are finishing this school year strong, while preparing for our Summer Rising program that will be a gateway to the fall."
When asked about the department's response, Eisner-Grynberg said it is not doing enough for students.
"Of course, we very much welcome that announcement. It's just we are not very confident that it is accurate because there has been no accountability," she said.
Eisner-Grynberg said the group will continue until school is back to normal.