New York City Teachers Threaten Mass 'Sickout' As Schools Stay Open Amid Coronavirus
Source: The Guardian
School districts in more than a dozen states have shut down as New York keeps them open, prompting backlash from teachers unions. A growing revolt by teachers raised the prospect of a mass “sickout” in New York City classrooms on Monday, even as Mayor Bill de Blasio continued to defend his controversial decision to keep schools open.
Entire school districts in more than a dozen states have shut down operations for more than 15 million students until the coronavirus crisis has passed. Just over the Hudson river from New York the city of Hoboken, in New Jersey, has gone so far as to enforce an overnight curfew. But New York remains an anomaly, prompting a backlash from teachers unions who have attacked the decision as “irresponsible”.
De Blasio, however, remains determined to keep classes in session for the school district’s million students. “My blunt fear is if the schools shut down they will be done for the year, done for the school year, maybe even for the calendar year,” he said on CNN’s State of the Union. “So I’m very reticent to shut down schools for a variety of reasons, not just that it’s where a lot of kids get their only good meals, but they get adult supervision, especially teenagers who otherwise would be out on the streets. There’s health and safety ramifications to that. "
“Those first responders, those healthcare workers who depend on the schools, they can get to work and we need those workers desperately.” De Blasio said he believed the crisis could last at least six months, and the situation was escalating daily. -READ MORE...
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/15/new-york-city-coronavirus-schools-teachers
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