NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Thousands of New York City middle school students are heading back to classrooms on Thursday.
Some 62,000 sixth, seventh and eighth graders whose parents opted for in-person learning will see the inside of a classroom for the first time since November.
There are 471 middle schools reopening. About half will be able to do five days a week in-person, officials said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chancellor Richard Carranza were scheduled to tour the Leaders of Tomorrow Middle School in the Bronx on Thursday morning as it reopened.
At his daily briefing Wednesday, de Blasio said reopening middle schools was "another step forward in this recovery."
"The recovery of New York City requires our public schools to come back strong," the mayor said. "A recovery for all of us means our public schools are there for our kids in every community."
De Blasio said he's "adamant" that public schools "fully open" in September.
The mayor said he'd have an announcement on reopening high schools in "the next few weeks." Elementary schools, preschools and District 75 schools have been open for in-person learning since December.
Returning middle school students will have to have a waiver that permits the school to test them randomly for COVID. De Blasio said the Department of Education has tested over 500,000 students so far.
The return comes despite concerns from the United Federation of Teachers. The union is worried about unvaccinated teachers as well as staffing shortages.
