NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- Parents plan to deliver a petition to Mayor Bill de Blasio at City Hall on Thursday morning protesting the move to close public schools after the city’s rolling positivity rate passed 3%.
The “Keep NYC Schools Open” petition had over 12,000 signatures on Thursday morning. Families planned to rally at City Hall and deliver the petition to the mayor in advance of his morning press conference. They then planned to head to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office uptown to deliver another copy of the petition.
The parents say it’s “nonsensical” that indoor dining, gyms and barbershops remain open while schools are closed.
They also say the seven-day 3% positivity rate threshold “was decided over the summer with no input from parents or students and with no awareness of the role schools play in COVID transmission.”
And they say remote learning is unfair to children who don’t have access to the technology, internet access or guardian necessary for them to succeed while learning from home.
On Wednesday, de Blasio announced that schools would close starting Thursday — and will stay closed "through Thanksgiving" — after the city reached the 3% positivity rate.
“We set a very clear standard and we need to stick with that standard,” the mayor said. “And I want to emphasize to parents, to educators, to staff, to kids that we intend to come back and come back as quickly as possible.”
De Blasio said the city is working with the state on how to bring back in-school learning, with an emphasis on more testing.
Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza said parents will be hearing from principals about next steps.
"We will be communicating with families about device support and tips for remote learning. Free meals for all students will still be available. And principals will work with their staff to make sure there are windows of time to pick up materials at buildings as needed," Carranza said. "New Yorkers have proven they are ready and willing to do the work to fight against this virus. And we need to ask that of you again, because that’s how we get schools back open: with the support of each and every one of you. We will get through this, together."
Carranza vowed, "We will get students back in buildings as soon as we can, safely."
De Blasio had promised to pause in-person learning if the city crossed the 3% threshold. Schools had been in a blended-learning mode since Sept. 21.
"No one is happy about this decision, we all in fact are feeling very sad about the decision because so much good work has been put into keeping the school's opened," de Blasio said.
The mayor called the move a "setback," but one that the city will overcome.