About a million New York City students returned to the classroom Monday morning, but the first day of school crashed when the Department of Education’s health screening website crashed. from the city.
The projection of the website, which teachers and students have to complete every day before entering the building, refused to load it or dragged it by some before the first bell. A backup was made again shortly before 9 p.m.
“The DOE health selection tool is back online. Our apologies for the short period that fell this morning. If you have trouble accessing the tool online, use a paper form or verbally inform school staff, ”New York Public Schools posted on Twitter.
Mayor Bill de Blasio addressed the issue and told reporters, “On the first day of school, a million children, they will overload things.”
At PS 51 in Hell’s Kitchen, employees got parents to fill out paper copies of the health test while their children waited in line to enter.
For many students, Monday is the first time they return to a class in 18 months after the COVID-19 pandemic closed the country’s largest school system in March 2020.
De Blasio gave the students celebratory punches on their first day at PS 25 in the Bronx.
“We want our children to go back to school, we need them back to school. That’s the conclusion, ”the mayor said outside of school.
“We need parents to understand if you walk into a school building, everything is cleaned, ventilation is taken care of, everyone wears a mask and all adults will be vaccinated,” he added. “It’s a safe place to be.”
School Chancellor Meisha Porter admitted there were still students staying at home because their parents are worried about the highly contagious mistake, which is experiencing a resurgence in cases across the country thanks to the Delta variant.
Official enrollment figures for the 2021-22 academic year have not yet been collected, and de Blasio said it would take days to find out.
“We understand the hesitation and the fear. It’s been a really tough 18 months, but we all agree that the best learning happens when teachers and students are together in the classrooms, ”he said.
“We have the vaccine, which we didn’t have a year ago, but we’re ready to increase testing if necessary.”
He hailed Monday as a “fantastic day for all of New York City.”
“I’m the biggest cheerleader on this system,” he said.
De Blasio has been announcing the return to classrooms for months, but the extension of the Delta variant has led to a number of issues ahead of reopening, including concerns about vaccinations, social distancing and a lack of remote learning.
Angie Bastin, who left her 12-year-old son at Brooklyn’s Erasmus school on Monday, told The Post on Monday that she was scared of COVID.
“COVID is back, we don’t know what will happen. I’m very worried, “he said.
“I’m nervous because we don’t know what will happen. They are children. They will not follow all the rules. They will eat, they will not talk without masks. I don’t think they will follow the rules that are explained to them over and over again, because they are children ”.
Meanwhile, Dee Siddons, whose daughter is in her eighth grade at school, said that while she was also worried about COVID, she was happy for her children to return to the classroom.
“I’m excited to be back at school. It’s better for her social and mental health and her social skills, and I’m not a teacher, so I’m not the best at home, but it’s a little annoying, ”she said.
“I’m worried about them taking precautions, but you have to teach your kids the best way to take care of themselves, because I can’t take care of anyone else’s kids.”
There is no vaccination warrant for students over the age of 12 who may receive the vaccine. According to the city, approximately two-thirds of students aged 12 to 17 have already been vaccinated.
But teachers must be vaccinated and given until September 27 to get the first dose.
The board has proven to be a challenge with 36,000 Department of Education workers, including more than 15,000 unvaccinated teachers since last week.
The United Federation of Teachers has been fighting some parts of the mandate and won against the city last week when a referee ruled that the city should provide accommodation for DOE staff with medical conditions or religious beliefs that prevent them from obtaining a COVID-19 vaccine. .
On Monday, greeting PS 51 teachers at Hell’s Kitchen, UFT President Michael Mulgrew congratulated returning employees for their efforts to help reopen the school system.
But he also acknowledged a number of unresolved concerns.
Mulgrew said he hoped last week’s ruling on the fate of unvaccinated teachers would lead to an increase in shootings, but admitted the city could lose thousands of educators.
“It’s been a real challenge,” Mulgrew said as he tried to calm vaccine-related tensions.
The city has also suffered a setback from some parents who want to keep their children at home.
Unlike last year, New York City officials say remote learning will not be an option this school year.
The city kept schools open for most of last school year, with some students doing a combination of face-to-face and remote learning. Most parents chose remote learning.
Students who are quarantined due to COVID-related illnesses or who receive medical exemptions will be able to learn at a distance. Vaccinated and asymptomatic people should not be quarantined if there is a case of positive COVID in their class.
Protocols the city is applying for reopening include mandatory masks for students and staff, 3-foot social distance and improved ventilation systems.
The city’s principals ’union, the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, has already warned that many buildings will not have enough space to enforce the 3-foot rule.