New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang demanded Tuesday that Mayor de Blasio offer more specifics about how schools will reopen this fall - but conceded that he still doesn't have his own fully-fleshed-out plan for public school kids moving forward either.
Yang, a father of two, stood outside the Department of Education's downtown headquarters at the Tweed courthouse to criticize what he described as ambiguities in de Blasio's back-to-school plans, arguing that the city should be laser-focused on having all children return to class five days a week.
© Theodore ParisienneNew York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang.
New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang. (Theodore Parisienne/)
When asked if he wants to see remote learning continue into the next school year, Yang said he wants kids back in class.
"That's the way that I would lead," he said. "I would urge Mayor de Blasio and the DOE to lead in the same way."
De Blasio has been saying for weeks that he intends to have students back in class five days a week by the fall, but opened the door to criticism last week during an interview with WNYC's Brian Lehrer when he said there's still "a lot of time to make adjustments" when it comes to offering remote learning as an option to families still anxious about sending their kids back into the classroom.
Hizzoner predicted that by July, the city's pandemic footing would continue to improve and that the city is "planning for every single child to be back in school."
But Yang argued Tuesday that he isn't offering enough specifics.
© Provided by New York Daily NewsNew York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office/)
"Mayor de Blasio, we need a plan," Yang said Tuesday. "As a public school parent, I am asking you please, provide that plan as quickly as possible so that families can have confidence schools will indeed be open, and our children will be able to learn and get the education they deserve by the fall at the absolute latest."
Yang - who seemed to be speaking more as a frustrated parent than a candidate running for mayor - also made the case against remote learning, saying that even if some kids prefer it, that doesn't mean "it's actually working for that child over the long term."
"That's where we come in as parents, and that's where educators come in and that's where our mayor has to come in," he said.
The issue of whether remote learning will continue into the next school year is a particularly sensitive topic given the COVID-induced trauma many public school families are still experiencing as well as the fact that more than half of those families have opted to keep their kids in fully remote learning as of the most recent deadline to opt back into in-person learning.
Yang contended that the city should be closely monitoring vaccination levels among teachers and administrators and improving ventilation in classrooms where needed, as well as taking "other measures," which he didn't specify, to ready schools for entirely in-person learning.
The city has already taken measures to ventilate classrooms and vaccinate staff. When a reporter pointed that out, Yang conceded the point.
He also fessed to not having his own plan, but said we would if he's elected as mayor.
"As a public school parent, do I really need to provide the mayor with a plan to reopen our schools?" he said. "As a mayoral candidate, I certainly hope this is an issue that gets resolved before I take office.
"If it is still an issue - and we, unfortunately, feel that it very well maybe - we'll have a plan that's focused on getting kids back into classrooms," he added.
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