Should New York Push to Reopen Schools 5 Days a Week?

Most schools in the Capital Region are on Winter Break and the kids are home. How would you feel if schools in New York were reopened five days a week?

Today Governor Cuomo said, "If Covid-19 is well controlled, schools in New York should push to reopen five days a week".

My son graduated high school June of last year so we dealt with the beginning of the pandemic and the uncertainty of what his education would look like. We were told on March 12th that school was taking a 2 week break to "flatten the curve" and, although he returned to school for 1 more, his in-school experience ended on March 12th.

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I am not sure how I would feel if my son were still in school today. I would like to trust the experts but there always seems to be an agenda or misinformation. So what to do?

“The local governments should be aggressive on in-class teaching unless there’s a community or school that has an infection spike. That is different, But if the school doesn’t have an infection spike and if the school is safer than the surrounding community, then why isn’t the school open five days a week?" Governor Cuomo said during a press conference in Albany.

Syracuse.com reports that schools across New York have been operating a variety of learning schedules since the academic year began in September. Many run a hybrid model, with different groups of students attending a portion of each week and then learning remotely the rest of the time.

Cuomo said he respects local governments and their role in running districts, but he made clear today he wants to see kids back in classrooms. “Students deserve in-class teaching,” Cuomo said. “This remote learning is a poor substitute for in-class teaching.

My son's experience with remote classes certainly had it's pros and cons. As his dad I cared about his health first and the education second.