#NYC students will return to school on staggered schedules, officials say

More than a million New York City students will return to school in September on a staggered schedule of two- and three-day weeks, officials announced Wednesday.

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza announced the “blended model” plan, which involves a mix of in-school and remote learning.

“For the vast majority of kids and the vast majority of schools, you will be going to school to either two days a week or three days a week, depending on the week,” de Blasio said at his daily coronavirus press briefing.

The rest of the days, the students will have remote learning — which families can opt into completely if they choose, Carranza said.

“For the 2020-2021 school year, it will look different,” Carranza said. “Students will return in September in a blended learning model or an online learning model, if they choose.”

Last week, de Blasio announced some details on the plan to reopen schools while confirming that they would resume in September.

A Department of Education survey recently found that 53 percent of parents felt “very or mostly comfortable” with sending their kid back to school amid the coronavirus pandemic. Twenty-four percent were “a little comfortable” and 22 percent were “not at all comfortable.”

Only half of parents and students grades 6-12 were “very or mostly comfortable” wearing face masks every day in school next year.

The survey received more than 400,000 responses, de Blasio said.