Public Schools Are Back In Session, But Residents Say Not All Children Are Equally Safe

Upper West Side NY

19 September, 2021

5:15 PM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY ALICE TECOTZKY SEPTEMBER 19, 2021 On the eve of the first day of classes, Rachel Pinsen, a reading teacher at M.S. 54, could not wait to get back to school. She looked toward the full reopening of New York City public schools, eager to see her students' faces in 3D without any pixelated glitches. Pinsen's excitement however, is not shared by all who are re-entering school buildings. After 18 months of pandemic-related restrictions, public schools across the city fully reopened on Monday, Sept. 13 as approximately 1 million students were welcomed back into the buildings. But due to concerns about the highly transmissible COVID-19 Delta variant, a complete return to normalcy in the classroom seems implausible. Some are historically overcrowded, with students now taking classes from the auditorium to try and squeeze six feet of space out of buildings that have long been too small. At other schools, parents have donated extra personal protective equipment and additional support staff were hired to help students cope with the transition. Last year, schools in New York City had a remarkably low transmission rate of 0.03 percent, which the city hopes to maintain this year. Schools are taking numerous safety precautions: everyone must wear masks inside of school buildings; all teachers and staff must receive at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 27; and students over the age of 12 in high-risk extracurriculars, like chorus and cheerleading, must be vaccinated. Students are even able to get vaccinated at school during the first week of classes. However, COVID-19 safety resources are not equally distributed across the city's schools. Pinsen cites the efficacy of M.S. 54′s administration, mask compliance, and the extensive personal protective equipment at her school as the root of her comfort, along with the nurturing parent community. "We have our rooms being sanitized every single day after school by the custodial staff—I mean really being sprayed down," Pinsen said. "We have tons of PPE, we have a new hallway protocol. I think every single possible proactive measure has been thought about, discussed, and enacted by our administrative staff and our PTA." On the other hand, Deirdre McIntosh-Brown, co-chair of the Youth, Education, and Libraries Committee of Community Board 9, which represents Morningside Heights and the surrounding West Harlem community, cited unequal levels of safety among schools as a concern. "It is absolutely true [that some schools are safer than others]," she said. "It's safer in districts and in areas where parents work to fundraise and the distribution of resources is totally different." Though all schools are cleaned and equipped with air purifiers in every room, not all have the same parent base as does M.S. 54. There, parents have donated extra surface wipes and paper towels to the school's existing collection of PPE. M.S. 54 is a competitive, sought-after District 3 school with exceedingly high test scores and an involved PTA. While the school is focusing on increasing educational equity and diversity, it was still 54 percent white as of the 2019-20 school year—a higher proportion of white students is typically linked to a greater level of wealth. However, Pinsen noted that the students of M.S. 54 comprise a wide range of socioeconomic statuses and explained that she has students from nearly all demographics and socioeconomic backgrounds. Dr. Luisa Borrell, a distinguished professor at the City University of New York's Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, agreed that the wealth of a school's families and surrounding community plays a large role in its level of safety. "We know that minority and low-income communities are going to be at risk with this because the schools in those neighborhoods, in those zip-codes, have fewer resources," Borrell said. She is also concerned about the ability of schools to ensure that students are able to adhere to social distancing guidelines. "There are [some parents] that feel there's just not enough space in schools, especially because some classrooms are still overcrowded," McIntosh-Brown said, echoing a similar sentiment. "The inequity in class sizes is a problem." While Pinsen did not comment on the sizes of her classes, she agrees that there are big differences among schools' levels of preparedness, and feels safe at her school in particular. The question of reopening schools, however, is a negotiation between safety and the emotional and educational importance of having students in classrooms, with eyes focused on a teacher's face rather than a square in the upper right corner of their parent's computer screen. "Throughout my years of experience, I've always seen kids very eager for the social aspect of school, to see the faces of the kids that they like," Pinsen reflected. "They won't be able to hug and handshake and play around like they normally do, but for a lot of kids, being out of the house is a good thing." For many households, children returning to school is about more than just socialization. With the myriad difficulties that accompany remote learning, the return to in-person school takes a large weight off of parents' shoulders. "It's about going back to work. It's part of child care—it's the whole package," McIntosh-Brown said. Despite the social and familial importance of the return, Borrell underscored that the choice is not a simple one given the public health risks. "It is a balancing act here. For some kids, [school] is the only social interaction they have, and it's very important for their cognitive and social development," she said. "But at the same time, the risk of having these kids not only getting the virus themselves but also taking it home to their siblings and to their parents is a big risk." Despite the value of in-person learning, some, including Borrell, believe that a remote option should be offered to most families, though she doubts that many residents of low-income communities would take advantage of the opportunity due to the cost of child care. Currently, only students with specific medical conditions are eligible for remote learning. Among the parents that McIntosh-Brown has spoken to about the return, opinions are mixed. She does, however, believe that there should be a remote option available for families who are not comfortable sending their children to school. According to Borrell, the same communities—namely those composed of low-income families—that have been disproportionately affected throughout the pandemic will remain the most impacted should in-person schooling contribute to a rise in cases. "It would be more devastating for these particular communities," McIntosh Brown said. "Parents in other communities can get tutors; they can adapt and adjust quickly. But for our communities, where the resources are limited, children would continue to have inconsistent learning." While in-person learning has been linked to incredibly low rates of transmission and is considered vital by many for children's social and educational health, schools are not impervious to the inequities that have plagued the city in general during the pandemic. As the calculus swings between learning and safety, children—and particularly those from low-income communities—are the ones who hang in the balance. Staff writer Alice Tecotzky can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow Spectator on Twitter @ColumbiaSpec. Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.