In September, NYC schools opened up, giving students the option to return in person or continue online for the 2020-21 school year.

Mayor Bill De Blasio and Chancellor Meisha Porter recently announced that NYC schools would reopen completely in person for the fall 2021 term.

In the Chancellor’s letter, Porter mentioned that all schools will meet CDC standards along with the continuation of the current health and safety plan.

The current health and safety program requires everyone to do daily screenings, maintain constant social distancing, sustain working ventilation in buildings, and offer on-site testing.

Though this safety plan does seem foolproof, it does also sound impossible to keep track of thousands of students day-to-day actions all over the city.

WJPS junior Bianca Cavounis, who has been completely remote this year said, “The irresponsibility of other kids, and the thought of them taking off their masks or the thought of them not listening to this safety plan seems like a big issue.”

In schools like WJPS that share a building with other schools, staying on task with these guidelines seems difficult considering the size of the building and the amount of students.

On the other side, Sarah Hussian, a WJPS junior who has been hybrid for most of this school year said, “I think it’ll be beneficial to a lot of people. It’ll help us get back on track since remote learning caused many of us to slack [off].”

NYC school’s reopening is definitely a push for returning to normality. Going back to school will once again allow us to meet with our peers and teachers, though big news like this could have been better sprung on students, parents, and teachers.

“school busses” by loop_oh is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0