Chaos will likely rule the classrooms under the city’s plan to reopen public schools with a staggered schedule this fall, teachers told The Post on Wednesday.
“There are so many variables right now that teachers don’t know what to think,” a teachers-union leader in Brooklyn said.
“The assumption is that this is going to be a mess.”
Several teachers told The Post they had a host of worries about the looming school year — including personal health fears, the feasibility of staggered student attendance and concerns about their own kids being at home while they’re at work.
“We have eight weeks before this is all supposed to fall in place,” said a teacher in Manhattan’s high-performing District 2.
“Heads are spinning. How do we make sure kids have their masks on? What do you do when they don’t social distance? What are the halls going to look like? It’s endless.”
Another teacher said Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Department of Education should have addressed the issue earlier and given principals more time to develop a plan.
The head of the United Federation of Teachers, Michael Mulgrew, offered a cautious endorsement of de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza’s reopening plan, but noted that many teachers “are obviously very apprehensive with so many of our members passing away from” COVID-19.
Mulgrew also blasted the city for not providing support to parents who can’t be home to supervise their kids during remote learning sessions.
“We’ve been telling the city this for months and they still have not gotten back to us,” he told The Post.
“This is a crisis we know is coming right at us.”