Six years ago, Tina Padilla, 53, had to learn how to walk again after emergency back surgery left her with a metal rod implanted along her spine, but all traces of her painful past were seemingly gone as the fifth-grade teacher danced with a swarm of students to celebrate the return to in-person learning at P.S. 94’s “Welcome Back” bash held on Saturday, Oct. 16, in Norwood.

 

The outdoor event, held on the school’s grounds, located at 3530 Kings College Place, attracted over 150 parents, students, and teachers, all eager to celebrate the school’s reopening after COVID-19 forced New York City public schools to close and pivot to remote, and later hybrid learning from March 2020 until September 2021.

 

Padilla described Saturday’s celebration, complete with face painting, cotton candy, balloons, live music, and a brightly colored bouncy castle, as invigorating. “It’s the closeness of seeing the kids,” she told Norwood News. “Even though you can’t see their smiling faces through their masks, you can feel the love.”

 

Meanwhile, like many P.S. 94 students, 10-year-old Brandon Young, a 5th grader, was just happy to be back in the classroom with his friends. “It feels good to be back,” said Young. “It really does.”

 

After 14 months of a somewhat erratic school schedule, including at least one prior attempt to reopen schools in person in September 2020, only to close them again a few months later and pivot to a hybrid learning model, on May 24 of this year, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that NYC public schools would fully reopen on Sept. 13, with no remote learning option.

 

It was a decision that triggered a mixed-bag of reactions from parents and teachers alike, some of whom still wanted to retain a remote learning option amid the ongoing risk of the COVID-19 Delta variant. Others, such as P.S. 94’s interim acting principal, Diana Baez, were and are excited to reopen in person, though anxious to ensure the safety of the school’s 929 students, from K through 5th grade.

“We worry a little because we want to make sure we’re following protocol,” Baez told Norwood News at Saturday’s celebration. “Social distancing is hard because they [the students] were excited to see their friends that they haven’t seen in a year and a half. So, we definitely need to make sure they’re staying 3 feet apart.”

 

To curb the spread of the coronavirus, students are required to follow social distancing, mask-wearing, and hand-washing guidelines, and unvaccinated students, who have consented, are subject to random COVID-19 testing every week.

 

Additionally, the Department of Education (DOE) and the mayor mandated that all public-school teachers and staff be vaccinated, imposing a Sept. 27 deadline for receipt of at least one dose.

 

Vaccines are currently not available to children under 12 years of age. However, on Sunday, Oct. 17, on ABC’s “This Week,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical advisor to U.S. President Joe Biden, said, upon approval, vaccines for five to 11-year-olds could become available as early as November 2021.

 

However, despite vaccine mandates, various safety protocols, and regular testing, some Bronx parents still don’t support the return to in-person learning and are furious with the mayor’s decision to scratch the remote option.

 

Norwood News recently reported on efforts by the Bronx Parent Leaders Advocacy Group (BPLAG) to reverse the mayor’s mandate. At a rally on July 26, outside the offices of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) union in Manhattan, a group of about 20 parents rallied to call for the reinstatement of a remote learning option for immunocompromised students and for students who thrive academically in a remote learning environment.

 

“I am very much, more than ever, still in favor of a remote option,” BPLAG president, Farah Despeignes, told Norwood News recently via text message. “My sons will not be returning to any DOE building under these circumstances.” Despeignes is currently homeschooling her two sons, one of whom is in the 7th grade and the other in the 8th grade.

 

Asked if the DOE had pushed back on her decision to homeschool, Despeignes said the DOE “wants to push parents against a wall by discouraging home instruction, and making parents feel that their only choice is the classroom.” She added, “The DOE and the mayor are now in the business of bullying parents and students. This is unacceptable in a democracy, which is supposed to be all about negotiation and compromise.” Norwood News has reached out to DOE for comment. We did not receive an immediate response.

 

According to the DOE’s daily COVID-19 case records from Sept. 13, 2021, to Oct. 17, 2021, there were 5,136 confirmed, cumulative, positive COVID-19 cases, of which 74 percent related to students and 26 percent related to staff. The DOE’s monitoring system tracks active COVID-19 infections across NYC’s public school system. When positive cases are detected, the DOE can implement a series of actions, including classroom closures, quarantining and school shutdowns to stop the spread.

 

Cumulatively, since Sept. 13, 2021, the DOE has reported 1,681 classroom closures, 2,255 partial classroom quarantines, and one complete school shutdown relating to a situation which has since been resolved. So far, P.S. 94 has reported no COVID-19 cases. However, teachers and staff are fully aware that a coronavirus outbreak could arrive at any time. This reality has parents like Essence Bailey, mother of a 4th and a 6^th grader, worried about what will happen once winter arrives, and students are forced to stay inside, potentially triggering an increase in positive cases.

“I believe if we just take the precautions of the Centers for Disease Control [& Prevention], and also just following the simple rules, like washing your hands, we’ll be okay,” said Bailey. “And if your child is sick, don’t bring them to school.”

 

However, before those long, winter months set in, P.S. 94 plans to take advantage of the warm, fall weather and continue holding events outside, like the “Welcome Back” bash.

 

It’s a plan that makes 10-year-old Heiddy Delosantos, who is in the 5^th grade, excited for what’s ahead. When asked how it felt to be back at school, she told Norwood News, “I just love being here!”