Friday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) touted his city’s efforts to reopen schools amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
De Blasio claimed New York City has “set literally a global standard for what it would take to bring back schools.” The mayor emphasized the importance of getting kids back into schools, arguing remote education is “far less helpful to our kids.”
“Look, all summer long we’ve been preparing,” de Blasio told MSNBC’s Willie Geist. “In fact, ventilation as an example, where so much work was done over the summer to improve the ventilation in the classrooms. We set literally a global gold standard for what it would take to bring back schools. And I want you to understand this, no school system in the world that I know of has layered all these pieces on top of each other. Every adult and student has to be wearing a mask at all times. Social distancing, we’re talking about a New York City public school classroom that is going to have 10 kids in it, and you’re talking about constant cleaning.”
“The things we’re doing here are literally taking the best examples from around the world and combining them to one health and safety plan,” he continued. “That takes a lot of work. The staffing is something we realize we had to add more, and it’s going to happen and schools are opening in New York City and it’s going on be a big part of how New York City comes back. Because, Willie, you see it, there is more and more people coming back to work. There’s more and more people on the streets and the subways. Things are happening in this city, and we’re going to be the largest school system by far in America that actually opens up schools, and kids need it. Here is the thing, Willie. You can do remote education. It’s easier. It’s by far less helpful to our kids and our families if kids can’t be in school, can’t be with a teacher helping them, can’t get the support they deserve, can’t see their friends, can’t learn in the most effective way. It sets them back, and we’re not going to let that happen.”
De Blasio went on to say that successfully reopening schools is a “crucial piece” to New York coming back strong.
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent
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