NYC Mayor Mamdani, schools chancellor say remote learning has "gone very well" Monday
New York City's pivot to remote learning Monday has "gone very well," Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said Monday.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the move to remote learning Sunday as a powerful winter storm brought record-breaking snow to the Big Apple.
The remote learning applies to K-8 students, while high schoolers and some 6-8 grade students were already scheduled to have the day off for a professional development day.
"As of 9:15 a.m. this morning, we have over 400,000 parents, student and staff logons," Mamdani said.
"So this morning, I not only logged on with the mayor to a class, where we read 'The Snowy Day,' I also logged on with my own daughter before I left home. And so I was pleased to announce that both times we were able to log in, like most of the rest of the city, to our classrooms. Things have gone very well this morning. It was a smooth start to the day. Students were able to log on to their virtual classroom quickly and get right into their schools day," Samuels said.
Any school or family having issues can call (718) 935-5100 for assistance.
"Preparation matters and we are proud to share that we experienced only minor hiccups with remote logins this morning. Our Helpdesk has reported that the number of support requests is in line with a normal school day, and our students are logged in and engaging in virtual schoolwork," a spokesperson for New York City public schools said.
Samuels said 8,000 Department of Education staff are working to make sure schools are ready to open for classes Tuesday.
Mamdani joked about the resentment some students might feel about not getting a snow day, and reiterated his somewhat surprising offer of Sunday. The mayor had previously explained a snow day was not an option because of a state law requiring 180 days of instruction, and with recent holidays added to the calendar, there wasn't the bandwidth for a school day in this case.
"I did visit a classroom this morning remotely, alongside the chancellor, and reiterated my offer to students that they could pelt me in the face with a snowball. They were very excited about that, and asked for a time and place."
The decision to go remote was somewhat fraught. Parents recalled the last time New York City attempted full remote learning in 2024, it took hours for students and teachers to log on. Officials said prior to Monday that system has since been "stress tested," and that they felt confident Monday would pass more smoothly.