Statement on School Reopening
April 12, 2021
Student-Led School Reopening Strike — October 1, 2020
Since March, 2020, New York City students and their families have been sent through cycles of uncertainty and contradiction as City leadership has delayed making sensible, fair choices for public school students.
As community members, we understand the severity of COVID-19, and will continue to take measures to control its spread. However, as students we can no longer afford to mortgage our educational futures as gyms, restaurants, and bars are prioritized over schools. We have said it before and we will say it again- the problems of ventilation in schools, the technology gap, the overcrowding in classes, and the unequal distribution of resources have always been there. These problems and especially the accommodations for ESL students and students with disabilities need to be addressed.
When we first learned that the earliest we would be permitted to attend school was January, 2021- we were shocked. We hoped that this policy decision would create safer learning environments for students who have access to stable homes and internet connections, but for low income students, families suffering job loss and students in temporary housing- this decision- coupled with a complete lack of investment in remote learning- left behind a large portion of the City’s students.
While necessary to stop the spread of Covid 19, keeping schools closed has only entrenched and perpetuated the inequity of our already deeply segregated school system, which leaves low income Black, Brown, and under-represented Asian students behind. If we aim to create educational environments that are both safe for public health and productive for building educational equity, we must devise arrangements that prioritize and invest in our most marginalized students.
This means funneling more money into our schools, hiring more guidance counselors and acknowledging the importance of the mental health of our students. This means honoring the call for Police Free Schools and funneling the money poured into metal detectors back into school community care, making them obsolete. It means ensuring language justice for parents that aren't English speaking and creating accommodations for ESL students and students with disabilities. It means addressing the lack of ventilation in schools across the five boroughs, reducing class sizes and prioritizing bridging the digital divide that has made even remote learning inequitable.
The items listed above alone will not equate to the culturally competent integration of our schools, but each of these is a necessary component on the path toward the future we seek.
Research demonstrates that marginalization contributes both to infectious disease such as Covid-19 and to inequitable education outcomes. By not prioritizing the most marginalized students in our community, we are effectively undermining their well-being both in terms of health and education. Shortchanging our most vulnerable students will ultimately undermine our City, and we can no longer tokenize marginalized youth to #KeepSchoolsOpen without the proper planning and elevation of student voice that will ensure our academic, psychological, cultural and physical safety.
Investing in our students means improving the conditions of both in person and remote learning. It means supporting the teachers responsible for supporting us. It means fully funding our schools, prioritizing representative educational staff at every level, and making resource equity real so we don’t have to spend time we should be healing from this pandemic year fighting for the majority of New York City public schools while a select few benefit from their zip code, name recognition and testing data. All schools, all students and all communities are worthy of support and what’s more- it has never been clearer whose communities have been most deeply impacted by inequity and are therefore OWED prioritization and resources.
Investing in our students means listening to them, their families and communities, and then making proactive changes to create safer, more holistic school environments for the many, not the few.
Here are Teens Take Charge members’ thoughts:
“There’s all this talk about going back to normal. We do not want to go back to our hyper-segregated, under resourced schools. We want change.” - TTC organizer Meril Mousoom
“Our mental health should be a priority, not a sacrifice and our voices should be implemented not ignored.” - TTC organizer Chisom Nnam
“We should be prioritizing a safe reopening for each and every student, and taking into account the needs of all students. In schools and remote learning, there is no support for the mental health of students, which includes the lasting effects of seeing those like us being oppressed and murdered in the streets. We deserve the necessary support to be able to learn effectively in a safe environment. There is no excuse for the dismissal of marginalized students. ” - TTC organizer Gaby Cancel
“When discussing education and our future, the pandemic is not an excuse to neglect marginalized students who need representation now more than ever. In fact exerting power for ALL is not only important but a necessity. Neglect is something we must not and will not endure.” - TTC organizer Mariam Mtchedlishvili
“Youth employment is an experience being taken away from students due to the pandemic, while places like gyms are open. Youth employment helps students in need financially and helps shape the career path they want to go along. Having experience with employment for youth is important for the future as WE ARE the future and right now we are very limited. It’s hard for students of color to find employment in general since we are minorities, but now a whole opportunity is being taken away from us.” - TTC organizer Maryam Choudhury
We stand in solidarity with parents, students, teachers, and communities fighting for a safe and equitable plan for the 2020-2021 school year and beyond. Will you stand with us?
Check out these resources regarding what a trauma informed, culturally responsive New York City education could look like if we #ListenToTheYouth and their allies.
https://www.education4liberation.org
Got questions?
Hit us up at hi@teenstakecharge.com