Department of Education boss David Banks staunchly defended keeping schools open amid the coronavirus surge in an interview with The Post, arguing that recurrent disruptions wreak havoc on kids.
“A lot of time people talk about remote learning from an adult perspective,” Banks said from DOE headquarters one week into his tenure. “If you listen to this from a student perspective, the kids want to be in school.”
Banks — who blasted the closure of Chicago schools this week — said shuttering classrooms damages kids, especially at-risk students.
“When you separate them out from that it creates a huge emotional vacuum,” Banks said. “What we saw is a lot of that vacuum got filled by a lot of negativity. This gang element. So many of these stories that we’ve seen around kids bringing weapons and being engaged in this rash of negative behavior. That was because they got removed from their normal routine.”
Banks acknowledged elevated student and staff absentee rates this week amid a coronavirus wave, but predicted that classrooms will ultimately normalize.
“The decision that the mayor made was the right decision to open these schools,” he said. “We had over 600,000 students who have come back to school. Listen, our numbers are still down from what they would ordinarily be. But given the circumstances that we’re dealing with, I feel really really good about where we are.”
He attributed the bulk of student absenteeism to continued parental unease over COVID-19 given the recent rise in cases, but asserted that data shows that schools are safe.
“We knew that it would be down,” he said of attendance this week. “There are still a lot of parents who are concerned. And I can’t blame them. We should all be concerned. But I think over the next couple of weeks you will start to see those numbers turn.”
Banks said that the peak of the current COVID-19 spike is still on the horizon and that any transition to remote learning would have been in place for an extended period.
“We would probably be remote for the next four to six weeks,” he said. “And nobody wanted to see that happen again. I feel sorry for what is going on in Chicago. That is going to be so bad for the kids. That is an adult fight that is happening out there.”
Citing the spread of the virus in recent weeks, the United Federation of Teachers asked Mayor Eric Adams to temporarily implement remote learning to allow staffing to stabilize.
Describing conditions inside city schools as unsafe and highlighting student and staff infection rates, other union factions have been adamant in calling for a pause in classroom learning.
In addition, a group of city and state lawmakers also lobbied Adams this week to offer a temporary remote learning option to allow parents time to get their kids tested.
But Banks said he is committed to keeping classroom doors open and is working in concert with union leaders to that end.
The Brooklyn native and graduate of city public schools said he talks to UFT president Michael Mulgrew and principals union chief Mark Cannizzaro multiple times a day.
“We are all on the same page,” he said. “We did the right thing. We put all the things in place. We know it’s not going to be perfect. It’s going to be very bumpy throughout the month of January and maybe even a little bit into February. But at some point that is going to shift and we will have been better for it.”
Despite entering his chancellorship in the middle of a maelstrom, Banks said he has been buoyed by staff and student enthusiasm during visits to city schools this week.
“It was just a beautiful thing to see,” he said. “The level of commitment from the teachers, from the administrators, from the school safety agents, the custodial engineers. That has been nothing short of amazing.”