August 19, 2020

To: Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bill DeBlasio, and Chancellor Richard Carranza
CC: Superintendent Donalda Chumney, Executive Superintendent Marisol Rosales, CSA
President Mark Cannizzaro

Dear Governor Cuomo, Mayor DeBlasio, and Chancellor Carranza,

We are a robust community of schools across Manhattan. Inspired by our colleagues in Districts
6, 13, and 15; in solidarity with our union, CSA, a group of principals of District 2 in Manhattan
call for you to join leaders of the other great cities in our state and nation who have delayed the
launch of in-person learning until we can adequately plan for a safe and instructionally sound
return to school buildings.

The District 2 Team, led by Superintendent Chumney and overseen by Executive

Superintendent Rosales, have been sympathetic to our concerns and have engaged us in
continuous conversation. At this point, it is evident that Central has not provided them with the
details to support our school buildings in opening on time.

Like every school leader, we are actively reviewing data about which staff have approved
accommodations to work from home, and which families are opting for Remote-Only
instruction. These numbers and variables change on a daily basis, creating a dynamic and
evolving situation. This prevents us from creating thoughtful, coherent groupings that will exist
with any type of consistency. Yet we continue.

We have selected Blended Learning Models which ask our cohort size to adhere to social
distancing guidelines. With a revised class size of approximately 10 students, we will need
double to triple the number of teachers on staff. We have not received any concrete guidance
on how to fill these gaps, though we have asked on a near-daily basis for months.

As school leaders, we share a commitment to our students and communities. Since March, we
have worked tirelessly to shift our entire model of instruction, all while supporting staff,
students, and families through crises.

Now, as the summer days wane and we barrel towards September, we can no longer “await
further guidance” on many important issues. It is untenable for us to plan - let alone open our
school buildings in a matter of weeks - without critical policies and resources. It is impossible to
ignore the dozens of missing pieces in the jigsaw puzzle we are being asked to solve.

There are 12 working days remaining before staff return on September 8th. As principals, we
have many pressing tasks to complete in the coming days. For example, we need to program
and design cohorts and communicate to families (taking into account a daily change in
numbers, as well as a complex tapestry of siblings across dozens of other schools). We also
need to fill vacancies and gaps in staffing to support Remote-Only, Blended In-Person, and
Blended Remote cohorts and inventory and recollect devices to ensure access.
These tasks are complicated by the dozens of CSA-distributed questions that the DOE has yet to
offer clear guidance on. With 12 working days remaining, school leaders are awaiting guidance
on:
• Documentation of proper ventilation and delivery of adequate PPE
• An official school calendar so we can provide schedules to families
• Labor and contractual guidance that will drive staffing and programming
• Escalating vacancies and staffing shortages (especially amid a hiring freeze)
• Supporting and providing mandated supports to Students with Disabilities and Multi-
Language Learners
• Providing essential functions of a school when staff are working from home (e.g. some
schools have the entire office staff at home, some don’t have enough lunch coverage)
• Meeting mandates on PE and arts instruction in a blended setting
• Supporting staff and families with securing child care and aftercare
• Purchasing additional computers and devices (school leaders are currently unable to
access the equipment purchasing function)

Even if we were to maximize our 12 working days before welcoming teachers back on
September 8th, we are left with only 2 days with our staff to prepare for students. This is a
large task in normal years, and we can agree this year is far from normal. On those 2 days
scheduled with teachers, we are tasked with:
• Cleaning out classrooms and instructional spaces (our hallways and classrooms still have
student work and belongings frozen in time from March)
• Setting up classrooms to allow for social distancing, including individualized supplies
• Organizing and distributing materials to remote-only students and families
• Communicating with families so they are connected and clear on their child’s cohort and
schedule
• Training staff on essential safety updates, including use of PPE, escalation protocols for
suspected and positive cases, etc.
• Training staff on trauma-informed instruction so they can thoughtfully prepare to
welcome back our students who have all experienced collective trauma
• Training staff on new learning platforms and instructional methods
• Assembling a “highly trained” Building Response Team (BRT), who will be tasked to
responding to illness-related incidents

Our families and school communities deserve honesty and preparedness. We can no longer
pretend we are equipped to welcome students back into our school buildings on September
10th. We cannot accept 2 days of working with teachers to adequately prepare for the task at
hand. We cannot adequately prepare for Blended Learning when much of our time is taken by
logistical puzzles that have no readily-available solution. We cannot open as planned when we
are so often “awaiting further guidance” on crucial policy decisions.

As a united community of educators, we strive for transparency and care with our communities.
We are asking for the same from those meant to guide and support us.
In solidarity,
Lauren Fontana, 02M006, Lillie D. Blake School
Bob Bender, 02M011, William T. Harris School
Susan Felder, 02M040, Augustus Saint Gaudens School
Kelly Shannon, 02M041, The Greenwich Village School
May Wong Lee, 02M042, The Benjamin Altman School
Rhonda Perry, 02M255, Salk School of Science
Adele Schroeter, 02M059, Beekman Hill International School
Veronica Najjar, 02M089, The Liberty School
David Getz, 02M114, East Side Middle School
Jane Hsu, 02M116, Mary Lindley Murray School
Alice Hom, 02M124, Yung Wing Elementary
Carlos Romero, 02M126, Jacob August Riis School
Renny Fong, 02M130, The Hernando De Soto School
Jenny Bonnet, 02M150, Tribeca Learning Center
Samantha Kaplan, 02M151, Yorkville Community School
Mandana Beckman, 02M217 The Roosevelt Island School
Medea McEvoy, 02M267, East Side Elementary School
Terri Ruyter, 02M276, the Battery Park City School
Jessica Orleans, 02M281, The River School
Zeynep Ozkan, 02M289, Hudson River Middle School
Doreen Esposito, 02M290, Manhattan New School
Jacqui Getz, 02M297, 75 Morton
Megan Adams, 02M312, NYC Lab Middle School for Collaborative Studies
Pat Carney, 02M340, The Sixth Avenue Elementary School
Maggie Siena, 02M343, the Peck Slip School
David Thacker Bowell, 02M347, “47” The American Sign Language and English Lower School
Nancy Harris, 02M397, Spruce Street School
Daniel McCormick, 02M527, East Side School for Social Action