August 18, 2020
TO: Mayor Bill De Blasio
Chancellor Richard Carranza
CC: Governor Andrew Cuomo, District 6 Superintendent Manuel Ramirez, Manhattan
Executive Superintendent Marisol Rosales, District 6 CEC, Councilmember Ydanis
Rodriguez, Councilmember Mark Levine, Assemblywoman Carmen De La Rosa,
Borough President Gale Brewer, State Senator Robert Jackson, Representative Adriano
Espaillat, CSA President Mark Cannizzaro, UFT President Michael Mulgrew
Inspired by our colleagues in Districts 15 and 13; in solidarity with our union, CSA; the
principals of District 6, northern Manhattan, call for you to join the leaders of the other great
cities of this country in arranging for 100% remote instruction until such a time as school leaders
can prepare for and implement verifiable safety protocols, and plan for the effective remote
instruction our students deserve.
The District 6 Leadership Team, led by Superintendent Ramirez, and the Manhattan Borough
Office, led by Executive Superintendent Rosales, have been supportive and continue to engage
us in conversations around our collective concerns. However, it is clear that Central has not
provided our support teams with detailed information and implementable options.
We have been asked to choose a model of instruction or propose an exception. So we state our
concerns in that format. We have been asked why the models suggested do not meet the needs
of our schools. They are:
1. None of the models allow parents to get back to work!
2. Many of the 141 health and safety concerns delineated by CSA have not been addressed.
3. The NYC Commissioner of Health has resigned and the federal government does not

provide the citizenry with credible scientifically backed protocols. We worry if your
suggested protections are suitable and that the administration can deliver PPE to every
staff member and student. This is a much bigger lift than needed for equipping hospital
staff.
4. The models call for one teacher for every 11 students. We would need nearly twice as

many teachers than we currently have. In addition, the policy around staffing for students
with disabilities and multi-language learners has not been determined. There are many

 pedagogues assigned to District and Central offices, but we have not heard that those
people will be available to work in schools. Schools have been further hamstrung with
hiring freezes and budget cuts.
5. The custodial system is being asked to keep hospital-like conditions and can’t be

expected to do the deep and constant cleaning and sanitizing without more staff and
increased budget.
6. We submit that the Citywide contagion rate of 1-2% masks higher neighborhood rates,

for example, by averaging the infection rates in Park Slope and Tribeca with Astoria and
Bedford Stuyvesant.
7. Our buildings’ ventilation systems are not all operating as designed and do not maximize

outdoor air ventilation. Principals who have no expertise in this area are being asked by
the Department of Education to confirm their effectiveness without documentation.
8. It is not physically and emotionally appropriate to restrict students’ movement in a

six-square-foot area for five and a half hours a day, while children also continue with
instruction while eating lunch.
9. Principals are being asked to be the operations and plant managers of the buildings in a

way that precludes us from tending to the trauma-informed and culturally responsive
curriculum and pedagogy now so critical to our schools’ development and in alignment
with the six domains of the Multi-Dimensional Principal Performance Review, MPPR,
the roles for which we’re hired and evaluated.
Therefore, we seek the following exceptions:
1. Launch the school year with 100% remote learning, until the system is prepared to

implement verifiable safety protocols.
2. Begin remote instruction after staff have had time for the kind of planning and

professional development necessary to implement the trauma-informed and culturally
sustaining pedagogy and curricula.
3. Phase in in-person learning only after the health and safety protocols have been met and

verified by certified experts, and staff have internalized those protocols.

 4. For children who cannot safely stay at home, open every elementary school as a REC

Center where children will be in familiar surroundings with familiar faces. The REC
Centers will allow children a safe place when there is no adult at home, to connect to
their remote classes online, the assistance of adult guidance, and food security.
5. Effectively conduct outreach to all families that accurately conveys important messages

about the continuity of learning, and provides simultaneous translations in all home
languages.
6. Provide internet connectivity and internet connected devices that are developmentally

appropriate and support the various platforms used, for the roughly 30,000-40,000
children who will be entering the system, before their classes start.
We have a grossly inequitable system and City. Asking an undervalued and under-resourced
system to do three times the work with even fewer resources is unrealistic and unattainable.
We need to level with parents and staff. We cannot do a better job with remote learning (and
well over half of all students will be remote each day, even in each of the approved models),
while pretending that we can be back in the buildings at the same time.
As a united community of educators, transparency with parents and community has always been
critical. We face constraints that affect safety, preparations, and planning that will affect
students, families, teachers, and staff. We are all in support of a safe, productive, and successful
school year.
Yours in the struggle for safe and equitable learning,

Ysidro Abreu, Maria Teresa, 06M319
Hilduara Abreu, Jacob H. Schiff, 06M 192
Christopher Anest, Ellen Lurie, 06M005
Karen Bailey, Adam Clayton Powell, 06M153
Deirdre Budd, Juan Bosch, 06M178
Sandra Capers, Harold O. Levy, 06M052
Boris Consuegra, Alexander Humboldt, 06M115
Judith De Los Santos, Mott Hall, 06M220
Robin Edmonds, Amistad Dual Language School, 06M311
David Falciani, Community Health Academy of the Heights, 06M346
Luis Fernandez, Wright Brothers School, 06M028

 Rachael Garcia, P.S. 173, 06M173
Carlos Guzman, Patria Mirabal, 06M324
Washington Hernandez, Luis Belliard, 06M008
Victoria Hunt, Dos Puentes, 06M103
Monica Klehr, Harbor Heights, 06M349
Benjamin Lev, Hamilton Grange, 06M209
Paul Lev, High School of Law and Public Service, 06M467
Evelyn Linares, The Twenty-first Century Academy for Community Leadership, 06M209
Renzo Martinez, Washington Heights Academy, 06M366
La Kisha Mc Daniel, Eleanor Roosevelt, 06M149
Camilo Mejia, P.O. Michael J Buczek, 06M048
Connie Mejia, Park Terrace, 06M018
Cary Pantaleon, Audubon, 06M128
Rosalina Perez, P.S. 189 06M189
Carlos Pichardo, Bea Fuller Rogers Intermediate School, 06M528
Julia Pietri, Dyckman Valley, 06M152
Wendy Poveda, Juan Pablo Duarte, 06M132
Olga Quiles, Community Math and Science Prep, 06M328
Charles Reilly, Hamilton Heights, 06M368
Thomas Rochowicz, Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School, 06M348
Maritza Rodriguez, Shorac Kappock, 06M98
Timothy Sigerson, The College Academy, 06M462
Adam Stevens, Duke Ellington, 06M004
Emel Topbas-mejia, Hudson Cliffs, 06M187
Javier Trejo, Health and Career Sciences, 06M468
Bryanna Velazquez, The Paula Hebavny School, 06M278
Juan Villar, High School for Media and Communications, 06M463
Camille Wallin, Muscota New School, 06M314
Erica Zigelman, Middle School 322, 06M322
Julia Zuckerman, Castle Bridge School, 06M513