New York City is moving forward with plans to launch Two Virtual Schools that will serve Ninth Graders in 2023.
One of the Schools will have a “heavy” Career and Internship focus, while the other will be “completely remote,” said Carolyne Quintana, Deputy Chancellor for Teaching and Learning, during a Virtual Meeting last week, with the NYC Coalition for Educating Families Together, a Parent Advocacy group.
“Those virtual school options are for students who may need to work from home, whether it’s for health reasons, for socio-emotional reasons, [or] maybe they were more successful that way,” she said, adding that the City is “working with partners to get that done.”
The City plans to eventually expand the offerings to include Middle School Students, Quintana noted, though she offered No timeline. The Department did Not want to create a Virtual option for Elementary Students for now, since that would require a Caregiver to stay home, she said.
Since taking office in January, Schools Chancellor David Bank,s has repeatedly said that he sees a greater role for Virtual Instruction even absent the COVID Pandemic, arguing it could give Students access to a wider range of quality Learning experiences.
But he has yet to share the Specifics of that vision, and many unanswered questions remain about the City’s Two forthcoming Virtual programs. Among them: how will they be structured, what will the curriculum be, and how can families enroll. The regular High School application process has concluded, though Students have Not yet received Admissions offers.
Tom Liam Lynch, who runs the InsideSchools Online Guide, said it is crucial for the City to provide Information to the tens of thousands of rising Ninth Graders who are expected to soon receive High School Admissions offers, and may want to consider a Virtual option. “The onus is on the administration at this point to formally share those specifics so families can start to wrap their heads around what the fall might look like for their children,” he said.
Providing Students some Virtual offerings a la carte, such as Computer Science or AP classes, as the City has previously tried, would be relatively easy to quickly launch, Lynch said. But launching a Full-Time Virtual option is a much heavier lift.
Nathaniel Styer, a Department Spokesperson, said more Details will be shared “soon.” The City’s Teachers Union said last month, that they had “initial conversations” with the City about Virtual Teaching, but did Not yet reach any concrete agreements. “We’re still awaiting further discussions with the DOE,” a Union Spokesperson said Wednesday.
New York City is One of just a handful of large School districts that did Not provide a Virtual option this year. Philadelphia and Detroit created Virtual Academies during the Pandemic. Los Angeles, the Nation’s second largest School District behind New York City, plans to launch New Virtual Schools this fall. But for some Districts that ran Virtual Academies separately from their Regular Schools, there was less interest in them, in part because there were fewer opportunities for Students to interact with their Classmates and Teachers.
In New York City, it’s unclear how much demand there will be for Virtual options this fall, though limiting them to Ninth Grade will significantly narrow the potential pool of Students. If the Programs are popular, and as they expand to Middle School, significant tradeoffs could arise.
The City’s Public Schools, excluding Charters, have seen Enrollment slide about 6.4%, or roughly 64,000 Students, since the Pandemic hit, and New Remote offerings could further Drain Students, and Funding, from Brick-and-Mortar Campuses. Such attrition could increase pressure to Close or Merge Schools. On the other hand, the Virtual programs could help keep some Families in the District who might otherwise have considered other options.
Whether Remote options will work well for Students remains murky. Research has linked Online Learning to Worse test scores. Students who learned Remotely last School year tended to do worse Academically than Students who were in person, according to Two studies. Even those who voluntarily chose Virtual schools before the Pandemic tended to experience Lower Test scores and Graduation rates.
Still some argue that an Online Option can help Prevent Students from Dropping Out or provide needed Options for Students who were Bullied or have Medical needs. New York City Officials initially suggested that Virtual options could help battle Chronic Absenteeism, which has surged this school year. And some Parents reported that their Children thrived with Remote instruction.
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