It was a bumpy first day back to school for the city’s students after Monday’s blizzard, with overall attendance at only 63% throughout the public school system.
Many parents, educators and politicians, particularly in the outer boroughs, said getting to school was a huge hassle — if not downright impossible. The sidewalks were slippery and some crosswalks filled with snow. School buses and other vehicles were getting stuck in the slush. The C train was suspended, making the morning commute even more of a mess.
"It's a mess. It's an absolute mess. 30 inches of snow fell on Staten Island. That's not a routine weather event. That's a historic storm, And you can't call it a normal school day when 30 inches of snow just fell," Councilmember Frank Morano said. "I'm convinced more than ever it was a monumental mistake to try to have in-person learning, at least on Staten Island, today."
He said multiple schools in his district had only 15%-20% students show up. One school had just 200 students, out of 1,350. “Bus stops weren’t shoveled, yellow buses didn’t show up. … You had a special needs school in Great Kills that couldn’t safely unload wheelchairs because snow was piled at the curb. This was crazy.”
He called the decision to reopen Staten Island’s schools “reckless.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani assured families that the roads would be clear by Tuesday in time for the return to school, after calling for a traditional snow day off on Monday without remote learning. Educators in Manhattan and adjacent neighborhoods said they were managing, while challenges seemed more acute in far-flung corners of the city, like Eastern Queens, the North Bronx, South Brooklyn and Staten Island.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Mamdani said it was important to open schools because they serve purposes beyond just academics. “When conditions are safe, our goal will always be to open our schools,” he said.
Deborah Alexander, a Queens parent, said a substantial part of her daughter's day at a high school in the Bronx was spent in the auditorium for a mass study hall due to teachers not showing up. Adding to the difficulty, students use computers to do their homework, which aren’t available in the auditorium. The school phone ban means internet-enabled devices aren’t as easy to come by as they once were.
Alexander was initially on board with schools being open “where there are hot meals, socialization and … learning,” but as it became clear her daughter was spending much of the day in the auditorium with little to do, she decided it probably wasn’t worth it.
“This is a poor excuse for an ‘instructional day,” she said.
Cardozo High School teacher Travis Malekpour said it was impossible to get from his home in Woodlawn in the Bronx to the school in Bayside, Queens, because his street was still covered in snow, and a truck was stuck.
“I’m the type of person who only calls out when I’m really sick,” he said. “I’ve made it to work through snowstorms and the horrible flooding we had in 2023. But I weighed the risks and decided it was better not to go in.”
He said 93 Cardozo staffers were out. He heard the school was combining classes because of the absences.
“I think remote learning with those who could use a device or phone with their actual teachers would have been more educational than what's likely happening in most schools now,” he said.
Not every school was facing an educational breakdown.
Carrying kids through the snow to school was no easy task Tuesday morning.
Kyle Brillante, principal of Highbridge Green School, a middle school in the Bronx, said a dozen staffers and about a quarter of students didn't make it in, but all classes were covered after the school shifted personnel around a bit.
Brillante thanked his "phenomenal" custodial team and the rest of the staff.
"I’m grateful for their incredible work," he said. "I’m also grateful for our staff who showed up to be present for our kids."
Joanna Cohen, principal at P.S. 107 in Park Slope, said it helps that most of the elementary school kids live nearby.
“Most of our students are also in attendance, and we’re having a full, joyful day of learning,” she said.
The teachers union reported widespread absences among staff and students.
More than 100 staffers and 50% of students were absent at Edward R. Murrow High School in Midwood, Brooklyn, according to the union. And at James Madison High School, 50 staff members were absent, while student attendance was under 60%, the union said.
The union also said access was a problem in a few spots. At one pre-K center in South Brooklyn staff had to carry many students, including one in leg braces, from the school bus to the building because the parking lot and streets had not been cleared, union officials said.
Parents said some of their yellow buses hadn’t run because drivers were out or because their lots hadn’t been cleared.
Many kitchen staffers also had trouble getting to schools.
In a video message posted on social media, teachers union President Michael Mulgrew urged teachers to put their families’ safety first.
“We’ve informed [officials] there’s going to be low attendance of students, low attendance of staff,” he said. “It’s a big mess.”
He said the union would protect educators from disciplinary action for staying home because they felt it was the safer move for their families.
More than 170,000 people had signed a petition saying school should be remote Tuesday.
Mike Reilly, a state assemblymember representing the southern half of Staten Island, said he spent the morning coordinating with officials to clear pathways outside of P.S. 55 in Eltingville.
“The crosswalks were impassable,” he said. Then he got a call about a yellow bus for students with disabilities that got into a minor accident because of slick roads, though no one was hurt. “I think the overall theme here is that if the mayor had closed schools for remote learning we would have had the resources and enough time to really fully clean our areas around the schools."
He said city officials should consider making it possible to shutter schools in certain areas when necessary – instead of an all-or-nothing call for the system.
Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said confirmed the overall attendance figure at Tuesday's press conference. He said he was “proud” that many students were benefiting from in-person school.
The school system has struggled with whether to pivot to remote or call off school altogether during emergencies in recent years as more holidays off have been added to the calendar. Mamdani said he had gotten a waiver from the state to close schools on Monday, but that it was time for students and staff to return.
