It was back to school Monday for more than 55,000 of the city’s public high school students across the five boroughs as Mayor Bill de Blasio welcomed students in grades 9 through 12 back for the first time since November, calling it “a hopeful sign about our future” as the city’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic progresses.
But the positivity rate remains high or is rising in parts of the southern Queens district of Councilman Eric Ulrich, who is calling on the city’s Department of Education to change its protocols for COVID-19 closures. In a recent letter penned to new Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter, Ulrich detailed the many challenges parents are currently facing as a result of school closures.
