Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza scolded parents Wednesday for questioning Department of Education transparency in the wake of the coronavirus.
Responding to criticism from a Queens Community Board about school closure communications, Carranza said the DOE was not withholding updates.
“It’s disingenuous to think that we’re sitting on all this information,” he said. “We have all the answers and we’re just waiting to spring it upon the public at the last minute available. That’s just so not the case that it’s really disrespectful to my colleagues that have been working since March around the clock.”
Carranza countered that the DOE has been grappling with a slew of variables – from COVID-19 infection rates to shifting state dictates – in trying to reopen schools.
“I’m going to ask my fellow New Yorkers,” he said. “Please. We haven’t slept since March. Please. We feel it like you do. A little bit of patience with us.”
In a letter to Carranza sent Wednesday, Community Board 6, which covers Forest Hills and Rego Park, criticized the DOE not being more timely in telling parents about school openings and closings.
“Our local school administrators and parents have worked hand in hand to get our schools open in hopes of providing our city the stability and routine it needs,” the letter stated. “Our children have worked to adapt to learning in new and different ways. All we ask is that you partner with us by keeping the lines of communication wide open by engaging and informing our families and local administrators.”
Carranza insisted that the DOE was releasing information as it had it — and urged patience amid the COVID-19 disruption.
He noted that school closures were determined by color-coded maps from the state that required deciphering and vetting.
“Please, some understanding,” he said. “We’re not hoarding this information and then not providing it. We are working around the clock and it’s just not fair to my colleagues who are, quite frankly, I’m worried about them. I’m worried about their health. That they haven’t had time off. That they haven’t stopped working.”
In urging parental understanding, Carranza gave an example of the lengths to which the DOE is going to provide viable educations this year.
He said DOE staffers have been individually swapping out device SIM cards for kids in homeless shelters to activate service. “How do you prepare for those kinds of things?” he asked.
Parents have also complained about continuing delays in the release of basic DOE policies this year — from grading and attendance to high school admissions information.
