(Updated March 16 with the closure of public schools)
Since Donald Trump's alarming statement, New York schools, private and public, have taken action. More and more French schools are deciding to close their doors, while others prefer to follow the directives of the education department.
At The School, the decision was made to close the school " since yesterday for obvious health and safety reasons. We have been working for several days to set up distance courses Explains Rachel Loble, the director of school life. According to her, no " decision has not been made on the reopening but more information is awaited. "
The Lyceum Kennedy, via principal Laurent Bonardi, also announced that it will be “closed for the next two weeks as a precaution. Educational monitoring will be done remotely via the Google Classroom platform“.
La Petite École, a nursery school, has also decided to close its doors today and Monday, but director Virgil de Volvère feels " a little lost. Each private school does as it feels, but we don't really know how to react. The most important thing is to reassure parents and clearly explain to them how we are going to proceed. "Distance courses are going to be installed but for young children, it" is important that they do not lose the connection with the school. We are going to prepare a satchel with a program and some things for them. Everyone has to adapt. "
The Lycée Français de New York canceled all courses on Friday to train teachers for online courses. Monday will be a test day for these lessons with all the students. The Lycée, which also had to cancel its gala scheduled for Saturday, has not yet announced any closure beyond.
The International School of Brooklyn which has also closed and which " discuss when the school will be able to reopen. "
In the Westchester, the French American School of New York will be closed from Monday. “We already have fewer students today, says Marine Héraud, director of admissions, and we will wait to see how the virus evolves to reassess our decisions. We are mainly expecting directives from the Department of Education. "
Also in Westchester, Saint John Paul School has also decided to close until at least next week.
Bill de Blasio resolves to close
Friday, the VHG Group (Arc en Ciel, Petits Poussins and Bilingual Nest) decided to stay open “ but we are awaiting official decisions. If they ask us to close, we will close ”, explained CEO Vanessa Ghenania. The FIAF, which had initially made the same decision for its nursery school, finally decided to close from Monday until March 29. The other activities (French lessons and cultural activities) are also suspended for the same period. And finally, the decision of the mayor Bill de Blasio fell on Sunday evening. After resisting for several days, he announced the closure from at least Monday until April 20 (after the spring break). On March 23, classes will resume but online. Teachers and students have a week to prepare.
Follow the progress of school closings on the Department of Education of NYC website.
