NYC In-Person Learning Dips Again: 54% Of Students Fully Remote

NEW YORK CITY — New York City’s public school buildings may be open, but they’re getting emptier.

The number of students who opted for fully remote learning ticked up again last week to 54 percent of the city’s total enrollment, according to Department of Education data.

It’s a number that has steadily increased since the summer when it stood at roughly 30 percent.

“Using the most current data from this survey, approximately 46% of students are returning to school buildings this fall,” a DOE spokesperson wrote.

The latest enrollment numbers reflect a week of mixed news on New York’s fight against the coronavirus. Localized coronavirus “red zones” in lockdown garnered concerns while the city announced early rounds of random in-school COVID-19 tests only uncovered a handful — 18 as of last counting — of cases out of roughly 10,000 tests.

The city’s return to classrooms during the pandemic is an unprecedented endeavor, and one that Mayor Bill de Blasio is quick to tout.

But the school reopening has hit various snags along the way and questions remain about its impact for low-income and students of color.

A recent New York Daily News analysisfound the city’s whitest and wealthiest schools had far greater numbers of students return opt for in-person learning than schools with mostly low-income students of color.