There was confusion and concerns at Cardozo High School in Bayside, Queens Thursday after the mayor changed the city's back-to-school plan again.

Yolla Etienne came by to pick up her son’s schedule. only to learn he won’t start in classroom instruction next week after all.

What You Need To Know

  • Teachers at Cardozo High School say the school doesn’t have enough teachers for in-classroom instruction

  • Teachers also question the safety of school buildings, their ventilation systems and the city’s work to sanitize classrooms

  • Some teachers question if some schools are technologically ready for remote learning

He had chosen to alternate between in-school and remote instruction, the option known as blended learning. 

Now, under the city’s new phased-in reopening, the start of in-classroom learning at Cardozo and other high schools has been pushed back a week and a half, to October 1. 

The changes make Etienne wonder if her son will ever be safe from the coronavirus in school.

“I’m just glad I have the option if blended is not good for him, he can do everything 100 percent online,” said Etienne .

The changes are only making freshman Preston Auyong’s first-year high school jitters even worse.

“It’s going to be a crazy weird year this year,” said Auyong. 

Dozens of teachers protested outside the school Thursday morning before the mayor made his announcement. They, like teachers across the city, question the safety of school buildings, their ventilation systems and the city’s work to sanitize classrooms. They want to go all remote until the buildings are ready. The new plan did not ease their concerns.

“Just something to buy more time for something they have no idea what they’re doing with, “ said teacher Ara Muradyan. 

Teachers at Cardozo say they still don’t have enough teachers for in-person teaching. They say 65 classes in the school right now don’t have teachers.

Some also question if the extra time is enough to get Cardozo technologically ready for remote learning.

"As it is now, teachers are talking over themselves, bringing in their own laptops, using their own hot spots. We have teachers using their own cellphones to communicate with kids," said teacher Dino Sferrazza. 

Teachers say they do want to return to the classroom and their students too, but only when it’s safe to do so.

“Hopefully now, they will figure out what needs to be done and get it done," said Sferrazza.