Teachers, leave the kids at home!
A 12-year-old student in Brooklyn is leading a campaign to get the city Education Department to reverse a bizarre school scheduling plan that would have students attend school just one day a week before Christmas.
Isaac Regnier, a seventh-grader at IS96 in Bensonhurst, Online Petition The two-week-old petition has already garnered more than 6,400 signatures and calls on Schools Chancellor David Banks to “revise the New York City school calendar.”
Isaac’s ingenious plan was to cancel classes on Monday, Dec. 23, the day before winter break was to begin, and then make up by extending the school year by one day, until Friday, June 27.
“I know it’s not an easy task, since there are a lot of holidays on the school calendar (I know them by heart), but I hope it’s not too late to avoid the silly one-day week,” he said. Plea.
In an interview at his Bay Ridge home, Isaac said he’d always been interested in calendars and was surprised to see the New York City Department of Education plan a one-day school week.
He expected attendance on Dec. 23 to be very light as many families will be pulling their children out of school on Friday, Dec. 20, for winter break, three days early.
He also worries that with so few students and teachers showing up to school on Dec. 23, few classes will be held that day and the annual winter break party, held the day before winter break, will be canceled.
The precocious early teenager said he initially tried to appeal directly to Mayor Eric Adams and Banks, but was ignored.
“I sent an email to Mayor Adams. [in April] “But there was no response,” the student recalled. “Then I tried calling, but there was no response.”
“What’s interesting is [my husband and I] “We weren’t even home when Isaac called the mayor,” recalled Isaac’s mother, Amanda Regnier. “We had a babysitter nearby, but he Googled the number and called it himself. I couldn’t believe it.”
Young Isaac also attempted to email and call New York City Commissioner David Banks for advice, but also did not receive a response.
Undaunted, he enlisted the help of his father and his 10-year-old sister, Susanna, and created an online petition.
“We are very proud of our son for speaking out for himself and hope he is successful,” his father, Michael Regnier, said.
Isaac proposed adding an extra day at the end of the school year because New York City schools, under New York state law, must operate for at least 180 days or risk losing state funding.
There was a similar schedule disruption in 2019, when a group of city school teachers reportedly successfully petitioned on Dec. 23 to keep schools closed. Chalkbeat.com, The paper was the first to report on Isaac’s petition, and teachers noted that there have been at least four previous school years when public schools were closed because Dec. 23 fell on a Monday.
Bronx high school teacher Carl Abend said he plans to sign the petition and hopes the New York City Department of Education will come to its senses. He said keeping schools open on Dec. 23 would “cause chaos” because many teachers would be using their accrued vacation days.
“If we decide to keep the schools open and not close them, all we’ll hear is crickets chirping,” he said.
Councilman Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn), a former director of intergovernmental relations at the Department of Energy who represents Bay Ridge, also said he hopes his former department will listen to younger voters.
“Common sense would dictate adding another day at the end of June to give kids 23 days off,” Brannan said. “To be on the safe side, the Department of Education should discuss everything with Isaac first. Smart kid.”
“We are proud of our students for speaking up for their beliefs and practicing their civic engagement skills, and we thank the student for her efforts in collecting signatures for the petition,” city hall spokeswoman Amaris Cockfield said.
However, Mr Cockfield encouraged “all students and families to ensure their children attend on December 23rd”.
