Why Northeast Queens Families Are Choosing Remote Classes: Report

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — Two-thirds of families in District 26 have chosen to keep their children at home for school this fall, according to data released by the Department of Education on Tuesday.

Northeast Queens parents have chosen fully-remote learning at a higher rate than any other city school district so far, according to the data.

Educators and community leaders told The New York Times that one reason is that the district is roughly half Asian-American, including many immigrant families from East and Southeast Asia. Seven out of 10 Asian-American students citywide have chosen the all-remote learning option, a higher rate than any other ethnic group, the Times reported.

One parent, Gina Valmoria of Floral Park, told the Times that she based her decision off her experience going to school in Hong Kong during the 2003 SARS outbreak.

Other parents in the district said they have older relatives living with them at home and feared their kids bringing the coronavirus home to them, according to the Times.

“At the end of the day, I wasn’t willing to risk my dad’s health for an inadequate plan for my kids,” Cathy Grodsky, the head of District 26 Presidents' Council and a mother of four, told the Times.

Read the full story in The New York Times.