coronavirus new york city

Coronavirus News: Inside a virtual kindergarten with NYC Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza

ByKemberly Richardson and Eyewitness News WABC logo

Thursday, May 7, 2020

Inside a virtual kindergarten class with NYC schools chancellor

Kemberly Richardson also sits in for a first-hand look at virtual learning.

BROOKLYN, New York City (WABC) -- As learning continues remotely during the coronavirus pandemic, educators are working on new ways to keep virtual classrooms interesting and informative for students.

On Thursday, Eyewitness News got an exclusive look at a remote classroom full of kindergartners trying to get used to this new way of learning.

Teacher Gaby Sucuzhanay and her students are from the School of Creativity and Innovation in Brooklyn, and on this day, also sitting in was New York City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza.

He believes its critically important for students to have some sense of normalcy right now.

"That's really important in terms of social and emotional learning and helping them feel connected," he said.

There would typically be 15 kids in this class, but on this occasion there were nine -- and Ms. S, as the kids call her, kept the little ones focused.

It went well, but is the norm or exception? Carranza has logged into six other remote classes and said four resembled this one.

"The two that aren't quite like this, those teachers, I give them a lot of credit," he said. "They're working hard to build their vapidity to do this online."

Looking ahead, the chancellor says before school lets out, students will be evaluated. And if needed, they will be given extra support over the summer to make sure they stay on track for September.

"We do have tools now to really look at every student individually," he said. "We're going to take full advantage of that to make sure we are serving our students."

Right now, they are trying to go with the flow. Thankfully, Ms. S is committed to getting the job done.