NEW YORK CITY — A Bronx principal is covering a lot of ground in his borough.
Ryan McCabe and his teachers are going door to door to their middle school students‘ homes with books, shirts and supplies before the first day of school.
“We’re bringing little items they would need at home like hand sanitizers, pencils and erasers,” McCabe, principal at The Bronx School of the Arts Middle School, said. “We can actually visit them in smaller groups and start to build that relationship face to face.”
The middle school has about 320 6th graders, 7th graders, and 8th graders this school year.
“Every single 6th grader is getting a copy of “The Watson’s Go to Birmingham. It’s the first book we’re talking about in the sixth grade,” McCabe said. “It’s so important we’re giving them the actual book, reading online is really hard it’s much easier to have the book in your hand.”
He’s also giving new students a uniform t-shirt so they feel a part of the school, even when they’re home.
“We’re using exactly what we would be using if they were coming into the building,” he said of the supplies he’s distributing.
For the safety of teachers, students and parents, the school will start virtual classes on Sept. 9, but they will operate with as much teacher-student interaction and subjects, including science, social studies and the arts, as possible.
The plan is to ace remote learning in case it becomes the reality during this pandemic.
He said interaction and socialization is important in developing kids’ educational skills.
“We feel like the collaboration with the kids is something they’re really missing right now,” he said.
All charter schools are different and are reopening differently.
Bronx Charter School for the Arts will begin remote learning Sept.9. It will continue though Oct. 5, when they will enter into a hybrid curriculum.
