NYC Parents Cite Tech Glitches During Remote Election Day Learning

Three children between the ages of six and eleven struggled to log into their classes this Tuesday, a moment that triggered pandemic-era flashbacks for their mother in Brooklyn. The disruption occurred on the same day New York City held its municipal elections, a day when the city’s public school system typically operates remotely rather than closing entirely.

The remote learning session was part of the Department of Education’s strategy to maintain the state-mandated 180 instructional days. To reach this total, the city has recently added cultural holidays such as Diwali, Eid, Lunar New Year, and Juneteenth to its official calendar. When in-person classes are suspended for these dates or for weather events, students shift to online platforms. This arrangement places the burden of digital access and supervision on working parents.

Technical issues emerged immediately at some schools. Parents at P.S. 130 in Windsor Terrace received emails citing technical delays caused by an overwhelming number of students attempting to log on simultaneously. Nicole Brownstein, a spokesperson for the Department of Education, stated that all systems remained accessible and performing well throughout the morning. She noted that the TeachHub dashboard, which directs families to remote learning platforms, experienced slower than usual response times. Brownstein confirmed that these delays did not prevent students from accessing their remote classes.

Marie Onaga, a resident of Brooklyn and mother to three children, described the morning as a mad dash. Her Wi-Fi signal did not reach all convenient areas of her home, forcing her to move around the house to keep her children connected. Onaga said she had a visceral response to the situation, reminiscent of trying to get to Zoom classes during the pandemic. She praised the teachers for doing their best but called the school calendar crazy.

Aimee Kraft, a dentist with two children, described November as a jack-o'-lantern month due to the cluster of holidays. The month includes Election Day, Veterans Day, and a half-day for parent-teacher conferences. Kraft, who has children aged six and twelve, said the inconsistency made the month complicated for her as a parent and professional. She suggested converting some holidays into school days while allowing excused absences for religious and cultural observances.

David Bloomfield, an education professor emeritus at Brooklyn College and The CUNY Graduate Center, has advocated for moving the public school start date to before Labor Day. He argues that this change would create room in the crowded calendar and boost learning. Bloomfield stated that quality is sacrificed when Zoom is used to accommodate the calendar’s limited number of instructional days.

Department officials directed questions about calendar issues to the United Federation of Teachers. The union’s contract with the city requires the school year to begin after Labor Day, a rule that limits the department’s ability to shift dates unilaterally.

Onaga observed that teachers also struggle to manage remote days. She watched her first grader’s gym teacher shift his video camera while performing exercises, revealing his own child in the background. That teacher was also managing remote learning for his student while parenting his own. Onaga said it has been crazy for all involved and expressed a wish for an extra day of in-person instruction at some point in the year.