Art Teachers in NYC Protest Unsafe School Reopening

 

PRESS RELEASE

EMBARGOED UNTIL: 8:30 PM on 9/18/20

Contact: B. Kaiser & Caroline Sykora
Phone: 914-282-4329/412-849-6882
Email: kaiserbkaiser@gmail.com

Art Teachers in NYC Protest Unsafe School Reopening

NYC, NY. (Sept. 18, 2020) - A group of art teachers from NYC public schools, in collaboration with the artist collective The Illuminator, will project a visual protest against unsafe reopening of our school buildings. The protest will take place on Friday 9/18 across the street from Tweed Courthouse at 52 Chambers St. at 8:30 PM. The art educators behind the action join the chorus of parents, teachers, and students demanding equity, transparency, and safety that has been sorely lacking in the DOE's inadequate and contradictory plans to-date. An example of the art that will be projected, an illustration by Caroline Sykora, is attached.

As of 9/17, the start date for in-person learning has already changed twice, leaving families confused and scrambling for childcare at the last minute. Meanwhile, teachers' careful planning has been upended and we have no confidence that the extra time can or will be properly utilized to make our buildings fully safe and staffed. We demand that the DOE transition to full remote learning and focus all of its resources on ensuring that every student has basic supplies, a computer, internet access, and tech training in their home language.