#Nearly half of NYC kids now enrolled in remote only learning

With a week to go before the delayed start of in-person learning, nearly half of city public school students are now enrolled in remote-only instruction, according to new figures.

As of Monday, 46 percent of kids have chosen not to return to their school buildings this year — up sharply from just 29 percent five weeks ago.

According to the DOE, 459,640 students will start the year learning solely from home – up four percent from last week.

With classes slated to kick off next Tuesday, 542,248 students — or 54 percent — are slated to begin a hybrid model that will have them alternate between home and classroom instruction.

Parents have slowly been defecting out of the blended format in the turbulent weeks leading to the start of the academic term.

The figure was initially 71 percent just last month.

The number of remote only learners will likely tick up over the next week and roughly equal the blended learning cohort once school begins.

Parents expressed frustration last week when the DOE announced that staffing shortages made it impossible to guarantee live instruction to kids enrolled in the blended model.

That pivotal wrinkle – along with two delays to the start of hybrid instruction – has led to an increase in the remote only learners.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has doggedly pushed for the partial reopening of city schools, arguing that remote learning is inherently inferior and that kids would benefit from a return to the classroom environment.

Families will retain the ability to opt into remote learning through the course of the year, according to the DOE.