#Principals union rips ‘alarming’ lack of DOE preparation for school reopening

The city principals union blasted the Department of Education’s “alarming” lack of preparation for a system reopening Wednesday — and warned that a September resumption looks “less likely” each day.

In a letter to members, Council of School Supervisors and Administrators President Mark Cannizzaro scorched the DOE for a cascade of blunders – from insisting on professional development training in the midst of coronavirus chaos to rolling out a “poorly implemented” summer program to its uncertain embrace of a hybrid teaching model.

“You have done everything the DOE has asked of you from the onset of this pandemic, and your frustration with this alarming lack of direction is beyond understandable,” he wrote to the group’s members. “CSA knows that without clear guidance and support on protocols and issues of safety, staffing, and programming, your tasks are unrealistic and insurmountable.”

Cannizzaro warned that the bungling has made the already shaky prospect of an on-time September reopening even more uncertain.

“Yet, through no fault of your own, as each day passes without clear guidance and safety assurances, it becomes less likely that we will be ready to reopen in September,” he said.

Cannizzaro said the DOE ignored union objections to mandatory training programs in the midst of a pandemic because the agency felt the lessons were “too valuable to miss.”

“I find it hard to believe and extremely misguided that you are being asked to concern yourself with anything other than reopening plans for the remainder of the summer,” he said.

With principals in an uproar, the DOE agreed to push back a deadline for individual school reopening plans until the middle the August, according to the letter.

“It is our hope and expectation that DOE uses this time efficiently and appropriately guides, directs, and answers you in a manner it has not done to this point,” he said.

Cannizzaro’s letter also skewered the department for asking principals to complete a reopening survey that did “not address the real and practical concerns our team has surfaced centrally, nor many questions you have raised in the field.”

“Ultimately it is the responsibility of the DOE to set policy and provide resources required to implement their plans,” he said. “Although this should not have to be said, no less repeated, it is also the responsibility of the DOE to clearly communicate those plans to you directly. Unless and until the Chancellor’s team has done so, no plans are final or definite despite what you may have heard.”

With the scheduled start of school fast approaching, the DOE is facing double-barreled union resistance to its reopening timetable.

Teachers union boss Michael Mulgrew told members this week in a conference call that the organization would actively resist a resumption of school if a slew of safety and operational demands were not met.

Under increasing pressure on multiple fronts, Mayor de Blasio softened a pledge to reopen the nation’s largest public school system on time this week, saying a final decision won’t come until the cusp of the new academic year.

The DOE did not immediately comment on Cannizzaro’s assessment.