By Dan Murphy
Editor’s Note: At the Yonkers Board of Education meeting on September 14, Superintendent Dr. Edwin Quezada updated the members of the board and the community about the shortage of busdrivers. “This is our 4th day of instruction. All in all things are going well. Our average attendance is about 90% which is impressive. But transportation remains our biggest challenge.”
“The bus driver shortage has ctreated significant issues that we are working hard to resolve. I met with the owners of the bus companies to go over our expectations and let them know that we have to take care of our children. They were told what their responsibilities are and I’m very upset about it.,” said Quezada.
Earlier this month, the school district advised that up to 500 newly enrolled students would not have a bus pick them up because of the shortage, and those parents were notified. News 12 reported that the district had as few as 60 students, out of 11,000 who need a bus to pick them up for school, without a ride from a bus driver. On another school day, all students had a bus ride who needed one.
Other unreliable, published reports claimed that “Over Forty Percent Of Yonkers Students Are Not Getting The Bus Service That They Are Entitled To.” That claim is “Fake News.” Parent and parents leaders we spoke to said that most students had a ride and they had not heard an overwhelming number of complaints from parents.
Below is our back to school story:
While flooding from Hurricane Ida delayed the first day of classes in the Yonkers Public Schools, teachers, students, administrators and staff welcomed back all students on Thursday September 9. YPS Superintendent Dr. Edwin Quezada and Board of Education President Rev. Steve Lopez highlighted the upcoming school year in a letter to the community
“Dear Yonkers Public Schools Learning Community, Welcome to the 2021-2022 school year! An exciting and productive
year is ahead that is about to begin in September as we restore 5 days of in person learning. We invite you to be intentional about your commitment to do your part to make this the best year for Yonkers students, families and staff . Everyone in-person, in school, every day. Our schools are ready to create conditions for ALL students’ success.
The challenges of the past year and a half from COVID-19 have taught us how to be resourceful, flexible and brave.
Most of all, we learned that this virus does not discriminate, it affects everyone, and we must continue to be
vigilant to keep our community as healthy as possible. Please consider get- ting vaccinated, it is your best defense. To maintain a healthy safe school en- vironment, to the best of our ability, everyone is required to wear a mask/face
covering inside schools, on District transportation and in District facilities. Temperature checks will be done daily. There will be random COVID-19 surveillance testing screening of students with parental permission who are unvaccinated and vaccinated, and vaccinated staff with consent.
Unvaccinated staff must provide COVID-19 testing results as required by Board of Education policy. No COVID-19 Attestation Questionnaire are required this year.Teaching and learning will be robust, enriched and grounded to address the academic and, most importantly, the social-emotional needs of students, staff and families. Everyone has been significantly impacted over the last year and a half. The Yonkers Public Schools 3 Year Strategic Plan 2019-2022 reminds us that our objective as a learning community must be educational equity and access for all children. The District’s mission, core values and goals, as identified in our 3 Year Strategic Plan, remain constant. Our stu dents today more than ever need to be surrounded by caring adults ready on day one to address their educational needs and growth. Together, we can transform learning to transform our children’s lives.
Restoration, Renewal and Hope will drive our efforts over the next sever- al years. Restoration begins with our instructional programs prekindergarten through grade 12 that in recent years consistently fostered 90% high school
graduation rates.
Our budget restores over 160 employees including administrators, school counselors, psychologists, social workers, nurses, teachers including art, music, physical education, career and technical education, special education and English language learners, as well as clericals and custodians. We restored proper ventilation in all schools and the windows are as operationally designed. In addition, we have expanded our technology capabilities.
The next step is to renew our commitment to make the school system bet- ter for students, families and our staff, and to renew a collaborative mindset among all stakeholders. The result is hope for new beginnings for our stu- dents and community; we accomplish this by building on our District’s proven strengths. This is our charge; our students depend on us to ensure that restoration, renewal, and hope leads to a bright future for ALL children,” writes Dr. Quezada and Rev. Lopez
