On to you, Griff Griff, Emily Thanks New York schools getting the green light to return to the classroom. This fall once the pertinent of the pandemic. The governor is now giving the go ahead to reopen highlighting the states progress in reducing the infection rate. Joining me now to react is our education panel center for education reforms, Jeanne, Allen, Catholic votes, senior, political advisor and former teach, and the superintendent for partnership schools, which is a network of several catholic schools in New York City, Kathleen Port Erma Gee good morning to you all. This is big news: Governor Cuomo, announcing a reopening and lets start with you, Jean whats, your reaction to his decision on the surface, its really good news that he is giving the green lifetime achievement. We know across the country its fits and starts all the time. So many caveats if the infection rate goes above five percent, that certain region, if

certain things happen, who knows maybe like Montgomery County Maryland Health officer, wake up one day, oops, we are pulling you back and closing private schools too. The problem is, we cant keep making policies based on entire cities and regions without parents making that determination where their kids should go, Griff Kathleen. Let me send it to you. Not only do you have that problem, you know. Will this change and Governor Cuomo said that he will monitor as he goes along what about the teachers not wanting to be in the classrooms as well? Yeah the teachers are having a really tough time. They are scared. They are worried. The rhetoric across the country has been incredibly heated. I think the challenge, though, is there is a difference between teachers, fears and worry, and teacher union demands. I think whats concerning about the rhetoric. Right now is that teacher union demands are not just along health and safety guidelines. We see teachers unions around the country asking for a moratorium on charter schools asking for moratorium on vouchers and tax cuts.

Those things have nothing to do with public health. I really think its important that we have to especially in this moment separate politics from public health. Griff TIM is politics. The problem here, I think its part of the problem. I think its probably not a coincidence that card no dollan and the main competition to the New York public schools have announced they are going to open and do it safely and securely, and so we finally have some response from the political folks meeting the demands of parents. They need to send their kids back to school. The kids need to go back to school and their main competition catholic schools. They are already doing that. Thats, really a good sign its indication, actually that our public schools need more competition and not less Griff yeah Jeanie. Let me ask you, as TIM pointed out, and Cardinal Dolan was on Fox AMP friends this week. Talking about the need to reopen, let me show you some of the demands for reopening classrooms, police, free schools,

canceling rents and mortgages moratorium or new Sowmps programs, taxing billionaires and Wall Street. This is from the demand, safe schools, DOT, Org Wall Street. Is it going to work? You know if ever there was a cry for personalized learning for every child, it was now, as Kathleen pointed out, we have been seeing unions by the way this isnt new. This has been happening for years. They are stepping up their demands. They are threatening, strikes our poor parents and kids out there and rank and file teachers. Dont know whats going to happen. They are using this as leverage they are using this, not just as leverage but extortion to try to get policymakers to do things that they have always wanted them to do, and you know what theyre behind the times here. This is time for everybody to come together and recognize that our kids need to go to school in whatever way, shame or form that their parents and the people closest to them think its effective lots of different ways. We shouldnt stop and rely on

cities and stays and countries to make that decision. Griff, you put your finger on it. There jeany as a parent of two teenagers. I cant overstate the anxiety about whats going on what are you saying to parents so in New York, City and Cleveland, where I run urban catholic schools, we have offered parents two options: a five day a week in person, option and also a remote learning option for parents who either cannot or are not ready to send their children back. Because we understand parents need to have options, so I agree with Jeanne completely. We need to bring parents into the conversation as well. I think that the schools that have been best able to anymorably respond to the needs of their communities and of their parents have been the smaller schools, the private catholic and charter schools around the country who, in the spring, when the nationwide shut down hit, were able to quickly adapt to the new world they were able to serve student and community needs its time to do that again, Griff in the remaining time TIM. Let me give you the last word: are you confident we are going

to get where we need to go? We are going to have to at the end of the day. Hopefully I pray that the parents will be in control in making those decisions. I think its abundantly clear that our private catholic schools are responding to the needs of the parents, and teacher unions are looking out for themselves. Hopefully continue to move forward. Get these schools open, let the parents get back to work and safely and securely educate them for the future.