New York City’s public schools will close Monday and shift to remote learning, officials announced Sunday morning as the city braced for hours of heavy snowfall from a major storm heading into the school week.
“As snowfall begins to blanket our city and conditions become hazardous, closing school buildings is a necessary step to keep New Yorkers safe,” Mayor Mamdani said in a statement.
Officials made the call shortly before 9 a.m., giving families a chance to make child care arrangements and teachers to prepare new lesson plans.
The pivot to virtual instruction will impact some 500,000 students across more than 1,100 schools. The rest of the city’s school system — including high school students and some sixth through eighth graders at schools serving grades six through 12 — were already scheduled to have the day off for a professional development day.
For the students who will have online classes to attend and assignments to complete, Mamdani promised a smooth transition.
“Over the past week, my administration has prepared for this moment — ensuring devices are in hand, families are informed and educators are ready to welcome students online,” Mamdani said. “Our school system, and our city, is prepared to weather this storm together.”
Monday’s remote day will be an early major operational test for Mamdani’s new schools chancellor, Kamar Samuels. During a 2024 snowstorm, the schools’ online systems buckled under the stress of hundreds of thousands of students attempting to log online at the same time, as then-Chancellor David Banks blasted the vendor as “not ready for prime time.”
Officials said schools have confirmed that students have the necessary technology to move to remote learning Monday and the school system has worked with vendors to “stress-test” log-in systems and are ready to address technology issues if they arise.
“Preparation matters, especially in moments like this,” Samuels said in a statement. “I am grateful to our school communities for the work they’ve done over the last several days — from stress-testing technology to securing buildings and getting virtual classrooms ready.”
