As a longtime supporter of New York City’s public schools, mom of four Rebecca never imagined she would need to educate her kids outside of the system.
But last month, the Queens-based nurse and her husband, a self-employed contractor, used a home-equity loan to pay a total of $ 36,000 in tuition for their three older boys, ages 6, 9 and 10, to attend a private school — solely because classrooms are open five days a week.
“Our jobs don’t give us the flexibility to be at home with the kids,” said Rebecca, who asked for her last name not to be published because of potential embarrassment over her financial situation. “Despite the cost and the fact my husband’s business is suffering in the economy, sending our sons to an in-person private school is the only option.
“It’s a huge burden, but you do what you have to do.”
Exhausted by the “hybrid model” followed by many public schools thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic — in which at least half of the learning is done remotely via computer — middle-income families across the country are making huge financial sacrifices, cashing in 401(k)s, borrowing money from relatives and working overtime hours to ensure their children avoid the headache of virtual instruction.
‘It’s a huge burden, but you do what you have to do.’
Private institutions are more likely to have fully reopened, as they are in a better position to comply with strict Department of Health rules regarding social distancing. Many have the advantage of already-small class sizes, as well as endowments and donations that have made it possible to recruit more staff, upgrade air-filtration systems and secure consistent COVID-19 testing.
Not only that, according to some parents, the hiring of non-unionized teachers is a factor because reluctant staff have less leverage to object to the school’s in-person plans.
Said Rebecca: “So many public school teachers got exemptions and are not showing up for work. As a nurse who worked in the ICU and ER at the height of the pandemic, it feels like a kick in the teeth that people are too scared to educate our kids.”
Roxana Reid, founder of the Manhattan educational consulting firm Smart City Kids, told The Post that the number of parents looking to transfer their offspring from public to private schools has risen significantly.
Her phone rang off the hook in late summer around the time Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the hybrid plans amid threats from teachers’ unions to strike and boycott classes.
“There was a lot of chaos and uncertainty in already uncertain times,” said Reid. “People were seeking a return to normalcy, and it appeared neither the [public school] system nor the teachers were ready.”
It was also a busy period for independent schools, like the $ 51,000-a-year Léman Manhattan Preparatory School. The admissions office was inundated with queries as word spread over moms’ Facebook groups that spaces might still be available at its downtown location.
“We started to see an increase [in interest] from public school families eager to move to private this spring and summer,” said Léman’s head of school, Maria Castelluccio. “When the city announced the start of public school would be delayed, it really picked up, and we received dozens of calls that week alone.”
Among those who cut their losses was Upper East Side resident Janet, 49. She took her first-grader out of the neighborhood’s PS 290 and enrolled him at a $ 15,000-a-year Catholic school four weeks ago after borrowing a portion of the price tag from her mother.
The boy struggled with remote learning in the spring when schools shut down during his final months of kindergarten. Janet couldn’t face more of the same this fall, and decided tuition for in-person instruction was the better way to go, especially if her child is to succeed in reading.
“We could not have afforded to send him somewhere like Dalton, but this was doable,” said the tech-sales worker who asked to remain anonymous to preserve her son’s privacy at school.
Meanwhile, the Weand family did the math and emptied their 529 to send their two eldest sons, ages 6 and 7, to an $ 11,000-a-year private in-person Christian school in their home city of Fairfax, Va.
“There was a lot of debate back and forth but it was needs must,” said police officer Deanna Weand, 34. The mom of five and her husband, David, a 39-year-old firefighter, withdrew the cash from the tax-advantaged college-savings plan and are slowly paying back the sum from their salaries.
“It puts us in the negative each month, and David has started working overtime shifts on his days off,” added Weand. “It’s a strain, but it wasn’t fair on our boys to have three children distance learning from the same room all day.”
Since demand has gotten so high in their area, the couple couldn’t find an open private school spot for their 5-year-old kindergartener. He is enrolled in public school, where classes are currently all remote. His twin 2-year-old sisters are cared for by an au pair.
Graphic designer Sara, 36, who asked for her last name to be withheld, found herself in a similar position to the Weands. She cashed in her 401(k), worth $ 50,000, to secure a kindergarten spot for her 5-year-old at a progressive, in-person private school in Jersey City.
The single mom, who was laid off from her full-time job in May and has since been freelancing, had been “excited” at the prospect of sending her daughter to a local public school. However, she was stymied by its plan to remain fully remote until at least mid-November.
“The schedule is ridiculous, with the kids on video with hardly any breaks between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.,” said Sara. “I have phone calls and meetings and can’t sit next to my child all day giving her the help she needs. It’s unsustainable.”
Thankfully, in late August, she found a vacancy at a $ 24,000-a-year school where many of the classes are taught outside. The fees are steep, but the CARES Act exempted her from the usual 10 percent penalty for early withdrawals on 401(k)s.
“I hope the decision doesn’t mean I need to retire in a ditch,” added Sara, who is using the hours her daughter is physically in kindergarten to search for a permanent job. “But this isn’t necessarily about an investment in my kid’s education as much as an investment in our family’s survival.”