Introducing #DOEconnected

Dear Families:

Today, we are collectively dealing with a reality that was unimaginable even a few weeks ago.

COVID-19 gave us no choice but to transform the nation’s largest school system, closing our school buildings and transitioning 1.1 million students and their families, and 150,000 staff members, to remote learning that happens online.

We’ve had to open dozens of emergency childcare centers for the children of essential workers.

And we’ve created upwards of 400 meal hubs in schools to make sure that any New Yorker who needs it can get 3 free meals a day for themselves and their children.

How is this all happening, you might ask?

Because of all of you!

All of the educators, staff members, students, and families…whose dedication and resilience are like nothing we’ve ever seen before.

So much amazing work is going on all across our city as we take on this new challenge—and we want to share it with the whole City.

So we’re launching #DOEconnected to honor this work and tell these stories.

Because even though our school buildings are closed right now, our DOE staff members and students are connecting in new and different ways to keep the learning going and lift each other up.

In this series you’ll meet DOE educators who have opened the doors to their homes to show how they’re connecting with their students online.

You’ll meet school food workers connecting with our neighbors to make sure they don’t go hungry. And you’ll see the hardworking staff members connecting with, and caring for, students every day in our Regional Enrichment Centers while their parents are on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19.

Follow our hashtag #DOEconnected, join the conversation, and connect online with your neighbors across the City. Share stories of how you, your child, a teacher, or a school community member has become your hero. Remember, not all heroes wear capes.

We are so proud to be #DOEconnected, and we hope you enjoy it.

Sincerely,

Chancellor Richard A. Carranza