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Parents, teachers, students and coaches rallied outside Department of Education headquarters Saturday demanding that New York City schools fully reopen.

They chanted “Open schools, open schools.”

One student held up a sign that said, “I’ve been to 11 days of school since Sept. 2020. Does that make sense???”

“Kids need to be in school. It’s imperative. They’ve lost too much learning on a Zoom classroom,” said Kathryn Garcia, the former city Sanitation Commissioner who is running for mayor, said at the rally.

Maud Maron, a City Council candidate, said there were more than 700,000 students who haven’t seen the inside of a classroom in a year.

Eleni Filippatos, a third-grade teacher, said “Our schools have been safe.”

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A group outside the NYC DOE headquarters rallied in an attempt to reopen schools.
A group outside the NYC DOE headquarters rallied in an attempt to reopen schools.John Roca
While holding signs, people at the rally chanted "Open schools."
While holding signs, people at the rally chanted “open schools.”John Roca
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Third grade teacher Eleni Filippatos said during the rally that schools have been safe.
Third-grade teacher Eleni Filippatos said during the rally that schools have been safe.John Roca
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“There is no reason to continue keeping me and my students home for 10, 20 days at a time,” the teacher said.

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