A software meltdown took more than 1 million students and teachers offline Tuesday morning during the first real test of Democratic Mayor Eric Adam's snow-free day strategy, according to Politico.
New York City was hit by a snowstorm early Tuesday morning, and Adams had previously called for schools to continue online, insisting computers would be up and running on “synchronous” school days. according to Go to Politico. But students and teachers were unable to log on to virtual classrooms, leaving more than 1 million students in limbo for the first half of the day and fueling criticism of the mayor's continued push for remote learning. (Related: 35 million people are under winter weather warnings as heavy snow falls across continental U.S.)
“Every part of this is just another example of why this is so incredibly stupid,” said Micah Lasher, a candidate for state representative on Manhattan's Upper West Side and a former aide to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul. That's why,” he told Politico.
Update: The snow has stopped and we have seen some sunshine this afternoon, but we still ask that you stay off the roads. @NYCSanitation Crews finish cleaning operations.
School will open tomorrow.
Alternative parking rules will be suspended on Ash Wednesday.
If you… pic.twitter.com/rH4Cx91VXp
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) February 13, 2024
According to Politico, around 8 a.m., parents began complaining that when they tried to connect their children to the internet, they were getting a “Service Unavailable” message. Although the situation was resolved by Tuesday afternoon, Adams blamed technology giant IBM, which is responsible for some of the school's programs, and argued that “they should have been prepared.”
“It's my responsibility to deliver the service that we expect, and part of that responsibility is to go back and look at what IBM did wrong. If there's anything we could have done better, , we're going to do even better,” Adams said. Said at a press conference on Tuesday.
An IBM spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the company has been “working closely” with the city to resolve the situation, adding that the company “is sorry for the inconvenience caused to students and parents across the city.” He said he regrets that.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio introduced According to the New York Daily News, the December 2020 North No Day policy argued that distance learning brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic had rendered distance learning meaningless. The state has suffered significant learning loss since the pandemic, and Hochul announced $100 billion in funding for schools.
Adams was heavily criticized last month for forcing high school students at James Madison High School to take remote classes so that illegal immigrants could sleep at the school.
Adam's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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