In our top editorial we refer to Mayor Bloomberg’s surprising lack of nannyism when it comes to an initiative near and dear to his heart: biking. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city, some school officials are having issues with real-life nannies.
Well, maybe not the nannies themselves, but the wealthy mommies and daddies who hire them to look after their little darlings. As The Post’s Tara Palmeri reports, rich New Yorkers are sending nannies to perform tasks that ordinary moms and dads do themselves — everything from designing sets for school plays and working school fund-raisers to bringing the children in for admission interviews.
Some schools have had enough. This month two elite New York City schools warned parents sending proxies for one particular activity: safety patrol. The schools are Marymount, a Catholic school for girls, and Buckley, an independent grade school for boys.
On its Web page Buckley put its complaint this way: “Parents are the only acceptable option for patrol. Caregivers, housekeepers, etc. may NOT walk safety patrol.” Seems clear enough.
The reaction runs the gamut. One mom told The Post that her $40,000 tuition check should be all the involvement required of her. Other schools say they don’t have a problem.
Meanwhile, a former admissions director says he often preferred the nanny because parents can be so much more high-maintenance.
For years, parents in low-income neighborhoods have found themselves criticized for their own lack of participation in their children’s education. Sure, Buckley and Marymount parents are busy. But too busy to devote two hours a year to safety patrol?