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Parents Relieved to Send Kids to School After Chaotic Week

By Emily Frost | November 5, 2012 11:31am

UPPER WEST SIDE — At P.S. 87, which just days before Hurricane Sandy hit was stunned by news that one of its students, Lulu Krim, was murdered, parents were happy for a return to normalcy Monday morning. 

"We just dropped my daughter off at PS 87. She was happy to be back in a routine — and so were the parents," said a mother, who asked to be identified by her first name Elizabeth outside the West 78th Street school.

Across the Upper West Side, parents were relieved to be getting back to normal when schools reopened Monday morning after being closed for five days after Hurricane Sandy pummeled the city.

Without suffering power outages or structural damage, and with the local subways up and running relatively quickly compared to other areas of the city, the Upper West Side was on its feet again almost as soon as Tuesday morning. But no school meant parents spent the week juggling kids and work.

"[The week] was tough. It was rough and off-track," said Dan Shaham, whose son Roni returned to PS 87 Monday morning. 

"I was working at home as much as I could. It was very disorienting," he said, adding that he had all three of his boys at home as well, broken up by trips to friends' houses. 

Parents expressed relief that their neighborhood schools were not among the more than 100 schools that remain closed as the city continues to recover.

Shaham said he was concerned PS 87 and Booker T Washington Middle School, which his other two boys attend, might be closed. 

"They announced [school would be open] last week, but it depends on the whole system. We played it by ear. We thought there might be an issue with shelters [residing in the schools.]"

Other parents looked back on the week with a mix of emotions. 

"It's been a long week," said Mary Ball, who has a daughter in kindergarten at the independent Calhoun School at 81st Street and West End Avenue. "But, it was great because we spent some time together."