'A Devastating Tragedy': Elementary School Teacher Dies of Coronavirus

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NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Sandra Santos-Vizcaino, who taught third grade at an elementary school in Brooklyn, is the first New York City school teacher reported to have died of COVID-19.

“This is a devastating tragedy,” schools Chancellor Richard Carranza said Thursday. “Sandra was a beloved teacher at P.S. 9.”

Santos-Vizcaino, 54, was a more than 20-year veteran of the city’s school system. She was recognized for her contributions to education in the Dominican Republic and won a grant to study bird sanctuaries there in 2009.

“The notion that we’ve lost a teacher is very painful,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said. “We lost a principal last week, a young woman full of extraordinary promise.”

Brooklyn principal Dez-Ann Romain was the first city education employee reported to have died of the virus.

Students in New York City haven’t been to school since March 13.

We have lost one of our classroom heroes. Brooklyn mourns the tragic loss of Sandra Santos-Vizcaino, a @PS9BklynPTO teacher who passed due to #COVID19. May her students, @UFT colleagues, and @NYCSchools be comforted by her memory in the tough days ahead. https://t.co/vuPTuj70A2

— Eric Adams (@BPEricAdams) April 2, 2020

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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