The mayor and school chancellor held a press conference on Sunday, November 29th with breaking school news (updated on Monday, November 30th):
- All students will learn remotely until December 4th
- As of December 7th all elementary schools and Pre-K centers will reopen 5 days a week
- Students who opted into in-person learning will move towards 5 day a week in person learning in the school buildings (versus the previous blended model of 2-3 days in person)
- Some schools will be able to welcome back students 5 days a week right away, some schools will need more time to get ready for the 5-day-model, some schools will offer just “more days”
- Most schools will be able to get to 5 days over time, however there will be schools that cannot get to 5 days but can improve the days kids come in due to space and staff availability
- Some school will offer a 5 day group cohort only in specific classes where the 2 blended groups combined did not surpass the room occupancy for the specific classroom
- Around 190,000 students in NYC will be able to come back to full-time learning in school, everybody else will learn remotely
- All students will need a test consent form on file, otherwise they will not be allowed to attend school
- Testing will be done on a weekly basis for 20% of the school community, not on a monthly basis anymore
- All safety measures that have been implemented including mask wearing and cleaning will stay in place
- Reopening plans for middle and high schools will be made at a later point, reopenings before January 2021 are very unlikely
- District 75 elementary schools for students with special needs will reopen on December 10th
- Schools in “Orange Zones” will stay open as much as possible and the City will follow the State rules to keep them open
- The school system has developed a totally new approach which means the 3% positivity rate does not affect schools anymore
- When the health situation clearly improves, there will be another opt-in period for families to go back to in-person learning (versus remote learning)
- The City plans to keep schools open during the duration of the pandemic moving forward
Read the chancellor’s full statement here.
