Reopening NYC Schools
A Reopening Schools Information session tonight for families and students with the NYC Department of Educations. Also, this week, Schools can reopen in the fall only if coronavirus infection rates fall below strict benchmarks to be set in early August, Gov. Andrew Cuomo outlined this week. Also, the New York State Education Department presented guidance to help schools and school districts as they plan to reopen, whether that occurs in person, remotely, or in a combination of the two. Plus, Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced that New York City is planning to provide quality, safe, free childcare options for 100,000 children this fall.
Family and Student Information Sessions
NY DOE will be hosting virtual citywide Information sessions for students and families on Thursday, July 16, 2020 from 6:30-7:30 PM.
Register now! You can also select your preferred language (English, Spanish or Chinese) and submit a question. Register for July 16(Open external link)
City Council Member Helen Rosenthal hosted a townhall discussing re-open our schools. The Dept of Education is in dialogue with families and students across the city, and she will be hosting virtual information sessions about re-opening throughout the summer. The first session is tonight, Thursday, July 16, from 6:30-7:30 PM.
This is a great opportunity for families to hear directly from the Chancellor. Families and students can register for tonight's session here. Parents can also select their preferred language (English, Spanish or Chinese) and submit a question. Learn more about the DOE's re-opening plans here.
You can also watch her July 9th Education Town Hall (see above) with NYC Dept of Education Deputy Chancellor Adrienne Austin and other DOE officials. We had an incredible turnout with well over 500 participants and the DOE presented several potential re-open models for our schools. See the DOE’s presentation here.
Also of interest, the DOE recently surveyed families across the city regarding their concerns and priorities for re-opening. See the survey results here.
When Will Schools Open?
Schools can reopen in the fall only if coronavirus infection rates fall below strict benchmarks to be set in early August, Gov. Andrew Cuomo outlined this week.
The "formula" that Cuomo spelled out allows school openings in regions that are in Phase Four and have an infection rate under 5 percent.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced new, data-driven guidance for reopening schools in New York State. Schools in a region can reopen if that region is in Phase IV of reopening and if its daily infection rate remains below 5 percent or lower using a 14-day average since unPAUSE was lifted. Schools will close if the regional infection rate rises above 9 percent, using a 7-day average, after August 1. New York State will make the formula determination during the week of August 1 to 7.
"Everybody wants to reopen schools, but you only reopen if it's safe to reopen, and that's determined by the data. You don't hold your finger up and feel the wind, you don't have an inspiration, you don't have a dream, you don't have an emotion--look at the data," Governor Cuomo said. "We test more and we have more data than any state. If you have the virus under control, reopen. If you don't have the virus under control, then you can't reopen. We're not going to use our children as the litmus test and we're not going to going to put our children in a place where their health is endangered. It's that simple. Common sense and intelligence can still determine what we do, even in this crazy environment. We're not going to use our children as guinea pigs. What I say to the experts is very simple. I'm making the determination as to whether or not I would send my daughter to school. If it's safe, I'll send her. If it's not safe, I'm not going to send her. And you can determine that by science."
New York State, the Reimagine Education Advisory Council and the Department of Health released finalized guidance and guiding principles for reopening schools today, which are available here.
Reopening Plan Timeline
Plans to reopen schools are due on July 31, so by July 31, all districts and schools are required to create and submit to the Department Reopening Plans at the school level which should be posted on their public website and must contain the mandatory elements outlined in NYSED’s School Reopening Guidance Document.
The New York State Education Department presented the framework to help schools and school districts as they plan to reopen, whether that occurs in person, remotely, or in a combination of the two.
“As we began to look at how we would consider reopening schools, we quickly recognized that we need to hear from as many people as possible to be sure the diverse voices of all New Yorkers are represented,” said Interim Commissioner Shannon Tahoe. “The input we received from participants at our regional task force meetings and our student forum truly proved invaluable and, by working together, we will be able to ensure that the issues of health, safety, and educational equity are at the forefront of every decision.”
To assist school districts and schools as they plan for reopening, the Department has developed a portal for submitting school reopening plans to the Department, which will open on Friday, July 17. Guidance will be disseminated to schools prior to the opening of the portal and will include information on a few if not more of the following topics:
Health and Safety: Focused on preventive actions, schools will be required to: perform health checks and screenings, per DOH guidance, and recognize signs and symptoms of illness in students and staff; develop plans to maximize social distancing; develop plans to manage and isolate ill persons until they can be sent home; instruct students and staff in proper hand and respiratory hygiene; require wearing appropriate face coverings; and develop cleaning and disinfecting procedures for the school in accordance with CDC and DOH guidance.
Nutrition: Schools and school districts should include food service directors in reopening plan discussions so they are able to: provide all enrolled students with access to school meals each school day whether school is in-person or remote; address all applicable health and safety guidelines; ensure compliance with Child Nutrition Program requirements; and communicate with families through multiple means, in the languages spoken by families.
Facilities: Schools and school districts should promote social distancing while maintaining existing safety requirements designed to protect students. To accomplish this, schools may expand their physical footprint or change the way they utilize space. Schools should also continue to meet or exceed ventilation requirements and may wish to consult with design professionals to increase ventilation and filtration.
Transportation: The school bus is an extension of the classroom and services should be provided to all students with consistency and equity. Each district will be required to: perform regular school bus disinfection measures; train school bus staff regarding social distancing on the bus, at stops, and at unloading times; and train staff regarding the wearing of masks. Students will wear masks and social distance on the bus. Districts will continue to provide transportation to homeless students, students in foster care, those who attend religious, independent or charter schools – and those with disabilities – just as they always have.
Budget and Fiscal: All schools and school districts must continue to meet existing state aid reporting requirements. Additionally, the content of data submissions, such as attendance data, will remain consistent with past practice, except where modified by law, regulation or executive order.
School Schedules: Schools must create a comprehensive plan for a schedule that includes in-person instruction, remote instruction or a hybrid of both in-person and remote. All plans should be clearly communicated, with as much advanced notice as practicable, to students, families and staff.
Technology and Connectivity: Sufficient access to a computing device and high-speed broadband is essential for educational equity. Districts and schools must: have knowledge of the level of access all students and teachers have in their places of residence; to the extent practicable, address the need to provide devices and internet access to students and teachers who currently do not have sufficient access; and provide multiple ways for students to participate in learning and demonstrate mastery of learning standards in remote/blended models.
Bilingual Education and World Languages: Considerations and Best Practices: Schools and school districts should: Align policies to the Blueprint for ELL/MLL Success; ensure coordination content and ENL/BE teachers; adopt progress monitoring tools to measure ELL proficiency; provide social-emotional learning supports to ELLs in their home language; continue utilizing technology in ELL instruction; support SIFE and other vulnerable populations; ensure EMLL Profile supports early learning; and support completion of the NYS Seal of Biliteracy.
Staffing and Human Resources: As schools and school districts create their plans for the 2020-21 school year, they: must ensure that all teachers, school and district leaders and pupil personnel service professionals hold a valid and appropriate certificate for their assignment; can continue to utilize incidental teaching when determining how to staff their classrooms; can employ substitute teachers to address staffing needs for the allowable amount of days given their qualifications and teaching assignment; should work with educator preparation programs to identify appropriate ways in which student teachers can support classroom instruction; and should consider whether their currently approved APPR plans may need to be revised in order to be consistent with their plans for re-opening under an in-person, remote or hybrid instructional model.
Free Childcare for 100k students in the Fall.
Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced that New York City is planning to provide quality, safe, free childcare options for 100,000 children this fall. This follows the release of the Mayor and Chancellor's preliminary school reopening plan, which utilizes a cohort-based blended learning system with both remote and in-person education for students.
"This pandemic has been hugely disruptive in the lives of our kids, which is why we are working to provide as much in person learning as possible. Working families are being pulled in many directions trying to make a plan for the fall, and we are going to help them every step of the way by providing free childcare options," said Mayor de Blasio.
The City's childcare options will provide relief for families who cannot stay home or find alternate care for their children on days they are not in school buildings. Childcare will be made available for children in 3K through 8th grade, and there will be approximately 50,000 seats available each day. Given the nature of a blended remote and in-person approach, this means the City plans to serve at least 100,000 students total. The Administration is working to identify locations and maximize available space for childcare in schools, community centers, libraries, cultural organizations, and more.
The health and safety of students and staff will always come first, and the Department of Education is currently planning for a blended learning model in the fall, with an option for families who wish to do so to remain fully remote. Starting yesterday, parents and guardians are able to opt their child into a fully remote learning model by filling out this form. Families who choose full-time remote learning for September can opt back into in-person instruction up until Friday, August 7th by filling out the form again. After August 7th, families who chose full-time remote learning will be able to opt back into in-person instruction during designated timeframes during the school year, starting this fall.
The City will continue to coordinate closely with the State as re-opening plans develop.
