2020-2021 school year in NYC: What you need to know

2020-2021 school year

New York City's public school students are slated to return -- under a tentative Sept. 10 start date -- to school buildings part-time under a blended learning model, or will learn at home remotely full-time. (Photo courtesies clockwise: Cory Morse | MLive.com; N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syracuse.com; Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com; Claire Regan for the Staten Island Advance)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- It will be an unusual school year when New York City students, teachers and staff return to classrooms for the first time since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic shuttered school buildings in March.

The city’s public school students are slated to return -- under a tentative Sept. 10 start date -- to school buildings part-time under a blended learning model, or will learn at home remotely full-time.

No matter which option they choose, they will be learning five days a week, Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza wrote in a letter to families last week.

Students who choose blended learning will learn in smaller in-person class sizes to adhere to social distancing protocols. They will be required to wear a face covering while in school and on a school bus, and they may be subject to random temperature screenings upon arrival. In this learning model, students will rotate in groups between in-person and remote learning.

For students who choose full-time remote learning, synchronous and asynchronous instruction will be provided.

Synchronous learning refers to real-time remote learning, or “live” instruction via technology. Asynchronous learning is self-paced learning without real-time instruction. The same system will be in place for students within the blended learning model on their designated remote days.

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The city Department of Education (DOE) is adapting and strengthening its practices, investing in technology required to provide a quality online experience, and working with teachers to develop their skills as online instructors, Carranza said.

Curriculum is being updated to reflect the blended online and in-person model and to ensure the guidelines and curriculum include social-emotional learning and mental health supports, he added.

“We will continue to lead with the lens of equity and excellence, giving your child what they need to excel – and recognizing the ways that will be different from each of their classmates, especially in a time of crisis,” Carranza said in the letter.

Here’s a look at what you need to know for the 2020-2021 school year.

Will school buildings open?

School buildings will only open if the city’s rate of positive coronavirus tests is less than 3% using a seven-day rolling average. Though New York City’s infection rate cannot rise above 3%, the state’s threshold is 5%.

If new coronavirus cases surpass the 3% threshold using a seven-day rolling average, all schools in New York City will need to close.

One confirmed coronavirus case in a classroom, or at least two cases linked together in the same classroom, would be enough to quarantine an entire classroom for 14 days. At least two cases in the school in separate classrooms would shutter the entire building, quarantining all classrooms for 14 days.

Students would be required to stay in “pods” together throughout the day as much as possible, and limit contact with other classrooms to contain any potential spread of the virus to other parts of the school.

Classroom sizes will be slashed by at least half, with student desks spaced apart for social distancing. Signage promoting mask usage, hand hygiene, social distancing and other protective measures will be displayed throughout school buildings, including in hallways and classrooms.

Every school will receive backpack sprays, or an electrostatic disinfect, to thoroughly disinfect schools every night. The DOE also will supply schools with cleaning supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE), like face coverings.

How many students are learning remotely full time?

According to the DOE’s most recent learning preference survey results, 66% of New York City public school students (not including charter schools) requested blended learning -- which is a mix of in-person and remote learning. That means over 660,000 students requested to learn in-person partially -- while over 330,000 students requested to learn remotely full-time.

In Staten Island’s District 31, 27% of students requested to learn remotely full-time -- which means nearly three-quarters of students will return to their borough schools for blended learning.

The percentage of students participating in remote and blended learning is subject to change, as families can opt into remote learning at any time, and can opt into blended learning at certain points throughout the school year.

Families are able to choose full-time remote learning at any point by filling out this survey at www.nycenet.edu/surveys/learningpreference.

Will face coverings be required?

The DOE said it will follow the guidance of local, state and federal health experts when it comes to requiring mask usage for both students and staff during in-person learning.

Face coverings will be required inside school buildings -- even in buildings without air conditioning.

Exceptions to wearing face coverings will be developmentally- and age-appropriate, consistent with guidance of health agencies. They will be paired with increased PPE for staff.

The DOE will procure and distribute appropriate PPE for students and staff to use when inside school buildings. They can also bring their own face coverings. Students who can’t tolerate a face-covering medically, including situations in which students with such coverings would harm their physical or mental health, will not be subject to wearing one.

The DOE has repeatedly stated that it will strongly encourage students to wear a facial covering at all times and provide age-appropriate lessons to students regarding the importance of mask-wearing.

When asked what would happen if some students continually refused to wear a face covering in school, the DOE said that those students would be required to transition to a fully remote learning model.

“We take the health and safety of our students and staff extremely seriously, and have been clear that face coverings will be required unless an individual is unable to wear one due to a medical or developmental accommodation. We will clearly communicate to families that a student who repeatedly refuses to wear a face covering will transition to remote learning, and our focus will continue to be on educating our communities about the importance of this life-saving measure, including age appropriate lessons for all students,” said DOE spokesman Nathaniel Styer.

The department emphasized that students being sent home or required to transition to remote learning would not be considered a disciplinary action, but rather a health and safety measure, and would in no way impact a student’s grades or ability to continue learning remotely.

Will there be health screenings?

When students and staff arrive each day to school they will be randomly selected for temperature checks every morning and will be required to check their own temperature before going to school, according to the DOE’s reopening plan.

Students and staff will not be allowed to go to school if they have one or more of the following: a temperature greater than 100 degrees; coronavirus symptoms; a positive coronavirus test. In addition, those who have traveled internationally or to a high-infection state in the last 14 days will not be admitted..

The DOE said it will purchase a thermometer for any family who needs one.

DOE employees will pre-screen themselves before heading to a department building using an Online Health Screening Application. Upon entering, the employee will be asked to provide the results of his or her screening by showing an email on a phone or a printout of results.

What will instruction look like?

Live instruction will be provided for fully remote learners and students participating in the blended learning model when they are remote learning. However, the live instruction will not be from a child’s classroom, instead a different teacher will be providing the lessons online in real-time.

This real-time instruction will be delivered in short intervals -- 15 to 20 consecutive minutes -- throughout the day for the youngest learners, and may increase based on developmental appropriateness and grade level, according to the DOE.

Class schedules and schedules for live instruction for all students, including fully remote students and those participating in blended learning, will be posted online for families and students.

To facilitate remote learning, students can access multiple educational applications -- such as G Suite, Microsoft O365, and Zoom -- using secure central accounts. Schools should ensure their students have DOE student accounts.

Students engaged in remote learning full-time must meet the same academic policies as students engaged in blended learning, which means students will be graded the same.

PS 44

This mom, Jackie Campbell, was able to get a computer at PS 44 in Mariners Harbor on March 19, 2020. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

How will students use devices?

Students who are participating in blended learning and who received a DOE-issued device at the end of the 2019-2020 school year are expected to bring that device to school for the 2020-2021 school year.

In April, the DOE partnered with Apple, T-Mobile, and other public and private companies to provide more than 300,000 LTE-enable devices to public school students who did not have access to one at home so they could participate in remote learning.

According to the city, the DOE has been able to fulfill device requests as they come in, and does not anticipate a backlog this coming school year.

In September, children who may be entering a new school, such as moving from an elementary school to an intermediate school, should bring their DOE-issued device to their new school. If a student still needs a device at that time, the school will return the old device to the previous school’s inventory and issue a new one.

If your child does not have access to a device at home or internet access, you can request an internet-enabled device through the DOE. Parents should contact their child’s school, as well as fill out the iPad Distribution form on the DOE’s website; the form will ask if you’re in need of a device, WiFi access, or both.

What if a student exhibits coronavirus symptoms?

The DOE’s reopening plan includes guidance should a student exhibit coronavirus symptoms during the school day. Each public school building will have an isolation room, according to the plan submitted by the city to the state and confirmed by the DOE.

“An isolation room is a place where a student with suspected COVID-19 symptoms can be safely isolated in the building, and where they can be seen by a health-care professional and/or picked up by a guardian,” the plan states.

DOE spokesman Nathaniel Styer told the Advance/SILive.com that the safety and health of students and staff have guided the department’s reopening plan and are the top concern.

“If someone feels ill at school we will follow strict protocols when responding, and we are guaranteeing that every school will have a nurse on staff this year,” Styer said.

Should a student exhibit coronavirus symptoms -- such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, lack of taste or smell, or other symptoms -- he or she will be escorted to the school’s isolation room. The student will then be evaluated by a nurse or health-care professional.

“Should the nurse/health professional be unavailable to examine the student, or if a school does not have a nurse or access to a health professional at that time, the student must wait in the isolation room until picked up,” according to the DOE reopening plan.

Each school will only have just one isolation room, according to the city. So if multiple students need to be isolated after showing COVID-19 symptoms, they will be sent to the same room.

The isolation room will be set up to be comfortable and allow for social distancing, the city said. Anybody entering the isolation room will be required to wear appropriate PPE.

You can go here to learn what steps are taken for a student to return to school after showing coronavirus symptoms.

Will schools have enough ventilation and air circulation?

The city DOE said it is making improvements to its HVAC systems to improve air circulation, as well as replace regular air filters with higher efficiency filters. Additionally, air conditioning units will be identified and repaired, and other physical adjustments will be made to buildings in order to increase airflow.

To ensure proper airflow, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that inspectors will perform ventilation checks in schools across the city. Every space occupied by students and staff in a school building will be inspected, according to a news release from the mayor’s office.

School maintenance professionals have inspected buildings to identify repairs and improvements that could increase ventilation. The independent School Ventilation Action Team inspections will provide further information on the buildings’ air circulation.

From there, staff with the city’s School Construction Authority (SCA), along with agencies like the city Buildings Department and FDNY, will ensure all building space is ready for occupancy.

In addition to opening school windows, the DOE purchased 10,000 portable air purifiers to be placed in schools by the first day. Each school building will be provided a device to measure carbon dioxide to determine how much fresh air is in a room.

Will kids learn outside?

Students and teachers could also be learning outside this school year. City agencies are working with school principals to facilitate outdoor learning options, de Blasio said.

Schools can use their own, on-site yards, as well as securing space in parks and streets near their campus to create outdoor learning areas.

Schools can continue to submit their plan, which will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The program is open to all public, charter and private schools, as well as the free child-care program, Learning Bridges.

New playground

New York City schools can apply to use their outdoor spaces during the 2020-2021 school year. An example could be this new outdoor classroom area recently completed at Markham Intermediate School (I.S. 51), Graniteville. (Staten Island Advance/Annalise Knudson)

Where will students eat breakfast and lunch?

Grab-and-go meals will be available for breakfast and lunch each day, though students will be permitted to bring their own lunch.

Lunch will likely be in classrooms to minimize interaction between groups of students.

Grab-and-go meals will be delivered to students in 3-K to kindergarten classrooms, and pickup points within the school will be designated for students in grades one to 12. After eating, students and staff will wipe down the area. Students will be advised to not share food or drinks with other students.

The reopening plan does not specifically state that cafeterias cannot be used for meals. “If the cafeteria must be used, schools must maintain appropriate physical distancing,” it says.

Students not receiving in-person instruction on a given day can pick up lunch from their own school or an identified school building near their home.

What are the options for transportation?

New York City has acknowledged that the ongoing health crisis may inhibit the city from providing bus transportation for the full number of students who typically use the service.

“It is widely recognized that the current pandemic presents unique challenges to providing school bus service, and that it may not be possible to provide service in all cases,” according to the city’s reopening plan.

The DOE said it will attempt to provide transportation to all students, to the extent possible, but limitations related to the pandemic may alter its ability to do so using traditional school bus service.

“Because of this unique situation, it may not be possible to provide transportation through a conventional mode such as a bus, and may require other modes to be employed to satisfy transportation needs, such as MetroCard,” according to the plan.

As a result, the DOE is encouraging families to plan to provide their children with transportation to and from school, whenever possible.

For now, it remains unclear as to how many students the DOE will be able to transport via school bus and which students will be eligible for that service, leaving parents in a holding pattern as they attempt to plan their child’s return to school.

When recently asked earlier this month when such a decision would be made, the DOE could not provide a specific timeline, simply noting that parents will be made aware of their child’s transportation options prior to the start of school.

The DOE has implemented for anyone riding on a school bus, all students will be required to wear an acceptable face covering at all times, including while entering, exiting and while seated. In the event a child doesn’t have a face covering when attempting to board a bus, face coverings will be available onboard. Students must maintain appropriate social distancing while on the bus, unless they are members of the same household.

Jackson Public Schools returns to class

If students take the yellow school bus in New York City, they will be required to wear a face mask. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)J. Scott Park | MLive.com

What about child care?

Some full-time working parents are scrambling for more information on the city’s free child-care program, Learning Bridges, which will provide care to 100,000 kids from 3-K to eighth grade this fall. De Blasio said the city is working to have as many seats as possible ready for the first day of school, with capacity building out over time.

The program would provide relief to families who can’t stay home or find alternate care for their kids on days they aren’t in school buildings.

Learning Bridges programming across the city will consist of no more than 15 children per room under health and safety guidelines. And the students will be supervised by city staffers and provided care, tutoring assistance, as well as recreational activities, arts and local field trips -- when possible.

The city said the program will be operated by community-based organizations and other partners, and will provide students opportunities to connect to their remote learning activities.

The DOE asked those parents and guardians interested in free child care on remote learning days to fill out a survey to “guide the city’s planning” for the fall. The survey asks parents what grade their child will be entering in the 2020-2021 school year and how many days per week care would be needed for the child or children in the household.

You can fill out the survey here.

Families can expect information about placement in the coming weeks. Locations and additional details haven’t yet been announced.

Could there be a teacher strike?

The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) union, which represents New York City teachers, announced that no school in all five boroughs should open during the coronavirus pandemic unless it meets all criteria in the union’s School Safety Report -- which sets standards for cleaning supplies, PPE, testing and more.

The union is strongly recommending that adults and children should receive antibody testing. If a person doesn’t have antibodies, he or she should be required to receive a negative diagnostic COVID-19 test 10 days prior to the start of school in order to return to a school building. Those who test positive for coronavirus would attend school remotely.

If a school is not deemed safe, UFT President Michael Mulgrew said the union is prepared to go to court and to take action -- even if the court determines the union is breaking the Taylor Law, which defines the rights and limitations of unions for public employees in New York.

That means the union could go on strike, Mulgrew said.

“If a court determines we are breaking the Taylor Law, so be it,” he said. “We have promised the teachers and the parents of New York City that we would stand and fight if we felt a school was unsafe, and that is a promise we are going to keep.”

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