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What Your Kid’s Day Might Look Like In K-5 This Year
By
Sophia Chang
Published Sep 28, 2020
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Scott Lynch / Gothamist
By
Sophia Chang
Published Sep 28, 2020
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This week will mark the final phases of New York City’s staggered reopening of public schools for in-person instruction, as K-5 and K-8 students return for blended learning on Tuesday and middle and high school students return on Thursday.
Here’s where the majority of the city’s public school students will come back to their school buildings, with the Department of Education estimating about 522,200 students will return for blended learning over the week. Another estimated 90,000 kids started in-person learning last week as students in 3K, Pre-K and District 75 schools began blended learning on September 21st.
Under the hybrid model crafted by Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza and the Department of Education, each school’s population is divided into two or three blended learning cohorts, depending on the number of students who have chosen to have in-person learning in addition to remote learning.
Many schools have chosen models that bring students to campus between one to three days a week. Meanwhile, nearly half or 48% of the 1.1 million students in New York City have enrolled in full-time remote learning.
In such a complicated plan, parents may have a simple question -- what will the day actually look like? Based on information sent to families at four schools in Manhattan and Brooklyn, here’s a look at how a K-5 student’s day in school might unfold under the new protocols.
MORNING
Transportation: Bus contracts were finalized earlier in September and the DOE says busing has begun for students, though some schools are still working out details of how students will be getting to school. One school in Manhattan told parents that their buses will be capped at 25 students per bus, and to “please consider that bussing is only for students who absolutely have no other way to get to school.” The DOE has also asked that students get to school through alternate means like walking or taking mass transit.
Dropoff: The DOE has tasked each school to develop plans for entry and exit that maintains social distancing, with multiple points of access if possible. One Manhattan elementary school has separated its three entrances by grade level. Some schools have painted colorful visuals or used stickers on sidewalks to remind students to stand six feet apart while awaiting entry to school. Masks are required on everyone, including the students. The staff will dole out sanitizer to kids’ hands.
Health screening: Last week, the DOE announced that each student will be asked to fill out a health screening form either online or on paper forms, and to show that form to a staff member before they enter buildings. The health screening asks questions such as if students, parents, or visitors to schools have had any COVID-19 symptoms in the past ten days.
DOE
Students who arrive at school without a completed screening can fill out a form with a staff member who will check their temperature. And random temperature checks are possible regardless of having a completed health screening form.
With all the new protocols, schools with large numbers of returning students will likely require extra time to handle drop off, so plan accordingly.
MASKS POLICY
Students can bring their own masks and extras are a good idea to switch out through the day. Schools will also provide disposable masks for kids who don't have their own. Younger students will be reminded to wear their masks and how to wear them properly to cover their mouths and noses, though students will be allowed to ask for a mask break. Hand sanitizer will be dispensed regularly to students.
The DOE said the schools will focus on “educating” students on mask usage, and exceptions will be allowed for students who are “developmentally or physically unable to wear masks.”
However, students who refuse to comply with the mask and hygiene measures can be asked to leave the school building, the DOE said, and they can be taken out of blended learning and enrolled in remote learning.
“If a student continually refuses to participate in safety protocols, the school will engage parents in a discussion about what learning environment is appropriate for their student. This is not a disciplinary measure – if you choose to not follow safety procedures you are opting into remote learning,” said DOE spokesperson Sarah Casasnovas in an email.
BREAKFAST
Upon entering the building students will go straight to their classrooms, where free breakfast will be available, including milk, fresh fruit and cereal offered every morning.
DEVICES
Since the models for synchronous learning inside classrooms will depend on the individual school, the DOE said some students will need to bring devices to class, depending on their particular setup. There will be more than 900,000 devices available in the city’s schools, and “our blended model is designed to account for a seamless transition between in-person and remote learning,” Casasnovas said.
CLASSROOM SETUP
New York City’s classrooms will surely look different under the CDC’s recommended distancing guidelines and depending on individual school buildings. Some classrooms feature single desks for individual students, spaced far apart, with a central table with materials that kids can utilize one at a time. Another classroom might have two students seated at opposite ends of a shared table. Teachers and students are expected to wear their masks in their classrooms all day, though students may ask for mask breaks.
K-5 students in classrooms will have varying amounts of live instruction, and some of the target time minimums may not be met at the outset of the school year but will be ramped up over the following months, the DOE has said.
DOE
LUNCH
The DOE is not offering hot meals this year because serving hot food would require more proximity than distributing prepackaged meals, according to one school official. Free lunches are available to all students and will be individually packaged sandwiches or wraps, with sides of vegetables and fruit.
One example of the DOE’s lunch menu for Tuesday is “Assorted Grab and Go Salads, and Frito-Lay ® Baked Scoops ® Served with Salsa Cup.” Every day there will also be offerings of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, cheese sandwiches, hummus cups, milk and fresh fruit. Many schools will allow students to bring their own lunches.
Students will eat lunch in their classrooms during an instructional session. For the elementary school students, the lunch period will be used for “an instructional activity that is fun, engaging and enriching, such as interactive read-alouds, social-emotional learning, content through music, etc.,” according to the DOE.
The DOE also said that free grab-and-go meals can be picked up by students for their remote learning days from 9 a.m. to noon at the nearest school.
AFTERNOON DISMISSAL
The school day is shorter this year, so pickup might be earlier than usual. One school in Manhattan said dismissal will follow the same structure as dropoff, with students lining up at their designated egress points.
WHAT HAPPENS IF IT’S NOT YOUR DAY FOR IN-PERSON LEARNING
A new policy the DOE had to craft for the blended learning policy was what to do with students who show up on the wrong day. Students younger than 18 have to be picked up by a relative or guardian, and they will wait in a designated space in the school building where they'll be expected to follow social distancing protocols. Kids can participate in remote learning and have meals while they’re waiting to be picked up, but won’t be able to participate in other student activities in the building.
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COVID-19
coronavirus
schools reopening
Sophia Chang
Sophia Chang is a former WNYC and Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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