Day 1 lesson plan
COV primer as schools reopen
It’s going to be a first day of school like none other.
Nearly 1 million New York City public-school students are returning on Monday.
It will be the first day of classes without a remote option since the COVID-19 pandemic closed school doors in March 2020, and multiple issues have dominated headlines in recent weeks.
Here are some of the topics parents need to know about:
Vaccination concerns
There is currently no vaccine mandate for older students in the city school system — which will teach 890,000 kids this year — and children under 12 are still ineligible to receive the jab.
City Hall, however, has mandated that all Department of Education employees get at least one shot by Sept. 27 or face possible removal from the payroll.
But the directive has presented another challenge, with 36,000 DOE workers — including more than 15,000 teachers — remaining unvaccinated as of last week.
Some of those staffers are presumably seeking a medical or religious exemption, which City Hall has opposed.
UFT vs. the city
An arbitrator on Friday ruled in favor of the United Federation of Teachers, saying that the city must provide accommodations for DOE staffers with medical conditions or religious beliefs that preclude them from getting a COVID-19 vaccine.
According to the decision by arbitrator Martin Scheinman, public-school teachers who have refused to be vaccinated must be offered unpaid leave or a severance package.
Most teachers can stay on the payroll while their application for a religious or medical exemption is being heard or if they appeal a denial of their request, according to the ruling.
And teachers who resign due to their refusal to get jabbed won’t be immediately fired. They will be able to take leave without pay and will be entitled to health insurance through September 2022, according to the decision.
Mask up
Masks are mandatory for all students, staffers and visitors inside school buildings.
Funds to address academic fallout
The DOE has earmarked $350 million in federal funds to address the hindrance to education caused by the pandemic.
The money will support a range of initiatives, from literacy programs to new arts offerings, to aid in “academic recovery,” according to a budgeting memo obtained by The Post.
Each public school will get anywhere from $75,000 to $600,000 for the cause.And each recipient must dedicate at least 20 percent of its award to pay for arts-related programs.
Remote learning for quarantined students
Quarantined students will learn remotely, Mayor de Blasio announced last month, but details on the learning alternative are scarce.
“We have a variety of materials ready,” de Blasio has said. “Different approaches depending on grade level. We laid out some of it in the handbook. But we are going to be adding updates in the coming weeks.”
Kids who are asymptomatic and vaccinated will not have to quarantine in the event of a COVIDpositive case in their classroom, according to the school-reopening handbook that the mayor cited and that has been provided to parents.
The exemption will not be available to students under the age of 12 because they aren’t eligible for the COVID-19 shot, according to the guidance.
Spacing issues
The city’s principals union, the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, warned last month that many buildings will lack the sufficient space needed to enforce the DOE’s 3-foot separation mandate.
Many New York City schools are already overcrowded, and administrators are resorting to staggering starting times to accommodate students.
The CSA had argued that the DOE’s guidelines run counter to guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control, which said that the 3-foot rule should be enforced only when practicable.
NYC parochial schools
New York City Catholic elementary schools fully reopened last Wednesday without a hybridor remote-learning option.
Students and teachers in these schools are required to complete a health checklist and undergo a temperature check before entering the grounds.
Visitors, too, will have to complete a screening and temperature check.
Kids will then be split into groups and be required to remain within their group throughout the day, WLNY reported.
Catholic-school students headed back to in-person learning last September — even as the reopening of DOE classrooms was delayed.
City Catholic schools saw an increase in interest from publicschool families frustrated by the lack of full-time classes, parochial officials told The Post in November.