COVID-19

We have put safety procedures in place to keep our students and staff healthy. As staff and students re-enter school buildings.  We must all comply with physical distancing guidelines and maintain a distance of six feet at all times while wearing a face covering when on school property.

• A Health Screening Survey must be filled out before entering our school building.  
• Masks: Masks must be worn at all times by ALL students, teachers, staff, and visitors while in the building. Students are expected to arrive with their own face coverings, and if they do not have a face covering, one will be provided before entering the school building.
• Hand washing: There will be increased access and regular opportunities for students and staff to wash hands or use hand sanitizer throughout the day. Students and staff are expected to wash hands thoroughly throughout the day, before and after eating, after using the bathroom, if exposed to body fluids (like saliva or a sneeze), and at other times frequently throughout the day. Hand washing has been added to all student schedules
• Drop-off and pickup procedures: Please maintain social distancing between families during drop-off and pickup. Parents are not allowed to enter the building with their child. To maintain social distancing please move through the drop-off and pick up line as quickly as possible to make room for families behind you.
  • Kindergarten and First Grade line-up begins promptly at 8:20 a.m.
  • PreK line-up begins promptly at 8:30. Please use egress B. To avoid crowding, please do not arrive before your scheduled time. Please line up with your child standing (six feet apart) mind the floor markers and signage.
  • Each student will be temperature checked before entering the building.
• Dismissal Procedures: All dismissals will be outdoors for all students. Teachers will dismiss each student to their parent/guardian. Classes will come out single file line up. Students will be dismissed as follows: Beginning at 1:50PM classes K-203 and 1-213 will dismiss, 1:55 classes K-202 and 1-212 will dismiss and at 2:00PM K-201 and 1-211 will dismiss.  PreK will come out to their designated spots at 2:00 PM. . We ask that families please stand on your designated standing area outside the on the closed off street 34th Avenue and maintain social distancing as well.
  • For your child's safety, we ask that only families noted on the blue emergency card pick up your child. Please ensure that any member picking up your child has been documented on the blue emergency card or that you have notified the teacher in writing.  You may email or dojo any changes to normal procedures. 
  • Visiting our school: We are limiting visitors to the school during this time. Most parent-teacher conferences and other meetings can be held virtually. All visits must be pre-approved and scheduled with the main office. Parent and community volunteers have been suspended until further notice.
• Approved Visits: When you enter the building, please check in at the security front desk. During check-in, you will be given a name tag and reminded to wear your mask at all times. Please be sure to return the tag to the safety agent upon exiting the building. Wellness barriers have been installed in the main office and at the safety desk. Please maintain your distance behind the barriers.
• Traffic flow in hallways and common areas: Hallways are marked with arrows. Please keep at least 6 ft. distance between yourself and others and follow the arrows.
• Illness: Students and staff exhibiting signs of illness or having a fever of greater than 99.9°F must stay home. If you or someone you know has COVID-19 (or shows symptoms of COVID-19 such as coughing or fever), it is required that you stay home or at a designated care facility for a minimum of 14 days. Please contact us via phone or email as soon as possible.
• If your child becomes ill at school, he or she will be taken to the nurse's office and you will be notified immediately of any visit to the nurse's office.
• If your child is exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, he/she will be quarantined from the rest of the school until your child can be picked up. In order to protect students and staff members from potential exposure to COVID-19, the school has designated an Isolation Room. An Isolation Room is a place where a student with suspected COVID-19 symptoms can be safely isolated in the building until they can be picked up by a guardian.
• Upon pick up, the nurse or staff member will strongly encourage the family to visit a doctor and get the student tested for COVID-19.
• Directions for local COVID testing: Please visit the NYS Coronavirus Find a Test Site
•  page to find a test site closest to you.
• If there is one confirmed case in a classroom, all students and teacher(s) in class(es) with a confirmed case are assumed to be close contacts and are instructed to quarantine for 14 days since their last exposure to that case. Notices will be sent home. Two or more confirmed cases within the same class triggers a classroom quarantine, but the school stays open.
• Two or more confirmed cases within the same school (not same classroom) triggers classroom quarantines and the school is closed for a minimum of 24 hours while the DOHMH investigation is underway.
• If a student/staff members are exposed to COVID-19 they must quarantine in order to stop the spread of the virus; this includes both students and staff members who test positive for COVID-19 and those who are considered close contacts of a positive case. DOHMH or Test + Trace will determine whether a student or staff member is considered a close contact of a positive case. If the student/staff member is considered a close contact, the individual can only return to school when all the following are met:
  • The student has completed a 14-day quarantine regardless of symptoms or test results since their last exposure to that case AND
  • Presents clearance from a health care provider evaluation AND
  • The individual has been symptom free for 24 hours without the use of medication.
• A doctor's note must be presented to our school nurse and kept on file at the school.
• Whenever a student is quarantining at home, the expectation is that they continue engaging with learning remotely if they are feeling well enough. If our school is closed, the principal will communicate by 6pm on the night before about the status of opening the next morning, based on the status of the investigation. Please make sure you are active on ClassDojo. We will not reopen a school building without confirmation from public health experts that it is safe.

In addition to asking everyone to wear masks, wash hands, and maintain social distancing, our school has taken several steps to improve the safety of our staff and students. These steps have been recommended by local health authorities to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 and other illnesses.

• Changes in class sizes: We've reduced the average class size in Pre-K through First Grade for in-person instruction.
• Improvements in ventilation: Our Air Filtration system is Annex Air. Four Roof mounted air handling units that serve the classrooms, gymnatorium, kitchen and cafeteria. This is a very modern and sophisticated system with high efficiency Merv. 13 filters which means that windows do not need to be opened to improve ventilation. Each unit holds an average of 12 filters each.
• Moving in the corridors: All staff, students and visitors must follow the signage and markings indicating the traffic pattern. Movement protocols have been posted throughout the school building to minimize congestion. We have also designated one-way direction stairwells and single file routes. We are limiting the use of students traveling from room to room.
• All cluster/specialty teachers will visit assigned classrooms to provide instruction, or teach our students remotely.
• Increases in cleaning frequency: Our custodial team is committed to cleaning all classrooms twice daily, once before the school day and once in the afternoon after dismissal. In addition, all classroom teachers have been provided with sanitizing wipes to wipe down surfaces and shared resources on an as-needed basis throughout the school day.
• Custodians will sanitize school building on a regular basis. Cleaning and disinfection will include all high touch surfaces: classrooms, desks & chairs, conference tables, drinking fountains, door handles and push plates, light switches, restroom fixtures, partitions and hardware, buttons on hardware, elevator buttons, gym padding, and our playground.
• Use of Outdoor/Gymnatorium Space: Our students will be using the playground, gymnatorium and rooftop outdoor space adhering to social distancing guidelines. Staff members will teach our students the appropriate social distancing procedures while using physical space in the building. Time has been scheduled into the day for PreK to go out doors into our playground with limited use of the equipment. Our custodial staff will be cleaning the space between each class use.
• Hand sanitation: Hand sanitizing dispensers have been installed in every classroom and throughout the school in common areas. In addition, In addition, included in each class supply list, teachers may ask your child to carry trial size (individual) hand sanitizers to limit the movement in the classroom.
• Use of Bathrooms: All bathrooms have been stocked with extra soap for frequent hand washing.
• School Meals: Grab-and-go meals will be available for breakfast and lunch each day, though students will also be permitted to bring their own lunch if preferred. Kindergarten and First Grade will be having lunch in the cafeteria. Hot meals are available for all students starting in the month of December. Pre-K students will continue to have family style meals in the classroom. All remote students will be able to come and pick up meals at the school between the hours of 9AM - 12PM. 

During 100% remote learning days (snow days, election day), your child is expected to complete all assignments provided by the teacher. At the same time, we recognize that working independently at home is different and difficult for many students, so we want to provide flexibility.

• Students and families should check Google Class during remote days for important updates from their teachers. You can find a link to your teacher's Google Class in the Staff Directory.
• All students are expected to sign into their Google Class on their Remote Learning days at 8:30 a.m.. Look for the link in your teacher's Google Class.
• During 100% distance remote learning, your child's remote teacher will conduct live classes via Zoom. Check Google Class for your live class schedule.
• When signing in for virtual classes or meetings, students are expected to be on time, appropriately dressed, and ready to learn. We suggest signing in 5 minutes before class starts. Please join the meetings with your mic on mute. Please try to reduce background noise and distractions as much as possible

• Remote Learning Device Request
  For families: If you would like to request a device for a NYC student in your family, please fill out the form below. The DOE will use the contact information you provide to get in touch with you to discuss when and where you can pick up a device. Priority will be given to students most in need, and all devices are granted on a temporary basis and will later need to be returned. There is a limit of one device per student.
• Guidance on Parent Teacher Conference
• DOE Student Accounts (DOE Website) Students can learn how to find their DOE accounts and log in
• Student DOE Account Password Reset Page
  Students can reset their DOE account password
• Scholastic Learn at Home website
• NYPL Instructional Materials Now Available for Every DOE Teacher and Student
• Learn at Home
• iReady
  • Parent Handbook
  • iReady website
• iXL
  • Parent Handbook 
  • iXL website
• Envisions
  
  • Google Classroom website
• NYC Reads 365

To stay up to date with any changes to procedures or scheduling, please bookmark this page on your browser. We'll also be sending out emails to all families.

Download the Class Dojo app on your smart phone to stay up to date.

• New Health & Trace Protocols
• Spectrum Free Internet Information
• Students Device Form for Remote Learning
• Family Letters
• DOHMH’s Main Coronavirus Page
• DOE’s Coronavirus Updates