Dear John,

We have to get our priorities straight.

Schools are essential spaces for learning, community building, and services for all of our students. They should not be the first thing to close as the second wave of COVID-19 cases rise around our city.

Yet, with the average positivity rate citywide inching towards the 3% threshold that the Mayor has committed to, we are getting dangerously close to an abrupt shut down of schools -- even while bars, restaurants, and gyms still welcome indoor guests.

The decision regarding our schools belongs to the Mayor, but it's the Governor who has the power regarding indoor dining, and other business restrictions. Yesterday the Governor announced that restaurants, bars, and gyms must close at 10 PM (as if the virus could tell time), and restricted indoor gatherings to 10 people.

We should treat schools like the essential institutions that they are. Prioritizing schools means closing indoor dining, gyms, offices, and even non-essential retail before we close the schools.

While our schools are open, we should be surging resources there: more testing, more PPE, and more staff to help keep everyone safe, clean, and distant. And no matter what happens with in person learning, we must ensure that all students have the technology and resources they need to learn at home.

We may well need to close our schools amidst this second wave, but that decision should be based on the best public health data that we have. We did not have that school-based data in March, but we do now and we should use it. School-based testing shows a positivity rate under 0.25% in every borough right now, even as cases rise outside the classroom citywide. Let’s use the data we have to inform the decisions about our school system, so that we can target our effort to curb the spread of the virus in the most effective way, while doing the least disruption to the lives and learning of the next generation.

This is not easy, and no one is happy about closing businesses either. We need to come up with new relief for our small businesses, including the Small Business Recovery Leases that Council Member Powers, Assembly Member Niou, and Senator Kavanagh have proposed. We need to make sure that all students have the technology they need to learn from home when they are not in the classroom. But we cannot make the many benefits of in person school the first thing on the chopping block to tamp down the spreading virus.

We have a long winter ahead of us and we must focus on the evidence we have about what is and is not risky in order to make smart decisions about how to keep communities safe and supported.

Brad

Updates and Resources

Latest Virus Data: In NYC, there were 870 new cases today, and 100 new patients admitted to hospitals. We have lost 24,096 people in NYC from the virus, including sadly 14 in the last few days, and 280,044 total cases have been identified in the city since the start of the pandemic. The citywide 7-day rolling average of positive test rates is 2.6%.
New Guidance: Restaurants, bars, and gyms are to close at 10 PM and private gatherings indoors are limited to 10 people, beginning tomorrow. More detail on the state guidance is here.
Get Tested: Testing is widely available (and free) to all New Yorkers. You can make an appointment to get a rapid test (results back in 24 hours) or walk in to a testing site around the city.
Schools Opt-In Deadline: As absurd as it seems to have the opt-in deadline be at the same time that schools are nearing the threshold for closure, the current directive is that November 15 is the deadline to switch into blended learning. Fill out the survey here. The Mayor and Chancellor have said this is the only opt-in period for now for the rest of this school year, but as with everything else, that may change.
Middle School Admissions: While the DOE has yet to provide guidance on middle school and high school admissions for the 2021-22 school year, D15 middle schools, which are all part of the D15 Diversity Plan, have started gearing up for a process that will be largely virtual this year. Below are some current opportunities for fifth graders and their families to check out our D15 middle schools. We will provide updates as more information becomes available (and are continuing to push for the City to adopt a version of the D15 weighted lottery citywide as the most fair and equitable approach to admissions this year).
- BCS has opened registration for several virtual open houses 11/19, 11/22, 12/3 and 12/13.
- BHS has posted a signup for their first virtual open house 11/17 at 1 PM.
- MS 51 has posted a signup to receive information on their upcoming virtual tour.
- MS 88 has a Get to Know Us page including a virtual tour for prospective families.
- MS 839 has posted a virtual tour here.
- BUGS has a registration for two virtual information sessions 11/18 and 12/7.
- Brooklyn Prospect Charter has opened their admissions process. Note the Windsor Terrace Middle School is now located in D13 temporarily. Admissions information can be found here.