Public Health Data Needs to Guide the Safe Reopening of Our Schools

Creative Thinking on School Reopening is Necessary to Prioritize Safety and

Student Well-Being

By Council Member Mark Treyger, Chair of the Committee on Education

The stakes are incredibly high for the school year ahead. The rollout of
remote learning has exacerbated pre-existing inequities in our education system.1
Our students, especially our most vulnerable children, lost out on instructional
time. Working parents, particularly working mothers, have been forced to balance
childcare, education, and their jobs.2 Our delayed shutdown exposed school staff to
unacceptable risk. We know that there can be no genuine reopening without
reopening schools, but the long term crises of underfunding, overcrowded schools,
and large class sizes hamper our ability to do so safely. Executives have insisted
that schools must develop reopening plans.3 The CDC and the New York State
Department of Health have issued preliminary guidelines for safe school
reopening.4, 5 The New York City Department of Education has preliminarily
released guidance to school leaders regarding space utilization and programming
options.6 However, none of the reopening plans adequately rise to the impossibility
of the situation we find ourselves in.

1
Emma Dorn, “COVID-19 and student learning in the United States: The hurt could last a lifetime,”
McKinsey & Company, June 1, 2020,
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-sector/our-insights/covid-19-and-student-learning-in-the-unite
d-states-the-hurt-could-last-a-lifetime#.
2
Claire Cain Miller, “Nearly Half of Men Say They Do Most of the Home Schooling. 3 Percent of Women
Agree,” The New York Times, updated May 8, 2020,
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/06/upshot/pandemic-chores-homeschooling-gender.html.
3
Rebecca Klar, “Cuomo unveils plan for school reopenings in New York,” The Hill, July 13, 2020,
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/507056-cuomo-unveils-plan-for-school-reopening-in-new-york.
4
“Considerations for Schools,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, updated May 19, 2020,
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools.html.
5
“Interim Guidance for In-Person Instruction at Pre-K to Grade 12 Schools During the Covid-19 Public
Health Emergency,” New York State Department of Health, updated July 13, 2020,
http://dingo.telicon.com/NY/library/2020/20200713ZU.PDF.
6
“Return to School 2020,” New York City Department of Education, accessed July 21, 2020,
https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-year-20-21/return-to-school-2020.
 School reopening decisions and protocols must be driven by public health
and safety considerations, not politics. We have paid a heavy price for missteps in
the lead up to school closure.7 The Department of Education learned from those
early lessons, and has been operating Regional Enrichment Centers (RECs) with
little incident, thanks to robust health screening procedures, small class sizes and
social distancing, ample personal protective equipment, and regular deep cleaning.
The safety protocols of the RECs should be instructive for the year ahead. School
reopening cannot occur without having proper safeguards in place to protect our
school communities and their families. Yet, the safety guidance and best practices
which have been promulgated do not account for the space and staffing constraints
of an educational system that has been plagued by systemic disinvestment for
decades. The educational system cannot possibly open fully and safely for
in-person instruction for all students.

The DOE has set strict social distancing guidelines, which will mean that
only 1/2 or 1/3 of a school's students will be able to attend in-person at any one
time, with the option for school leaders to propose alternative plans, if need be.
Parents, educators, and advocates have all voiced their concerns about the DOE's
plan.8, 9 The DOE proposal, which attempts to deal equally with all students and
schools under constrained resources, will end up exacerbating the inequities that
have come to a head under remote learning. Working families will still need to
negotiate impossible childcare situations, older siblings who have assumed the
childcare burden for parents working outside the home will still have those
responsibilities, and the students who most depend on the stability of in-person
instruction​—​young students, students in temporary housing and crowded living
situations, students with disabilities, and multilingual learners​
—​will not have that
stability.
7
Sarah Jaffe, “How the New York City School System Failed the Test of Covid-19,” The Nation, June 16,
2020, https://www.thenation.com/article/society/schools-teachers-covid/.
8
Rocco Vertuccio, “Concerns Raised Over City’s Proposal to Partially Reopen Schools,” Spectrum News
NY1, July 9, 2020,
https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/education/2020/07/10/concerns-raised-over-city-s-proposal-to-parti
ally-reopen-schools.
9
Dana Goldstein and Eliza Shapiro, “Schools Reopening: Teachers Fearful, Angry Over Pressure to
Return,” The New York Times, July 11, 2020,
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/11/us/virus-teachers-classrooms.html.
 We are in unprecedented times, and trying to replicate our standard
educational system with minor adjustments will harm students, families, and
staff​
—​this is a time that requires exceptional creativity, cross-sector partnerships,
and appropriate resources. We must think outside the box. In consultation with
several school leaders, parents, colleagues, and advocacy organizations, I have
developed the following suggestions for reopening schools in a way that minimizes
harm and maximizes safety. The proposals in this document, presented for
consideration and dialogue, are resource-intensive ways to reopen school in a safer
and more just manner, based on what we know now. However, even the existing
safety guidelines will likely require significant additional funding to implement, at
a time when the City and State are in a fiscal crisis.1011

If we do not invest aggressively in safety and equity at the front-end, we will

assuredly end up paying for it on the back-end, as certain students fall farther
behind, parents contend with the costs of childcare relative to wages, economic
recovery is delayed, and, as too many school systems have experienced, there
might be a need to close down schools again when cases rise. We need substantial
federal funding to be directed to local education authorities, and we cannot reopen
without it. As we advocate for additional funding, with under two months until the
next school year, it is imperative that the City, State, and Federal governments
work together to ensure that we get this right. The following proposals should be
seriously considered, before reopening plans move any further in the process:

● Timing:​The school year should begin later in the fall to allow for the NYC
Department of Education and schools to fully plan and program a safe
reopening. With ambiguity around federal funding unlikely to be resolved
before August, and rising case rates throughout much of the country, New
York City would benefit from additional time to plan, and respond to

10
The Associated Press, “Cost of Ensuring School Safety Complicates Reopening Plans,” The New York
Times, July 15, 2020,
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/07/15/us/ap-us-virus-outbreak-school-costs.html.
11
The City Council has requested an analysis of the cost of re-opening safely from the Independent
Budget Office
 changes in funding and public health guidance. Where providers are willing,
contracts for summer enrichment programming should be extended and
expanded, and childcare should be made available.
● Safety and Contagion:​The DOE must strictly adhere to the CDC and New
York State Health Department guidance for reopening schools. This includes
requiring that everyone wears face coverings and maintains six feet of
physical distance in school buildings, training students and staff on proper
hand and respiratory hygiene, developing routines for frequent cleaning and
disinfection, increasing circulation of outdoor air by opening windows and
doors as much as safely possible, upgrading ventilation systems including in
school cafeterias and kitchens, and conducting daily health screenings. The
CDC recommends smaller class sizes so that desks can be spaced six feet
apart.12 There must be widespread access to testing with rapid results, clearly
defined protocols for self-reporting cases, and immediately closing buildings
where self-reported cases have occurred. There must also be widespread
access to personal protective equipment, disinfecting materials, hand
washing stations and sanitizer, and sufficient funding to execute rigorous,
daily deep-cleaning and disinfection. Additionally, there must be at least one
full-time nurse per school site. As articulated by Governor Cuomo, if the
city’s COVID-19 infection rate increases above 9% over a seven-day
average after August 1st, then the school system returns fully to remote
learning.13
● Prioritizing Access to In-Person Instruction:​With limited classroom
space, access to in-person instruction should be prioritized for those students
whose academic and developmental progress is most dependent on the social
environment and consistency of in-person education (as opposed to blended
models or fully remote instruction).14

12
CDC, “Considerations for Schools.”
13
Reema Amin and Alex Zimmerman, “NYC schools can open if local infection rate stays below 5% - but
a spike could shut buildings down again, Cuomo says,” Chalkbeat, July 13, 2020,
https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2020/7/13/21323308/nyc-schools-reopening-coronavirus-cuomo.
14
“COVID-19 Planning Considerations: Guidance for School Re-entry,” American Academy of Pediatrics,
accessed July 21, 2020,
https://services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/clinical-guidance/covid-19-p
lanning-considerations-return-to-in-person-education-in-schools/.
 ○ Allow all early childhood and elementary school students to attend
school in-person and full-time, with the option for parents to choose
remote learning instead. If there is sufficient space, allow middle
school students to attend school in-person, full-time or in a blended
model.
○ For all grades, allow all students with IEPs, students in temporary
housing, students in foster care, English language learners, and
students in unsafe home environments (e.g., LGBTQ+ students with
unsupportive families) to attend school five days a week, with the
option to choose remote learning instead.15
○ High school students who meet the above criteria will be prioritized
for in-person instruction, while most will continue to work remotely.
○ The City should contract with community based organizations and
youth development programs to provide drop-in space and enrichment
programming for high schoolers during remote learning. Maximize
in-person, after-school activities, where practicable and safe.
○ Remote learning must include synchronous instruction.
○ Childcare and enrichment programming, similar to the Regional
Enrichment Center model, should be available for all students who the
DOE cannot accommodate for in-person learning.
● Implementation Logistics:​This model would require an aggressive
approach to identifying new spaces and staffing resources.
○ Schools should use non-instructional spaces, such as libraries,
auditoriums, cluster rooms, gymnasiums, and cafeterias, as
classrooms. During warmer weather, outdoor space could be utilized,
as well. Larger spaces will enable larger class sizes, as there will be
more space for social distancing, thus allowing more students to
attend in-person instruction. This would be especially beneficial for
ICT classrooms.
○ Where there is insufficient space for all students to attend in-person
instruction at their usual school building, under the space ratios
specified by health guidelines, satellite spaces should be utilized, akin
15
American Academy of Pediatrics, “COVID-19 Planning Considerations: Guidance for School Re-entry.”
 to the model under which many D75 schools operate. With many high
schools operating at limited capacity, elementary and middle schools
can utilize nearby high school spaces. There is some precedent for
this, with elementary schools temporarily co-locating in middle and
high school spaces following Hurricane Sandy, and with elementary
charter schools co-located in district high schools.
○ The Department of Education should also explore temporarily leasing
or contracting with non-DOE spaces as satellite schools, including
Catholic schools which are ceasing operations, community centers,
cultural institutions with auditoriums or large meeting spaces, higher
education institutions which will be pivoting to remote instruction,
libraries, and other entities with underutilized gathering spaces, whose
ordinary operations have been significantly disrupted by the
pandemic.
○ This plan also requires significant increases in in-person teaching
staff, given that class sizes will be smaller and that many teachers may
request reasonable accommodations to teach remotely.16 There are,
however, many options to recruit new teachers: teachers in the Absent
Teacher Reserve pool, F-status teachers, and per diem substitute
teachers could all be utilized. NYSED could grant a waiver to enable
paraprofessionals with bachelor's degrees to supervise classes. NYC
Teaching Fellows should be utilized, and the program could be
expanded. Assistant Principals could teach classes. Lastly, all licensed
personnel within the DOE’s administrative offices should be prepared
to work in classrooms.

There are several benefits to prioritizing in-person school attendance of

elementary and middle school students. Many elementary school students live

16
Reema Amin, “20% of NYC teachers might work from home because of health concerns, according to
education department estimates,” Chalkbeat, June 15, 2020,
https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2020/6/15/21292253/nyc-teachers-school-coronavirus-health-risks.
closer to their schools than high school students do, ensuring fewer contacts for
students attending in-person school, and less time spent on mass transit.17, 18

Younger students are more dependent on the structure and routines that
in-person learning offers.19 Additionally, anecdotally, one of the largest barriers to
remote learning engagement for high school students was responsibility for
assisting younger siblings with remote instruction. This option will allow high
school students, who have a greater capacity to work independently, space to fully
engage in their classes. Lastly, there is credible scientific evidence that young
students are less likely to transmit COVID-19, even if infected.20 Ultimately, this
proposal is intended to be a safer way to ensure that the DOE’s resource-limited
capacity to provide in-person instruction is allocated in a more equitable manner
than the current one-size-fits-all approach, which, in reality, will exacerbate
existing inequities.

In a school year that will be like none other, we need to be ambitious about
what we can achieve. We need to actively seek and listen to feedback from school
staff, from parents, and health experts, and ensure that communication is clear,
accessible, and reciprocal. This proposal is intended to begin a conversation around
a different approach to serving our city’s 1.1 million students and their families in
the fall. It is a living document, and intended to elicit feedback and spark dialogue.
21
School staff, parents, and students have displayed an incredible amount of
ingenuity, patience, and grit in trying to make a piecemeal remote learning system

17
Sean Corcoran, “How Far Do NYC Students Travel to Get to School?”, The Research Alliance for New
York City Schools, October 24, 2018,
https://research.steinhardt.nyu.edu/site/research_alliance/2018/10/24/how-far-do-nyc-students-travel-to-g
et-to-school/.
18
School buses should still be available to those students who need it, while following CDC guidance,
particularly students in temporary housing and foster care.
19
Anya Kamenetz, “New Report Says Schools Should Try to Reopen In Person for Elementary Students”,
NPR, July 15, 2020.
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/07/15/891347536/-we-failed-children-says-co
-author-of-new-national-back-to-school-report.
20
Apoorva Mandavilli, “Older Children Spread the Coronavirus Just as Much as Adults, Large Study
Finds,” The New York Times, July 18, 2020,
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/18/health/coronavirus-children-schools.html.
21
Please send feedback, and additional suggestions to ​councildistrict47@gmail.com
work. We owe it to them to display the same level of creativity when we
contemplate the system as a whole, rather than continuing to shift the burden of
safety and planning to individuals.