New York City High Schools Welcome Back Students For In-Person Learning

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — New York City high schools reopen for in-person learning Monday.

Hundreds of schools will open their doors for the first time since November.

All of the city’s 488 high schools will offer in-person learning, with about half returning five days a week.

“With a .57 positivity rate, our schools are the safest place to be, and we are ready to reopen schools for our high schoolers,” New York City Schools Chancellor Meisha Ross Porter said. “We are going to continue with what we know works — weekly in-person testing for our students, educators and staff.”

The schools chancellor and mayor say not only have cases been low among students, but the vaccination effort has also ramped up.

“Over 40,000 educators have been vaccinated,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “But that number, we all think, is low, meaning we think there are more if just hasn’t been reported yet.”

The long-awaited return to to classroom is welcome news for parents throughout the city. For Allison Ordonez, it’s a chance for her ninth grader to get out of the house.

“I was like, ‘Hallelujah.’ I want even one day back to school for every week. I would be happy, because I feel like she’s been in her bedroom all since November,” she said.

But even for her daughter, Arianna, there is some uncertainty.

“I don’t know how I’m going to fit in with everything that’s going on. I mean, am I going to sink under pressure, am I going to prosper? I honestly don’t know,” she said.

The mayor and schools chancellor also announced even more students will soon be able to return in person, following newly released CDC guidelines that reduce the six-feet social distancing requirements to three feet when coupled with other safety measures, like mask wearing and hand washing.

“For parents of kids in the younger grades, we are confident that we’ll be able to bring back a substantial number of students by the end of April,” said de Blasio.

Given the guidance and vaccination effort, they will give parents another chance to opt-in to in-person learning this year.

Also Monday in New York City, indoor fitness classes resume for the first time in more than a year. Studios can now hold classes at 33% capacity.

New Yorkers can also begin inviting more guests over for backyard events. Indoor residential gatherings remain capped at 10 people, but outdoor gatherings increase to 25. Non-residential gatherings increase to 100 people indoors and 200 outdoors.

CBS2’s Kevin Rincon contributed to this report.

source https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2021/03/22/nyc-high-schools-reopen/