Massive school safety agent shortage looms in NYC as vaccine mandate set to take effect
From Chalkbeat: More than 5,000 school safety agents guard the doors and hallways of New York City’s roughly 1,600 schools. This coming Tuesday, hundreds of these officers, if not thousands, might come off the payroll, as the city’s vaccine mandate takes effect. Schools are trying to prepare for the fallout from the city’s vaccine mandate, […]
Federal judge delays vaccine mandate for New York City teachers and staff
From Chalkbeat: New York City’s vaccination mandate for education department employees was put on hold after a federal judge on Friday night temporarily blocked it, officials said. The requirement to receive at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine was set to take effect close of business Monday, with unvaccinated staffers barred from entering schools […]
Unvaccinated and masked students no longer have to quarantine as COVID testing becomes weekly in NYC schools
From Chalkbeat: After just one week of school, New York City will make a significant change to its COVID quarantine and testing policies. Unvaccinated students who are masked and follow the social distancing guidelines of three feet will no longer have to quarantine if they are a close contact of a positive student, Mayor Bill […]
In major test, New York City schools reopen for nearly 1 million students
From Chalkbeat: Third grader Jaden arrived Monday morning at his Bronx elementary school with a lanyard around his neck holding hand sanitizer. Like most of the district’s nearly 1 million students, Jaden has not set foot in a classroom in almost 550 days. New York City threw open its classroom doors on Monday to all […]
This NYC counselor is helping students work through COVID-era trauma
From Chalkbeak: After Randy Bowen lost three family members to COVID-19, he knew he needed to prioritize the activities that center him, such as meditating and riding his bike, so that he could show up for his students at Community Health Academy of the Heights. Bowen, a school counselor of 14 years and a certified […]
Adequate ventilation can curb the spread of COVID. Here’s what we know about ventilation inside NYC schools.
From Chalkbeat: Inside a century-old red brick building on the edge of Manhattan’s Chinatown, Joanne O’Neill and her custodial staff have been hustling. In the morning, two hours before students arrived for summer camp, approximately 70 window air conditioning units were flipped on, and all windows – the primary source of ventilation in the building […]
Things are changing fast’: More schools requiring masks for all, vaccines for teachers
In just a week, more than a dozen of the country’s large urban school districts have shifted policies to require masks for all students and staff. And on Monday, the country’s largest school district announced it will require all school staff to be vaccinated, joining Chicago and Los Angeles. New York City’s decision came just […]
Universal lunch may help NYC students view their schools as safer places, a report finds
Universal free lunch doesn’t just provide meals for children. New York City’s school food program improves students’ perceptions of bullying, fighting, and safety at their schools, according to a new study. The report, from Washington D.C.-based think tank Urban Institute, used New York City students’ responses to annual surveys as well as school meal participation […]
