PS 255 The Barbara Reing School

 Please see the letter and consent form below which discusses the school building re-opening schedule and required consent for mandatory in-school testing. Translations of the family letter will be available as soon as possible at schools.nyc.gov/messagesforfamilies. 

Students in 3-K, Pre-K and grades K through 5 will return to in-person learning beginning on Monday, December 7. 

o   This includes all students in 3-K and pre-K programs and elementary grades K through 5, across school types (e.g., in K-2 schools, K-3 schools, K-5 schools, as well as District Pre-K Centers,  K-8 schools, and K-12 schools).  

o   This excludes schools currently located in State-designated Red and Orange Zones. You can see if your school is in a Red or Orange Zone at http://nyc.gov/covidzone.

·         Students in all grade levels in District 75 schools will return to in-person learning beginning on Thursday, December 10. 

o   This excludes schools currently located in State-designated Red or Orange Zones. 

·         Students in grades 6 through 12 (outside of District 75 schools) will continue to learn remotely until further notice.

·         These return dates apply to all students in blended learning, including those who selected blended learning during the recent opt-in period. Students who selected remote-only instruction will remain in remote only.

• Students and staff who have recently traveled outside of New York to a place on the State’s travel advisory list must quarantine for 14 days or test out of the 14-day quarantine based on the State’s guidance. Staff and students should continue to complete the health questionnaire daily.

As always, our first commitment is to health and safety for all of our DOE community, above and beyond everything else. Your tireless efforts have made it possible for our schools to re-open for in-person learning.

Here is how we collectively can help keep them open:

·         Mandatory Weekly Testing: To ensure schools remain a safe and health place to learn, all schools will have 20% of students and staff tested on a weekly basis.  Scheduling and logistics for testing will be shared with you prior to your test administration day each week.

·         Student Consent: All students are required to provide consent for testing by December 7 or by their first scheduled in-person learning day. If a student arrives on their first day of in-person without a consent form in hand or submitted online, you must call their parent or guardian that day to collect consent immediately. Guidance to enter consent in ATS will be provided in Tuesday’s Principals Digest.

o   Families can submit consent using NYCSA or this updated consent form (also attached to this email). Please note that even if parents previously provided consent, we are asking them to submit again to ensure they have the updated consent form for their child that reflects the requirement for weekly testing in your school. Note that the consent form was updated on Wednesday, October 14 to reflect this change.

o   Students who need a medical exemption (available for all students) or disability-based exemption (available for students with IEPs) will be able to submit separate forms for approval. Principals will receive more information this week for distribution to families by Monday.

o   Students without consent and who do not have medical exemption or disability-based exemption will be moved to fully remote instruction.

 Update for Families_November 29 2020.pdf 

 student-covid-19-testing-consent-form.pdf