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Brooklyn and Queens Catholic schools will implement
COVID-19 safety protocols when schools reopen in Sept.
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | AUG. 20 - AUG. 26, 2021 25
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
The Office of the Superintendent
of Catholic Schools
for the Diocese of Brooklyn,
which includes 69 elementary
schools in Brooklyn and
Queens, announced that COVID
19 safety protocols will be
in place when schools open on
Wednesday, Sept. 8.
In the absence of a mandate,
the New York State Department
of Health recommends
school districts adopt
universal indoor masking for
all based on guidance from the
American Academy of Pediatrics
and the Center for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC).
Therefore, Catholic academies
and parish schools in
Brooklyn and Queens will require
all students, faculty and
staff members to wear masks
beginning on the first day of
school.
Additionally, school officials
will continue to encourage
vaccinations, social distancing,
hand washing and
hand hygiene. Schools will
maintain the rigorous daily
cleaning and sanitizing of
facilities, and they’ll use enhanced
ventilation.
Parents will be reminded
to keep their child home from
school if they are sick, and
their child will be required
to receive medical clearance
from a healthcare provider so
that they can safely return to
in-person instruction.
The Catholic academies
and parish schools will also
continue to follow city and
state guidelines regarding
contact tracing, quarantine
and isolation protocols.
“As the numbers of coronavirus
cases continue to spike
in children, and the overall
numbers of hospitalizations in
New York City are on the rise,
this is the most responsible
approach to take when we begin
the new school year,” said
Superintendent Dr. Thomas
Chadzutko. “I know the return
to these safety measures is not
the situation parents, teachers
or students were hoping for in
the 2021-2022 school year, but
we cannot ignore the trends.”
According to Chadzutko, if
the schools are successful in
preventing a further increase
of cases as the academic year
moves along, they will revisit
the guidelines and adjust them
accordingly.
“As much as we want a return
to normalcy in our classrooms,
we want our students,
faculty and staff to be safe,”
Chadzutko said.
While he has received his
vaccine and continues to encourage
others to do so as well,
Nicholas DiMarzio, bishop of
Brooklyn, said it is their hope
that the COVID-19 vaccines
will help bring an end to “this
terrible virus that has controlled
our lives for much of
the past year and a half.”
Catholic schools in Brooklyn
and Queens, in adherence
to strict guidelines, opened
on time for the 2020-21 school
year, and were able to offer
five-day-a-week instruction.
Enrollment increased in nearly
40 percent of the schools last
year in grades K-8.
To learn more about
Catholic Schools in Brooklyn
and Queens, visit
catholicschoolsbq.org.
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