BACK TO SCHOOL
Queens Borough Hall’s donation drive collects
backpacks and supplies for children in need
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | AUG. 20 - AUG. 26, 2021 31
BY ALEJANDRA O'CONNELLDOMENECH
With only a few weeks remaining
until students return
to classrooms, many questions
on what health and safety protocols
will look like in New
York City public schools remain
unanswered.
Roughly a month and a half
before the new school year
starts, New York state officials
announced they would
not issue health and safety
guidelines for schools reopening
next month, placing the
responsibility for crafting a
reopening plan on local school
districts.
New York State Department
of Health Commissioner
Dr. Howard Zucker said in
a statement the state would
not issue guidance due to the
state disaster emergency being
lifted on June 25. Zucker
added in the statement that
schools and school districts
“should develop plans to open
in-person in the fall as safely
as possible” and follow “guidance
from the CDC and local
health departments.”
It remains unclear how
frequently testing and tracing
will take place within school
communities; what a school
closure policy might look like;
what instruction will look like
for unvaccinated students in
quarantine; and what schools
will do if they can not abide
by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention’s
three-foot social distancing
recommendation.
In a meeting with members
earlier this week, President
of the United Federation of
Teachers Micheal Mulgrew
said the DOE claims 50 public
schools do not have the space
needed for students and staff
to maintain three feet of social
distance. Leonie Haimson,
executive director of the advocacy
group Class Size Matters,
released a list of 73 Tier
1 schools that the department
claimed earlier this year did
not have enough space to accommodate
social distancing
requirements. The DOE has
been unable to confirm or
deny the validity of the list,
according to Gothamist, who
first reported on the leaked
list.
In response, a department
spokesperson said the agency
looks forward to all students
returning to buildings this
fall and all schools “will safely
serve every student in accordance
with current CDC
guidelines.”
Shortly afterward, New
York City’s principal union,
the Council of School Supervisors
and Administrators,
sent an email to members
encouraging them to submit
budget requests for additional
staff needed to help
with social distancing. In
addition, the union reminds
members the DOE will be
“redoubling” its efforts to ensure
all schools are equipped
with adequate ventilation,
personal protective equipment
and cleaning supplies
ahead of reopening and that
schools will be allowed to use
the cafeteria space for eating.
The email notes the DOE
will add ventilation units in
cafeterias where needed.
But it still remains unclear
if the DOE will even enforce
social distancing given the
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention’s changes to
their COVID health and safety
guidelines for schools. In July,
the CDC stressed that schools
should prioritize reopening
fully even if they can not
maintain three feet of social
distance between students and
adults at all times.
Reach reporter Alejandra
O'Connell-Domenech by e-mail
at adomenech@schnepsmedia.
com.
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
As the new school year approaches,
Queens Borough
President Donovan Richards
is hosting a school supply
drive to provide children
with the tools they need to
thrive in the classroom.
The school supply drive
began Monday, Aug. 16, and
will run through Wednesday,
Sept. 1. Residents can donate
new backpacks and other
school supplies at Queens
Borough Hall, located at
120-55 Queens Blvd. in Kew
Gardens.
As New York City public
schools prepare to reopen fully
and safely this September
after a challenging year and
a half during the COVID-19
pandemic, Richards said the
pandemic’s toll on Queens’
families has been “extraordinarily
rough,” especially
those with school-age children
who had to shift from
in-person learning to remote
learning as they struggled to
continue their education.
Amid the devastating economic
impacts of the pandemic,
Richards said he hopes the
backpack and school supply
donation drive will “make
life a little easier for many
hardworking families” to get
the upcoming school year off
to a great start.
This year’s donations for
the upcoming school year can
be dropped off in a box located
on the first floor of Borough
Hall next to the security desk
in the lobby, which is just inside
the building’s main entrance
on Queens Boulevard.
The lobby is open 24 hours a
day.
Other supplies needed
include No. 2 pencils, pencil
cases, pencil sharpeners,
crayons, pens, colored pencils,
washable markers, Elmer’s
glue, glue sticks, composition
notebooks, 1.5-inch
and 1-inch binders, ruled paper,
safety scissors, rulers,
pocket folders and scientific
calculators.
While families don’t
have to worry about accessing
school supplies for their
children, they are facing uncertainty
this school year as
New York state officials announced
they would not issue
health and safety guidelines
for schools reopening next
month. Local school districts
will instead be responsible
for creating a reopening plan.
As the city continues to
grapple with the spread of
the COVID-19 delta variant,
lagging vaccination rates,
and has imposed a vaccine
mandate for employees and
customers for indoor venues
beginning Monday, Aug. 16,
Mayor Bill de Blasio is also
requiring teachers to get vaccinated
by the time school
reopens in September, or be
tested weekly.
Eligible students can also
get vaccinated against COVID
before classes are set to
resume on Sept. 13, with no
options for remote learning.
According to the mayor,
there is no “full recovery
without full-strength
schools, everyone back, sitting
in those classrooms, kids
learning again.”
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com or
by phone at (718) 260–4526.
Photo via Getty Images
Photo by Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
With full school reopening approaching, questions
still remain on how classes will look this fall
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