New York City reopens classroom learning for nearly 200,000 elementary school students

New York City, which has the largest school district in the country, reopened its doors Monday to about 190,000 students in kindergarten through fifth grade – restarting some in-person learning after weeks of remote learning.

Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Nov. 18 that all schools would go remote temporarily due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases that had passed the city's set positivity threshold of 3%. 

The current rate of positivity in the city is over 5% according to the mayor, much higher than when the schools originally shutdown in November. De Blasio says because few infections have been attributed to school transmission, along with increasing testing protocols, schools are safe to reopen.

All parents must sign a testing consent form for their child to return to in-person learning.

“Our schools are safer than pretty much any place else in New York City,” de Blasio said Friday on WNYC radio. “So I really think everyone in the school community can feel secure because so many measures are in place to protect everyone.”

Parents can sign their children up for hybrid or remote education, but de Blasio says if your child is signed up for hybrid and does not show up, they will lose their seat in order to free up space for other students.

The previous hybrid model allowed students to be in the classroom up to three days a week, but de Blasio has stated that some students will be able to be in school up to five days a week. 

Middle and high school students will remain virtual until at least after winter break.