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| Elementary Schools Reopen in Person, in Milestone for N.Y.C. | Elementary Schools Reopen in Person, in Milestone for N.Y.C. |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| New York City on Tuesday reached a major milestone in its recovery from the pandemic, welcoming roughly 300,000 elementary school students back to classrooms after the reopening of the system had been repeatedly delayed. | |
| But the day’s feeling of triumph could be short-lived, as just hours after students began filing into school buildings Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city’s daily rate of positive coronavirus tests had risen to more than 3 percent for the first time in months. | |
| Though the city’s positivity rate is still relatively low compared with most other parts of the country, Mr. de Blasio has said he will shut down in-person instruction if the average rate stays above 3 percent for seven days. The current seven-day average is just 1.38 percent. | |
| The increase comes at a uniquely perilous moment not just for schools but also the city’s beleaguered restaurant industry, which will be allowed to reopen on Wednesday for limited indoor dining. | The increase comes at a uniquely perilous moment not just for schools but also the city’s beleaguered restaurant industry, which will be allowed to reopen on Wednesday for limited indoor dining. |
| Reflecting the conflicting emotions of the day, Mr. de Blasio called the reopening of school buildings “a huge step” even as he acknowledged that the rise in the rate to 3.25 percent was a “cause for real concern.” On Monday, the daily rate was 1.93 percent. | |
| “Can we keep it well below three percent with our actions?” Mr. de Blasio said at a news conference Tuesday morning, after visiting an elementary school on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. “Yes, I’m convinced we can.” | “Can we keep it well below three percent with our actions?” Mr. de Blasio said at a news conference Tuesday morning, after visiting an elementary school on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. “Yes, I’m convinced we can.” |
| New Yorkers weary of the pandemic’s devastation will be hoping that he is right. The virus has not only killed 24,000 New Yorkers, but also paralyzed the city’s economy. Bringing children back into classrooms and reopening restaurants for indoor dining had emerged as glimmers of revival in an otherwise grim summer and early fall. | New Yorkers weary of the pandemic’s devastation will be hoping that he is right. The virus has not only killed 24,000 New Yorkers, but also paralyzed the city’s economy. Bringing children back into classrooms and reopening restaurants for indoor dining had emerged as glimmers of revival in an otherwise grim summer and early fall. |
| The mayor said the city would more strictly enforce health safety measures, including fining people not wearing masks and closing private schools and child care centers if they do not adhere to the rules. He also raised the possibility of shuttering nonessential businesses in neighborhoods where the virus is spiking. | |
| The increase in the city’s rate was in part attributable to a sharp rise in cases in nine ZIP codes in South Brooklyn and Queens, largely in predominantly Orthodox Jewish communities. | |
| Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said those clusters, as well as some in Rockland and Orange counties in the Hudson Valley region, required aggressive action to “stamp out the embers right away” before they became wider outbreaks. | |
| “A cluster today can be community spread tomorrow,” he said. | |
| Michael Mulgrew, president of the city’s teachers’ union, said that if the rates do not drop this week, the city should move to close as many as 80 public schools in ZIP codes where the virus is surging. | Michael Mulgrew, president of the city’s teachers’ union, said that if the rates do not drop this week, the city should move to close as many as 80 public schools in ZIP codes where the virus is surging. |
| If the city’s public schools do close, they would be able to reopen when the average positivity rate dips below three percent over seven days. Random student testing is set to begin Thursday, which could also drive down the rate. | |
| Months of work have gone into reopening New York’s 1,800 schools. At some schools, parents weary after months of home-schooling cheered for their children’s teachers at drop-off. | Months of work have gone into reopening New York’s 1,800 schools. At some schools, parents weary after months of home-schooling cheered for their children’s teachers at drop-off. |
| A vast majority of New York’s 1.1 million students began the school year remotely last week, while about 90,000 pre-K students and children with advanced disabilities reported to classrooms. Hundreds of thousands more children, including middle and high school students, are expected to report to schools by the end of this week. | A vast majority of New York’s 1.1 million students began the school year remotely last week, while about 90,000 pre-K students and children with advanced disabilities reported to classrooms. Hundreds of thousands more children, including middle and high school students, are expected to report to schools by the end of this week. |
| Parents and school administrators on Tuesday morning indicated that the reopening had unfolded without major problems. Still, scenes from around the city provided another glimpse of how the pandemic has upended the rituals of schools. | Parents and school administrators on Tuesday morning indicated that the reopening had unfolded without major problems. Still, scenes from around the city provided another glimpse of how the pandemic has upended the rituals of schools. |
| In Manhattan, Public School 46 in Washington Heights had different gates for specific grades to enter, so that students did not crowd together. In one line, several masked children stood six feet apart, on yellow pieces of tape on the sidewalk. | In Manhattan, Public School 46 in Washington Heights had different gates for specific grades to enter, so that students did not crowd together. In one line, several masked children stood six feet apart, on yellow pieces of tape on the sidewalk. |
| “If your temperature is more than 99 degrees, you can’t go into the building,” said Cynthia Turnquest-Jones, a librarian who volunteered to help get students inside, as she scanned the back of students’ hands with a digital thermometer. | “If your temperature is more than 99 degrees, you can’t go into the building,” said Cynthia Turnquest-Jones, a librarian who volunteered to help get students inside, as she scanned the back of students’ hands with a digital thermometer. |
| Outside Public School 161 in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Laurie Kanoute, 30, said she was “terrified” about dropping off her son, Teejay, who is in first grade, and daughter A.J., who is in kindergarten. | Outside Public School 161 in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Laurie Kanoute, 30, said she was “terrified” about dropping off her son, Teejay, who is in first grade, and daughter A.J., who is in kindergarten. |
| “I have to go to work, and they can’t stay home,” Ms. Kanoute, who works as a security guard, said. “If it was up to me, I’d stay home and let them do 100 percent remote learning.” | “I have to go to work, and they can’t stay home,” Ms. Kanoute, who works as a security guard, said. “If it was up to me, I’d stay home and let them do 100 percent remote learning.” |
| Nearly half of the system’s students have opted to continue taking all their classes remotely through at least November. | Nearly half of the system’s students have opted to continue taking all their classes remotely through at least November. |
| The path to Tuesday’s opening has not been smooth. The mayor has twice delayed the start of in-person classes over safety concerns and a staffing shortage that the city is still scrambling to fully resolve. | The path to Tuesday’s opening has not been smooth. The mayor has twice delayed the start of in-person classes over safety concerns and a staffing shortage that the city is still scrambling to fully resolve. |
| On Sunday, the union representing the city’s principals said it had lost faith in Mr. de Blasio’s ability to reopen schools, and called on the state to take over the effort. | On Sunday, the union representing the city’s principals said it had lost faith in Mr. de Blasio’s ability to reopen schools, and called on the state to take over the effort. |
| And there are still questions looming about how effectively the city will be able to track cases in schools. | And there are still questions looming about how effectively the city will be able to track cases in schools. |
| Still, the mayor has succeeded in bringing more children back into classrooms so far than any other large district in the country. | Still, the mayor has succeeded in bringing more children back into classrooms so far than any other large district in the country. |
| Public health experts have said cases in schools are inevitable and not necessarily cause for alarm if they are detected quickly. The city set up a “situation room” to monitor positive cases in schools after facing criticism from teachers who said the city mishandled efforts to trace cases in early September, when educators returned to school buildings to prepare for the new year. | Public health experts have said cases in schools are inevitable and not necessarily cause for alarm if they are detected quickly. The city set up a “situation room” to monitor positive cases in schools after facing criticism from teachers who said the city mishandled efforts to trace cases in early September, when educators returned to school buildings to prepare for the new year. |
| Just two confirmed cases in different classrooms could shutter a school for up to two weeks while officials search for the source of the outbreak, meaning that many classrooms and some school buildings are likely to close temporarily in the coming days and weeks. | Just two confirmed cases in different classrooms could shutter a school for up to two weeks while officials search for the source of the outbreak, meaning that many classrooms and some school buildings are likely to close temporarily in the coming days and weeks. |
| Teachers, principals and custodians have spent weeks preparing schools for the age of social distancing, and children found their classrooms and halls looking very different from how they left them on March 13, when schools closed in an effort to stop the spread of the virus. | Teachers, principals and custodians have spent weeks preparing schools for the age of social distancing, and children found their classrooms and halls looking very different from how they left them on March 13, when schools closed in an effort to stop the spread of the virus. |
| Classrooms that once held about 30 children may now accommodate nine. All desks are spaced six feet apart, and students were asked to stand on decals in common spaces to avoid crowding. Most students will have lunch in their classrooms, rather than in cafeterias, and some students will take classes outside, in their schoolyards, or on nearby streets and sidewalks. | Classrooms that once held about 30 children may now accommodate nine. All desks are spaced six feet apart, and students were asked to stand on decals in common spaces to avoid crowding. Most students will have lunch in their classrooms, rather than in cafeterias, and some students will take classes outside, in their schoolyards, or on nearby streets and sidewalks. |
| At Public School 102 in Elmhurst, a Queens neighborhood that was hit hard by the virus, students clustered around entrances to the school. Staff members quickly checked children’s temperatures while juggling face masks, walkie-talkies and paperwork. | At Public School 102 in Elmhurst, a Queens neighborhood that was hit hard by the virus, students clustered around entrances to the school. Staff members quickly checked children’s temperatures while juggling face masks, walkie-talkies and paperwork. |
| One parent, Krystal Jordan, noted that the restart was a big step in the city’s recovery, but said that she was nervous that her son, who was starting third grade, would get infected and expose her and others to the virus. She and her son, Jordan, live in a shelter, and she was worried about who would take care of him if she got sick. | One parent, Krystal Jordan, noted that the restart was a big step in the city’s recovery, but said that she was nervous that her son, who was starting third grade, would get infected and expose her and others to the virus. She and her son, Jordan, live in a shelter, and she was worried about who would take care of him if she got sick. |
| Still, Jordan was excited about returning to school, and his mother hoped that in-person learning would be smoother than taking online classes at the shelter. | Still, Jordan was excited about returning to school, and his mother hoped that in-person learning would be smoother than taking online classes at the shelter. |
| “The internet is so bad,” Ms. Jordan, 38, said. “The Zoom goes in and out. The iPad from the school is bad, too, but at least they gave us a device.” | “The internet is so bad,” Ms. Jordan, 38, said. “The Zoom goes in and out. The iPad from the school is bad, too, but at least they gave us a device.” |
| Giancarlo Lopez, 34, said he was worried about how all of the changes were affecting his twin daughters, who just began second grade at P.S. 46, the school in Washington Heights. A single father of three, he said that over the past six months, his children had fallen behind on math and reading. | Giancarlo Lopez, 34, said he was worried about how all of the changes were affecting his twin daughters, who just began second grade at P.S. 46, the school in Washington Heights. A single father of three, he said that over the past six months, his children had fallen behind on math and reading. |
| “They treat them good here and everything,” he said of the school. “But with all this going on, they’re not getting the education they’re supposed to be.” | “They treat them good here and everything,” he said of the school. “But with all this going on, they’re not getting the education they’re supposed to be.” |
| Juliana Kim, Amanda Rosa and Matthew Sedacca contributed reporting. | Juliana Kim, Amanda Rosa and Matthew Sedacca contributed reporting. |