COVID-19 Policies and Practices,
as of March 1

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented all of us with unprecedented challenges.  Even as the public health crisis has kept us physically distant, this is also a time when our commitment to nurturing a caring community is of the utmost importance. We look to the 2020-2021 school year understanding that each member of the Schechter Manhattan community is in need of care and support.  We know that these months have been scary and confusing, and that our school has a really important role to play in helping all of you and your children.  We are committed to doing all we can to keep us all safe, physically and emotionally, and to addressing the needs of our special school community.  

We also know that each of us can help one another.  In a very tangible way, planning to come back to the school this fall calls for menschlichkeit– caring and respect for others. All of our commitment to follow public health guidelines, and school health policies and procedures, will impact the entire community.  We ask for all members of the Schechter Manhattan community to join us in a stance of care as we work together to continue to help our students and children grow and learn in the healthiest ways possible.  We need your help.  We will succeed if everyone shares responsibility for implementing this plan – school administration, faculty, staff, students, and parents all doing our part.  

Schechter Manhattan’s plan for returning to school this fall is guided by core values.

• The health and safety of our community is the highest priority.  

• Schechter Manhattan’s long-standing core educational principles will guide our decisions during these uncertain times.  We will support students’ social and emotional well being, provide shared learning experiences, and utilize careful assessment to meet student needs

• We will use both in person and distance learning to implement our educational program and sustain our community.

The plan for reopening is based on the guidelines from the New York State Department of Health and Education Department.  With guidance from the Schechter Manhattan Public Health Response Team, we have developed procedures and protocols to support the Schechter Manhattan community as we return to school, and, with input from our Education Committee, we have planned new structures to educate students within Covid-19 realities.  While no school or organization, during this period, can eliminate the risks of the Coronavirus, as you will see in the details below we are taking many steps to mitigate the risks, including limiting the introduction of the virus into the school, managing our interaction during the day to limit exposure, and responding appropriately and quickly in the event that a positive case is identified.  In addition, parents have an option to elect to have their child(ren) participate in distance learning, instead of returning now to in-person classroom learning.  

We anticipate that these plans will continue to evolve over the course of the summer.  We plan to post additional and updated plans for the opening of school in the coming weeks; and no doubt some of those plans we make will need to evolve again after we return to the school, as we experience them live and in person and as the situation in the city continues to change from time to time.  We will continue to ask for your feedback, as we did this past spring, and communicate as our plans evolve and as our changing situation requires. 

Thank you for your partnership. 

Benjamin Mann                         Julie R. Sissman

Head of School                         President, Board of Trustees

• No visitors are routinely allowed on site at Schechter Manhattan.  Only students, faculty and staff will enter the building.
• All students, faculty and staff complete a daily health screening.  Before leaving home to come to school, students, faculty, and staff record their temperature and submit answers to these health screening questions.
  • Check your child’s (for staff: your) temperature.  Is it 100.0 or greater?  If yes, then your child/ you must stay at home until symptoms are resolved, including no fever for 72 hours (without medication).  Please seek guidance from your medical provider.  Please advise the school if you/your child is diagnosed with COVID19 infection.
  • Has your child (for staff: have you) had any of the following symptoms in the last 24 hours: Fever (100.0 or greater), cough, sore throat, chest tightness, shortness of breath, chills, muscle aches, diarrhea, persistent headache, loss of taste or smell?  If yes, then your child/ you must stay at home until symptoms are resolved, including no fever for 72 hours (without medication).  Please seek guidance from your medical provider.  Please advise the school if you/your child is diagnosed with COVID19 infection.
  • Have you traveled internationally or out of state (excluding states that are contiguous with NYS) in the last 14 days?  If yes, then you must follow NYS travel guidelines, including testing and quarantine requirements.  Please let the school know the details of your travel.
  • Have you been in contact with someone who has known or suspected COVID-19 infection or has a positive COVID (PCR) test in the last 14 days?  If yes, then you must stay home and quarantine for 14 days from the last day of exposure. 
• Students, faculty and staff are permitted to enter the school building if they have answered NO to all questions and submitted the answers through the digital system.   
• Upon arrival at the school building, all students, faculty and staff check temperature again.  Anyone with a temperature of 100.0 or greater will be sent home.  
• All parent events, including Curriculum Night, Parent Teacher Conferences, and students’ presentations, will be held virtually through the end of 2020.  On-site parent events may be implemented in 2021, should public health circumstances allow. 

• Schechter Manhattan students and faculty maintain 6 foot distance.  
• Classes are assigned to rooms with sufficient space in order to maintain the 6 foot distance.  
• Outdoor spaces are maximized through rotation use of the terrace and regular use of the park.
• Students remain primarily in their assigned classrooms during the day and are not in shared physical space with students in other classes.  
• Faculty supervise and teach students within sections of the school (k-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8) and are not in shared spaces with students or faculty from other sections.  Digital tools are used to allow some instruction across sections.
• Bathrooms are  assigned to classes, so as to minimize the numbers of users of a given space.  A schedule allows students and faculty to use the bathrooms while maintaining 6 foot distance.
• Hallways are marked with 6 foot distance markings and directional arrows.
• Arrivals and dismissal are scheduled at staggered intervals to allow for social distancing in the entryway.  

• All students and faculty are required to wear a face covering while in the school building.  The face covering policy is posted throughout school.  
• Students and faculty bring their own face coverings to school, so that they are most comfortable.  Schechter Manhattan has masks if a student or faculty member needs a replacement during the school day.
• Daily schedule for use of outdoor spaces and use of plastic dividers allows students to take mask breaks.

• Cleaning and disinfection of Schechter Manhattan took place in June 2020 according to CDC guidelines and has continued daily since.
• The HVAC system has been upgraded based on American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers guidelines.
• The schedule of daily cleaning includes disinfection of high touch items (handrails / door handles / etc.) and bathrooms multiple times a day.  
• In the event that a case of COVID-19 has been reported, areas of the school building exposed to COVID-19 will be closed off with windows open for as long as feasible.  The areas will then be cleaned and disinfected.
• Classroom routines include regular wipedown and disinfection of surfaces, and appropriate supplies will be provided in each classroom.
• All classes are assigned to a sink located in or near classrooms for regular hand washing.  
• Hand sanitizer dispensers are available in every classroom and throughout the building.

• School personnel will assess symptoms and provide care as appropriate.  
• A schedule of available isolation locations is posted, so that symptomatic individuals will be immediately removed from classrooms.  
• Parents will be contacted for pickup of students as appropriate.
• Confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 will be reported to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Schechter Manhattan Public Health Response Team.
• Upon recommendation from public health officials, the school will direct parents and/or faculty and staff members to local medical providers for testing.
• The school will communicate with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene about any COVID-19 cases and the contact made within the school building.
• Individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 and recovered will be permitted to return to the school building with written approval from a physician and the approval of the Schechter Manhattan Public Health Response Team.
• Individuals who were exposed to COVID-19 will be permitted to return to the school building upon completion of the 14-day quarantine period with no symptoms and with approval of the Schechter Manhattan Public Health Response Team.

• Parents choose to send their children for in-person instruction or to have their children participate in distance learning from home.  
• All grades participate in hybrid face-to-face and online instruction.  
  • Digital tools are used in class to allow for collaboration while maintaining 6 foot distance.
  • Students are provided with a digital device in school.  Families can request to bring the device home. 
  • Daily Learning Plans (DLPs), Zoom video conferencing, and cameras installed in classrooms give students at home access to classroom learning and community and opportunities for synchronous learning.
  • Specials (Art, Music, & PE) are scheduled for all grades using a combination of face-to-face and distance learning, while maintaining all health guidelines.
• Students eat snack and lunch in classrooms.  Surface cleaning and hand washing protocols will be implemented before and after eating.  Students eat snacks and lunch in classrooms at their desks, 6 feet apart, with the use of folding plastic dividers on each student desk during eating times.  Students are not allowed to share food or drink.
• All students will bring lunch from home through the end of 2020.  The PA school lunch program may be implemented in 2021, should public health circumstances allow.

• There will be no field trips through the end of 2020.  Trips scheduled for 2021 may take place if public health circumstances allow.
• There will be no after school activities on site through the end of 2020.  On-site after school programs may be implemented in 2021, should public health circumstances allow.  We are in conversation with some of the favorite after-school program teachers to plan virtual after-school offerings for the fall semester.

• Arrivals and dismissal are scheduled at staggered intervals to allow for social distancing in the entryway. 
• Schechter Manhattan works with the NYC OPT to arrange routes and determine the health protocols on those publicly provided buses.

• If necessitated by widespread virus transmission, and in consultation with the Schechter Manhattan Public Health Response Team and NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the school is prepared to move to a full distance learning program.
• Daily Learning Plans (DLPs) and Zoom video conferencing will give students at home access to classroom learning and community alongside our in-person learning.  These tools will be maintained and available for distance learning use, should the school building need to be closed.
• Email group lists and the emergency communication system will be maintained for efficient communication with all constituencies in the case of school building closure.