New York City Catholic elementary schools fully reopened Wednesday — with no hybrid or remote learning option for parents and students.
Students and teachers heading back to the classroom in the five boroughs are required to complete a health checklist and undergo a temperature check before entering school grounds.
Visitors will also have to complete a screening and temperature check.
Kids will then be split into groups and be required to remain within their group throughout the day, according to WLNY.
They will also have to remain in the classroom or designated area, with teachers being the ones to change locations, the outlet said.
In addition, the archdiocese is encouraging — though not requiring — staff and eligible students to get inoculated against COVID-19.
“Get Vaccinated! We strongly encourage you and anyone eligible to get vaccinated,” reads a memo addressed to the city’s Catholic school community.
“You may have seen Pope Francis’s recent Ad Council video. Vaccinations are one of the many ways to keep everyone safe and our schools open for in-person instruction,” it continues. “This action can save your life and that of another! Click here for a vaccine appointment or walk into any vaccine center.”
Unvaccinated people who have been in “close proximity” to someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus, are showing symptoms of the bug or are waiting for COVID-19 test results are not allowed in parochial school buildings, according to the Archdiocese of New York’s policy.
The new precautionary protocols come after Catholic school students flocked back to in-person learning in September 2020 — even as the reopening of Department of Education classrooms was delayed.
City Catholic schools saw an increase in interest from public school families frustrated by the lack of full-time classes, parochial officials told The Post in November.
Later in the school year, Catholic schools in Manhattan, Staten Island and the Bronx announced they planned to reopen for the 2021-2022 school for in-person instruction without remote learning.
“Since September, the Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York have been open for in-person instruction thanks to the unwavering partnership of our Health & Safety Task Force, parents and students with our devoted pastors, principals, and teachers,” Superintendent of Schools Michael J. Deegan said at the time.
Public schools in the five boroughs are also set to open their doors Monday without a remote learning option, amid conflict between the city’s teachers union and City Hall over Mayor Bill de Blasio’s newly announced vaccine mandate for school staff.
