DOE Update for Families: November 2, 2020: Opting Into Blended Learning for the 2020-2021 School Year

FOR PDFS OF THIS LETTER, THEY ARE AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH, SPANISH, CHINESE, and more (Also attached to the bottom of this message to download)

Dear Families,

We know this year has been unlike any other​, with families juggling many complex decisions through uncertain conditions. We recognize and appreciate your family’s flexibility and resilience, alongside all students, families and school communities across the City.

Now that school buildings have re-opened and COVID-19 infection rates have stayed markedly low citywide and in our schools, we know many of you are considering having your child return to school for in-person learning. If you previously chose full-time remote learning for your child, now is your chance to opt into blended learning for the remainder of the school year! By November 15, please opt into blended learning by completing the Learning Preference Survey(Open external link). Families who need additional assistance with the survey can call 311.

At this time, families will not be able to opt into blended learning after November 15.

Families that choose blended learning during this opt-in period will begin in-person during the weeks of November 30 or December 7. Your child’s school will communicate your child’s start date and in-person learning schedule with you directly.

Students who are learning in-person will participate in random testing for COVID-19 throughout the school year. Regular testing of staff and students in schools allows us to keep our schools and broader communities healthy and safe. Testing is easy, quick, and safe; this test is a short, small swab (like a Q-tip) that goes just in the front of the nose. To ensure that your child can be tested, please submit a consent form for testing. You can complete the consent in two ways:

1. Online: Fill out the form online using a New York City Schools Account (NYCSA). Go to mystudent.nyc(Open external link) 

1. • If you already have a NYCSA account linked to your student(s): Log in, click your student’s name, click “Manage Account,” and then when a dropdown menu appears, click “Consent Forms.” Read the page, and then choose the consent option at the end for your student.
   • If you do not already have a NYCSA account: You can create one right away! If you have an account creation code from your school, you can create a full account in approximately five minutes, and then provide consent as described above. If you do not have an account creation code from your school, you can still provide your consent right away by clicking “Manage Consent” under “COVID-19 Testing” and filling out your and your child’s information to provide consent.

2. Paper Form: Fill out and return the paper form to school. A printable PDF file is available in ten languages at schools.nyc.gov/covidtesting.

You can find additional information about consent and testing under Frequently Asked Questions at on our Covid Testing page.

We know that family circumstances may change, and we are committed to providing flexibility to families who need to transition to remote learning at any point during the school year for any reason. Families can use the same Learning Preference Survey to opt into remote learning at any time.

For families that choose blended learning, we are excited to welcome you back to our school buildings for an exciting year of in-person learning. And to all families, thank you again for your partnership as we work to provide a best-in-class educational experience for our students, regardless of how they are learning this school year.