New York City high schools will reopen for in-person learning on March 22, the Department of Education announced Monday.
It will be the first time high school students who opted into the city’s blended learning program will return to classrooms since November, when a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations prompted the city to close all buildings and shift students to remote learning.
The DOE then gradually reopened buildings for in-person learning, starting with elementary school students in December and middle schoolers in February.
About 55,000 students in grades 9-12 are enrolled in the blended learning program, according to the DOE. The remaining high school students opted for all-remote learning.
While blended learning started out as the city’s way of offering a weekly mix of remote and in-person instruction, the DOE has worked toward getting students back into classrooms full-time.
All 488 high schools will be ready to reopen on March 22, with about half of them capable of offering in-person learning five days a week, a DOE spokesperson said.
About 17,000 staff members will also return to high school buildings beginning March 18 and 19.
Additionally, the Public Schools Athletic League will restart beginning in early April, according to the DOE. Specific dates were not immediately available, but a spokesperson said games and competitive play would resume in May and continue through the summer.
Both in-person and remote students will be able to participate.
Weekly testing and mask rules will be required, the spokesperson said, and spectators will not be permitted.
