As public schools anticipate a delayed start in what will likely be the most complex academic year of a lifetime in New York City, many charter schools in the Bronx and elsewhere released plans for what kind of learning models will be put into effect this fall.
Some schools have opted to go fully remote until the end of 2020, while others like Brilla, which serves the south and west Bronx, will be doing a blended model, the school’s chief operating officer Reyes Claudio announced on Wednesday.
Over the past weeks, staff made virtual home visits for Brilla’s 1,350 students to have more of an understanding of what the to expect from partly remote and in person learning, Claudio explained, mentioning that there has been five weeks of virtual “onboarding” to get everyone up to speed on the atypical year.
Brilla held virtual town halls ahead of its Sept. 28 in-person reopening, learning that a 55 to 45 percent ratio of parents opted for in-person over remote learning.
The school will also be limiting access to unnecessary visitation.
On the other hand, Bronx- and Harlem-based Neighborhood Charter Schools will be going fully remote until the end of 2020, executive director Analiza Wolf said.
That decision came from an analysis of survey data which broke down that one third of the school’s students are in need of individualized education programs with roughly fifteen percent of students reported to be on the autism spectrum, Wolf explained.
In addition to a plethora of unique training for educators, Neighborhood Charter Schools will be unraveling a regimented schedule structure going from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on school days this fall.
Other Bronx-based charter schools such as American Dream published that it will engage in only remote learning until the end of October and possibly longer, depending on developing circumstances over the next two months.
Meanwhile, Bronx Charter School for the Arts announced that it will be opening in sync with when and if schools in the NYC department of education reopen.
Bronx Arts stated that “school for the 2020-21 school year will cycle between a full day hybrid model and a fully remote model.”
