Dear Families,

I am writing to inform you and clarify the Mayor’s message about the return to school five days a week for blended students. After meeting with the TNS Summer Reopening Team, members of the Instructional Leadership Team, and SLT, due to the lower number of students who have opted in this quarter, we agree that it is best for our school community to keep our cohort model as is as we are able to add new blended kids into existing cohorts.  

There are several reasons for this decision:

• We are trying to maintain as equitable a model of school as possible, given the challenging circumstances.  Two-thirds of our students will still participate in remote learning this quarter.  If blended students come 5 days a week, it means that most of our students, including those with mandated services, will no longer get small group instruction because we don’t have enough remote staff and it will create an imbalanced student-to-teacher ratio.  For example, in one class 6 students will come in person with one teacher while 20 will be remote with the other.  

• We have also worked hard to create consistent classroom communities made up of blended and remote students.  Moving to a 5 days a week model means that kids from Pre-K through 3rd grade won’t see each other or one of the teachers at all anymore.  

• We continue to keep the health and safety of our staff, children, and families at the forefront of our planning.  While research shows that school is safe for young children, keep in mind that most of our staff use public transportation to get to and from school.  To that end, we want to keep the number of kids and staff in the building as low as possible to mitigate the risk of transmission. Our cohort model currently does not overlap as many classes only have one cohort (A or B) so we are able to keep our daily in-school population low. This also gives us the opportunity to phase in more cohorts quarterly while maintaining consistency for kids.

• Finally, if we move kids to 5 days a week, it means that we would not be able to honor our promise of giving families additional time to opt-in to blended learning later in the year because most of our classes would only have a few spots left.

As you know, things are in flux and we are constantly in conversation about transitioning to different models. We will evaluate our model before the next opt-in period (in February) so that we can maintain equity, community, health, and safety for all.

We will begin in-person classes on Tuesday, December 8 only for those who are currently blended or opted into blended learning for this quarter.  Monday, December 7 is a TNS PD half-day and a remote-only day for all students so that teachers and paras can prepare rooms to accommodate additional kids.  

Warmly,

Dyanthe

Dear Families, 

Earlier this week, I wrote to share that the DoE had changed its policy from quarterly opt-ins to only one opt-in period for the entire school year. This was new information for all of us.

Our School Leadership Team, a group made up of elected parents, teachers, and me, have agreed that we will offer families two additional times (as originally promised by the DoE) to make the shift from remote-only to blended: after February Mid-Winter Break and after April Spring Break.  We believe that this will support families to reach decisions for their unique circumstances and also keep the number of in-person students low at a time when COVID rates are rising.  

We are able to offer additional opt-in periods because we intentionally created classes so that students and teachers stay together, regardless of remote-only or blended choices.  In a time of so much uncertainty and anxiety, we believe that these relationships and classroom communities ground all of us - children, families, and teachers.  (As students shift to blended learning, many children around the city will have new teachers and students in their classes, but not at TNS.)  This is only possible because our teachers are working beyond their union’s contract expectations and many are teaching both remotely and in-person.  

 At this point in time, we have two cohorts (A and B) that are blended/in-person. Please remember that if a large number of our all-remote students opt into the blended program, there is a good chance that we would need to switch from a two-cohort model to a three-cohort model school-wide. This would mean that in-person students would be divided into three cohorts and attend school for 1 to 2 days per week (instead of the current 2 to 3 days per week). 

 If you would like to request that your child move from 100% remote to blended learning beginning the weeks of November 30 - December 7, you must complete and submit the Learning Preference Survey between Monday, November 2 – Sunday, November 15.

We will be hosting a Town Hall on Thursday, November 5 at 4 p.m. to explain the process of opting into blended learning in 2021. We will also share building and safety updates at that time.

Sincerely,

Dyanthe

Dear Parents, 

On behalf of the newly-elected PTA at the Neighborhood School, a belated welcome to the 2020-2021 school year!

We are looking forward to a productive partnership with you to ensure our children are safe and can achieve their highest potential. We recognize that to be successful in school, our children need support from both the home and school. We know a strong partnership with you will make a great difference in your child’s education. As partners, we share the responsibility for our children’s success and want you to know that we will do our very best to carry out our responsibilities. We know that our school year may look different, but the TNS PTA will continue to work for every child in the areas of Education, Advocacy, and maintaining our Community. 

To contribute to our community, please consider joining our school volunteer programs. Our students can greatly benefit from your involvement and contributions to the schools’ programs and their operations. As of this date, we are still in need of classroom parents and a PTA Secretary.  Another thing that we can use some help with this year is fundraising.  We spend a lot of money on the programs and events that enhance our children’s learning experience.  As we continue from year to year, we would like to add more to the schools’ endowment because more funds will allow our programs to grow.  So, if you have any ideas that you believe would help with fundraising or would like to help in any way, please contact a member of the PTA.   

We value our families here at TNS, and we will continue to achieve great things thanks to the tremendous support of our families, staff, and community partners. Your volunteering of time, financial contributions, and advocacy for our students make an immeasurable difference at TNS.  Throughout the year we will continue to provide valuable tools for our students and teachers throughout the year to enhance the educational opportunities and school setting. Although our world is topsy-turvy right now, we as a PTA and school community can ensure that we will maintain many of the activities (although virtual) that make the TNS community so special (i.e., Sing, guest speakers, and virtual events).

It is very important that you and your child are informed regarding the events and activities the school community offers, so please be sure to check our website (http://tnsny.org) for updates. We have a wonderful administration and staff at TNS, and we feel privileged to be a part of this school family.

Thank you for your support and look forward to meeting you throughout the year.

Sincerely,  

The TNS PTA

Pi Day is coming! Plus, What’s Up With State Tests and the Opt Out Movement? Read on to find out....

To see individual options, please see the Alternative and Classic Menus on the DOE website.

3/2 - Classic

3/9 - Alternative

3/16 - Combined Classic/Alternative

3/23 - Classic

3/30 - Alternative