First day of public school 2022

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — There was excitement, cheers, some nerves, and tears as every public school student across Staten Island returned to campus for the first day of classes — marking the first time in two years a school year began without a face mask mandate for students or staff due to the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Across the borough, students arrived at school Thursday morning prepared for their first day to finally see their classmates and teachers, with new backpacks, accessories, and lunch boxes. The majority of students didn’t have a face mask on as they headed to class, with just a few options to wear a face covering.

It was the first school year ever for students at the brand-new Evelyn King Campus in Stapleton, which houses the Waverly Academy for Empowered Learners (WAELS) and The Young Women’s Leadership School (TYWLS), as well as an annex site of P373R, a District 75 school for students with special needs. The new $77 million four-story building will offer 773 elementary, middle and high school seats for students on the North Shore.

“I’m excited, a little nervous. But I’m happy for her,” said Sierra Martinez, a parent of a kindergartener at Waverly Academy for Empowered Learners (WAELS) in Stapleton. “I’m perfectly fine [without masks]. It was annoying. And there’s no social distancing so they can actually move from class to class, play with her friends, and be outside with each other and stuff like that.”

The campus is even more special for the Martinez family as she is related to Evelyn King.

“I was reading an article and I found out that Evelyn King, this campus — she’s part of my family,” said Martinez.

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And students received a warm welcome upon seeing the Evelyn King Campus, which was decorated with balloons and featured a DJ and photo backdrop. School staff and principals were outside the gate to the school’s play yard, helping parents with information, and leading them to an information table, before their kids went into the building.

At PS 3 in Pleasant Plains, there were smiles and hugs as students and their parents were excited to kick off a new school year. The building was decorated with “welcome back” signs, balloon arches and more, as Principal Elmer Myers and staff greeted the school community. There was even a special visit from Sonic the Hedgehog.

“It’s the first day for the little ones here, [we’re] very excited and I hope they have a great day, great year and make good choices,” said Christina Forlenza, a parent at PS 3. “I love the no masks. Big, big supporter of no masks. These kids need to live, they need to get back to our world.”

Catholic school students in New York City went back to school on Wednesday.

Parents went to work making sure backpacks were on, giving hugs and high-fives, as they bid farewell to their kindergarteners or sixth-graders. Some parents stayed behind to watch their child enter the school with tears in their eyes.

Aishat Muritala, a sixth-grader at TYWLS, said she was excited to go to a new school, but expressed some nerves about the coronavirus. She isn’t the only one who is slightly nervous — Christina Johnson, the parent to kindergartener Praise Johnson, who is going to WAELS, said COVID-19 is still infecting people.

“It’s the beginning of the school year, and I just pray that everything will be as it is supposed to be,” she said. “I’m still a little bit concerned. You hear people say, ‘Oh, I got COVID last week.’ People don’t believe that it’s still around. You just have to be very careful, especially for our babies...to pray that everything will be fine with them.”

NYC updates coronavirus protocols for 2022-2023 school year. Here’s what we know so far.

Will masks be required? Will there be random PCR testing? Answers to these questions and more.

There will be no social distancing or in-school random PCR testing this school year, and classrooms won’t fully or partially close due to coronavirus cases.

At-home COVID-19 rapid tests will still be distributed and some vaccination requirements are still in place. Cleaning protocols and the Building Response Teams in schools will also be utilized going forward. All classrooms and common areas, like auditoriums and gyms, will have hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes. High-touch areas, like doorknobs and water fountains, will be cleaned multiple times a day.

Every classroom will have at least two air purifiers. Cafeterias in bigger schools will be provided with large air units for added protection and window-based exhaust fans to provide additional air circulation.

Schools will be closed only when it is determined by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) that there is widespread transmission in the school, according to the city Department of Education (DOE). But with health and safety measures in place, the city expects that school closures will be limited.

Despite some nerves, most students and families were excited to return to school.

“We’re a little nervous, but she was looking forward to going back to school,” said Renee Schemitz, a parent of a P373R kindergarten student. “She was bored this summer, she’s looking for her friends and activities. She already loves the park, she wants to go to the park. We were able to coordinate with one of her friends from pre-K to register here, as well. [It] makes it a little bit easier.”

Vincent Loua, a fifth-grader at PS 3, said he was happy to be back, but was a “little nervous.”

“I know most of the kids, they’re my friends, so I try to think of that to not get nervous,” he said.

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