Last year my school started participating in a program that provided grab-and-go breakfast meals for students as they entered the building. I'm not sure if it was specifically under this guidance but it is very similar. We had plenty of kids bringing food into their first period class so they could ensure eating food and not being stigmatized by coming to school early and eating in the cafeteria. I was just informed that this program will continue in the 2020-2021 school year. 

We already have issues with the instructional lunch being akin to indoor dining. Now we have to deal with breakfast as well. Granted, many principals (including mine) are doing they best to ensure that lunch will actually be eaten outdoors (for as long as we can) but breakfast won't get that status. So, now we have another meal to deal with where staff will be pushed to the back of the room and wearing N95 masks to make sure they feel safe. 

A very big concern (and rightly so) for parents and educators alike is how will special education students get the services they need. In particular, schools in District 75 (a city-wide designation for all students who are at specific special services schools) often have students who cannot wear masks, may be spitting and biting frequently, and the staff members often are allowed provisions for physical contact. All of that is a risk with COVID-19. At the Zoom City Council session yesterday many people spoke about this concern and haven't heard what will be provided for them or their students yet - and the first day of classes is quickly approaching.

Additionally, what do we do with students who are provided with integrated co-teaching (ICT), meaning a general education teacher and a special education teacher are supposed to be in the room simultaneously. With the blended model and remote students we would need a massive increase in teaching staff to balance out this requirement. The DOE has shared guidance as of today that says 

"Every effort, including the reassignment of special education teachers with school funded out-of-classroom positions, should be made to assign a certified blended in-person special education teacher and a certified blended in-person general education teacher to each ICT section. "

To me, this means that we will be able to teach without another person in the classroom, despite the ICT mandate. While this may be needed budget-wise, it certainly doesn't seem fair to the students. 

In a surprise announcement yesterday the UFT and DOE made a deal to avert (or maybe just postpone) a strike across New York City. They crafted an agreement that includes testing of students and staff in buildings, a 50-item safety checklist, and delays in school reopening for staff to effectively plan. That being said, I was on a Delegate Assembly call yesterday for almost two hours in which President Mulgrew shared some of the details of this agreement and we voted on including this agreement going forward. I am very upset at a few things here:
1) This deal was announced and voted on very quickly. As happened with our most recent contract, there was almost no time to debate or ask questions about it. 30 minutes is not enough for something that will impact us for likely most of (if not the entire) school year.
2) It did not mention anything about students eating lunch inside with pedagogues. This is a big sticking point to me as it is something NYC currently does not allow (Indoor dining).
3) The testing plan is one I'm skeptical of because a) it relies on current infrastructure to handle a massive increase in load and b) I'm not sure I believe the DOE will handle things well (severe lack of trust there).

So, the deal went through, even though I (along with 18% of delegates) voted against it. We'll see how this pans out.