PS 125 in Woodside (Photo: Inside Schools)
March 11, 2020 By Allie Griffin
The City’s Department of Education (DOE) has canceled in-person parent teacher conferences this week at public schools and instead will hold the conferences by phone or virtually.
Face-to-face parent teacher conferences that were scheduled for Thursday evening and Friday afternoon are now being swapped for over-the-phone conferences due to concerns of coronavirus spread.
The DOE told parents they should not attend the conferences in person, but instead look to their individual school communities on how to schedule and participate in the remote conferences.
If parents are unable to connect during the virtual conference times, schools will offer a more flexible schedule based on school and parent schedules through the rest of March, the DOE added.
Public schools, however, are remaining open.
If a case of novel coronavirus is confirmed in a school, the school will close for at least 24 hours while the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene investigates, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Monday.
After the 24-hour period, the department will determine whether additional closure time is necessary.
Meanwhile, an online petition to close all city schools and switch to online classes because of coronavirus fears has gained more than 130,000 signatures.
As of 10:30 a.m. this morning, there are 46 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in New York City.
To prepare for the parent teacher conferences, families can access their child’s report card through the New York City Schools Account (NYCSA).
