Will scholars and staff receive regular temperature checks?  

Yes. Scholar and staff temperatures will be checked at arrival each day, and individuals with temperatures above 100.4ºF will be sent home. 

Are you going to stop the hand shaking and choose an alternative greeting? 

Staff will no longer greet scholars and parents with a handshake during arrival and dismissal, but will institute a friendly wave instead.

Has Amani considered teachers using face shields instead of masks for easier communication? 

Following guidance from the CDC, as well as best practices from school systems that have opened around the world, Amani will be providing masks to all students and staff members to wear throughout the day. We are not considering the use of face shields at this time.

How will you accommodate scholars with asthma with respect to wearing a mask all day? 

All scholars and adults must wear a mask at all times in the school building. There will be no exceptions.

How will dismissal work?

There will be staggered times in order to practice social distancing.

How does Amani plan to protect families against asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19?

The safety protocols that will be in place in schools — including mask wearing, frequent handwashing and use of hand sanitizer, and social distancing through classroom de-densification and staggered arrival and dismissal times — are all geared toward protecting scholars and staff from asymptomatic carriers.

Are health forms (physical, immunization, etc) required to go back to school? 

Yes, scholar medical packets will be required, which include a Certificate of Immunization, scholar physical, and Medical Administration Form (MAF) for their safety and security. Due to the difficulties of scheduling doctor’s appointments during the pandemic, families can opt their child into Scholar Independent Learning with Teacher Support for the first three weeks of school. This option will provide additional time for families to comply with scholar medical requirements if needed.

Will COVID-19 testing be required prior to returning for scholars and staff? Will scholars and staff be tested for COVID-19 periodically? 

Amani does not have plans to require COVID-19 testing. Free testing is available to all New Yorkers, with results available in 48 hours. 

Once developed, will the COVID-19 vaccine be mandatory for scholars?

We will follow public health guidance around vaccination.

Are there any modifications being made to how the students interact within the building? 

Yes. To reduce the risk of virus spread, scholars will remain in one classroom throughout the day, with teachers rotating into classrooms. Transitions will be limited to bathroom breaks and dismissal, and will be staggered to prevent crowding in the hallways or stairwells.

Will there be plexiglass or a similar blocking material around the desks?

No, we will not have plexiglass around desks. Scholars and staff will practice social distancing, wear masks throughout the day, and wash their hands frequently.

Click here for information regarding Contact Tracing and Testing

Is childcare being provided?

Amani does not provide childcare. We will post information on city-sponsored child care centers as it becomes available.

Will Meals be Provided?

While in Tier 1 we are developing programs to allow for the distribution of meals to vulnerable populations.  For scholars participating in remote learning, daily meals will be provided by Cafeteria Supervisor/Aide for scholars in the morning between 8:30-9:30 a.m. through the egress of the school on the 1st floor. As is our current practice a weekly schedule and menu of the lunch times/periods will be available to all online which will provide firsthand information of our meal programs and options.

Will you provide transportation so the scholars don’t have to ride public transportation?

Other than Metrocards, Amani does not provide transportation.

If we know other children attending Amani in the same location and grade, can we request class placement so we can create pods for the remote school days? This would offer additional support for working parents. 

Schedules are based on grades, not classes, so special placement won’t be necessary. All scholars within a particular grade will be scheduled to be on campus the same days.

What’s the plan for full-time working parents for whom keeping kids at home is not an option?  

We do not offer a full-time, in-person schedule for scholars at this time. We must ensure the safety of all scholars, which means we cannot operate at 100% capacity. We recognize this is inconvenient for many families because of work schedules and other considerations. We have not received guidance from the state regarding any city-provided child care centers as yet, but we will inform parents of these options as we learn of them.  

If this model doesn’t work for my work schedule, do I have a choice in when my child goes to school and when they stay home?

Your scholar will need to follow the schedule for their grade; we do not have another option.

Will Amani be starting in-person learning this fall? 

Amani will begin the year 100% virtual. We will continue Amani Online with live classes on a more robust schedule. In general, we anticipate that scholars in 5th through 8th grade can independently achieve with remote instruction. However, we recognize that for a variety of reasons, not every scholar  or family can support digital learning. While instruction will be primarily online, we will open our doors for scholars who need additional support or their homes are not conducive to online learning. 

What will remote days look like? It seems like there will be less “teaching” and more independent work.

For most scholars, remote days will be what they experienced this spring, with teachers delivering live instruction via videoconferencing and Google Classroom. On these days, all scholars will receive direct instruction.

Will the hybrid model be in place for the entire school year 20-21? 

We will begin the school year with 100% remote learning. We will follow public health guidance, and have planned for either the return to “normal,” with 100% of students on campus, or the return to a fully remote learning plan if the virus returns and restrictions are more severe. We are following public health advisories closely and will be in regular communication throughout the school year regarding any changes or adjustments to the hybrid schedule.

If a child is sick on an on-campus day, will they be able to use a remote learning option?

Scholars and staff who are sick must stay at home. All curriculum and assignments will be posted weekly in Google Classroom so your scholar could work independently at home. Direct instruction occurs only on days when your scholar is scheduled to be remote.

Click here for the Tier 1 Schedule (M,Tu,Th,F)

Click here for the Tier 1 Schedule (Wednesday)

What level of state testing and other testing platforms will be implemented? 

The New York State Education Department has not issued guidance on state tests for 2021. Amani will continue to conduct internal assessments as we did this past school year.

Will remote and on-campus schooling have the same Google Classroom management flow so that parents can have a consistent way to monitor scholars’ progress and help with school work? 

Yes. All scholars will have access to the Google Classroom, and curriculum and assignments will be posted weekly.

What assurances can you give that you are not planning to lower the standards of learning during this new process of schooling?

We consider it our responsibility to hold our scholars — and our educators — accountable to high academic standards — whether in school, remote, or both. This spring, Amani Public Charter School quickly adapted to the new normal, losing only two full instruction days. We pride ourselves in doing whatever it takes to provide your scholar with the academic and critical thinking skills they need.  We are committed to ensuring that scholars who lost ground last year and are struggling receive extra attention. 

How will curriculum materials be shared for remote learning? 

Every week, five days’ worth of curriculum and assignments will be posted on Google Classroom.   

Will there be two teachers each day — one in person and one remote? 

No. Teachers will follow the same schedule as their scholars. For example, as part of the hybrid plan, your child may be scheduled to be on campus Monday and Thursday, and have remote learning days Tuesday and Friday. Your child’s teacher has the same schedule, sharing time between in person learning and remote instruction.

Will my scholar be provided with a laptop to use at the school?

Amani is proud to be able to offer each student their own chrome-book this year. 

Will the school be providing internet for families who do not have it?

We are not. Please check our Amani Online page for resources to companies providing free or reduced price internet services for families in need.

What kind of technology will my scholar be using, and how will I access it?

All online assignments are able to be completed through the scholars chrome-book. Scholars will use Google Classroom, I-Ready, Nearpod, Newsela and other sites to complete their academic work. 

Can my scholar bring in a personal device to use instead of the provided chrome-books?

No. Scholars will be expected to bring their chrome-books to school each day fully charged and ready to use. If a scholar chooses to work on a personal device at home that is fine, but will be unable to receive technical support while on that device. 

Note: More information will be posted as we approach closer to the start of school regarding chrome-book usage. Please stay tuned. 

Amani will continue to utilize its strong and consistent means for communication platforms – weekly Newsletters, Staff weekly and daily memos, Facebook, instagram and text messaging – to communicate plans regarding applicable instructions and training.  

We will build on our strong communication apparatus, utilizing Newsletters, text and all social media to communicate expectations for delivering high-quality instruction, assessing, and monitoring scholar progress in the virtual environment to all stakeholders. This will include creating feedback loops with parents and families about scholars’ academic and social emotional health and well-being, through use of Webinars and/or surveys to parents about their scholar ‘s experience and learning while out of school.

We will rely on clear rationale, decision-making and communication with all stakeholders.  Families will know who is making decisions, what those decisions are and when school-based efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 are planned from beginning to end.

From the beginning of the school’s shut down we instituted  Administrative Office Hours for Parents on Thursdays from 6 pm – 7 pm beginning on May 5th and continuing throughout and into the present.  

Since the posting of our Reopening Plan on July 31 we have hosted three scheduled meetings – including one on Thursday,  July 30  with over 63 participants on our Webinar during Administrative Office Hours to hear about the plans. Going forward we continue these “Administrative Office Hours” including specifically, August 13 and August 20 to address the specific issues regarding our remote learning, testing and contact tracing.  

We also hosted a meeting specifically for staff on Wednesday, July 22 to discuss the reopening plans.  

Additionally we administered multiple surveys to all community members (including Staff and families). With over 90% return rate on both we have collected important feedback on issues regarding the communities perceptions regarding teaching and learning at Amani for the fall.