You are reading

All Students and Staff Will be Required to Wear Masks Inside Queens Catholic Schools

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Academy in Astoria (Google Maps)

Aug. 13, 2021 By Allie Griffin

All students, teachers and support staff at Catholic schools in Queens and Brooklyn will be required to wear masks inside school buildings when classes resume next month.

The Diocese of Brooklyn, which covers both Brooklyn and Queens, announced the mask requirement Thursday ahead of the first day of school on Sept. 8.

It comes amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases citywide due to the highly contagious delta variant.

“As the numbers of Coronavirus cases continue to spike in children, and the overall numbers of hospitalizations in New York City are on the rise, this is the most responsible approach to take when we begin the new school year,” Superintendent Dr. Thomas Chadzutko said.

“I know the return to these safety measures is not the situation parents, teachers or students were hoping to be the case in the 2021-2022 school year, but we cannot ignore the trends.”

The announcement follows the recommendations of both the New York State Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which both advise mask use at schools. They also note that children under 12 years old aren’t yet eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

New York City public schools are also requiring students, educators and staff to wear masks inside when the school year begins.

Chadzutko said the mask requirement could change if the situation improves.

“Let us do our part from day one to prevent further increase of cases,” he said. “If we are successful, as this academic year moves along, we will revisit these guidelines and adjust them accordingly.”

The diocese also encouraged those within the school community who are eligible to get vaccinated do so.

“I have received my vaccination and continue to encourage others to do so as well,” said Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn. “It is our hope that the COVID-19 vaccines will help bring an end to this terrible virus that has controlled our lives for much of the past year and a half.”

Classrooms and other facilities will be cleaned and sanitized daily and will have enhanced ventilation in place.

School officials will continue to promote social distancing and hand washing among students as well.

“As much as we want a return to normalcy in our classrooms, we want our students, faculty, and staff to be safe,” Chadzutko said.

Catholic schools in both Queens and Brooklyn offered five-day-a-week in-person instruction last school year despite the pandemic, while public schools offered a mix of remote and in-person learning.

As a result, 40 percent of Catholic schools in the two boroughs saw an increase in enrollment in grades K through 8, according to the Diocese.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Queens man sentenced to 7 years in prison for 2021 attempted kidnapping in Richmond Hill: DA

A Fresh Meadows man was sentenced to seven years in prison for attempting to kidnap a 5-year-old boy in Richmond Hill in July 2021, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Tuesday.

James McGonagle, 27, of Parsons Boulevard, pleaded guilty in Queens Supreme Court in November to attempted kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child for grabbing the child off a sidewalk before his mother and siblings thwarted the abduction.

Lawmakers secure federal funding to combat flooding in Queens after impact of Hurricane Ida and other storms

U.S. Congresswomen Grace Meng and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, along with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, announced on Jan. 7 that President Joe Biden has signed their legislation into law to address severe flooding in Queens.

The measure aims to mitigate future disasters like those caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida in September 2021, which inundated the borough with record-shattering rainfall.

Op-ed | New York’s ground lease co-ops: Our families can’t wait any longer 

Jan. 14, 2025 By Michael Tang 

Last December brought a long-awaited victory for New York City. Our City Council adopted the historic City of Yes housing plan, paving the way for more than 80,000 new homes by 2040 with the promise of affordability. As a longtime resident of Flushing, Queens, I naturally welcomed the news – it’s a much-needed reprieve for New Yorkers as housing costs continue to soar in the midst of an unparalleled housing crisis. But entering 2025 on the heels of this win, we residents at  Murray Hill Cooperative remain at risk — our lives are virtually unchanged because we belong to the last class of unprotected “tenants” as ground lease co-op residents. Without legislative action, more than 25,000 New Yorkers face the threat of losing their homes — homes that we own — to landowners seeking to raise our ground rent to astronomical rates.