The city will open about 100 sites to be used as what it’s called "regional enrichment centers" - places students whose parents are essential workers can spend weekdays while schools are closed.
The centers will serve students from the city’s "3-K" program - pre-kindergarten for three-year-olds - through high school seniors.
The centers will "accommodate school-aged children of first responders, health care workers, and transit workers, as well as students in need of the most intensive support," according to a plan the city submitted to the state.
The centers will be open from 7:30 a.m. until 6 p.m., and each room will have a maximum of 12 children, supported by at least one adult in the room, in order to meet social distancing guidelines.
But the students won’t be fully taught on site. Instead, they’ll be able to participate in the remote learning being offered by their regular schools. They’ll also be able to take part in art, music and physical education, the city sais.
The staff will be a combination of Education Department and community-based organization workers, but it’s unclear how they’ll be chosen or if they will volunteer for the assignment.
Each site will also have two nurses, a social worker and a guidance counselor, the city says.
Many will be able to accomodate three- and four-year-olds, the city says, and some will be able to support a limited number of toddlers and infants.
The centers will serve three hot meals a day, the city says, served in class instead of cafeterias.
Students remote learning from home will be able to pick grab-and-go meals from a separate set of 100 to 150 hub sites.