How Upper East Side Private Schools Are Planning For Lockdown

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Public school buildings across New York City shut their doors this week after the city reached its dreaded 3 percent coronavirus positivity rate, but that policy did not apply to the city's hundreds of private schools, who are free to set their own guidelines.

Many private, parochial and charter schools remain open, but would be forced to stop in-person classes if the city is designated an "orange zone" by the state. That would happen if its state-measured, 7-day positivity rate reaches 3 percent. (The state uses a different formula than the city).

Shortly before the public school shutdown was announced Wednesday, Patch reached out to a number of private schools on the Upper East Side to ask about their plans for a possible return to lockdown this winter. (Bloomberg first reported on private schools' plans earlier this week.)

Allen-Stevenson School

A spokesperson said the all-boys school was "currently in the process of making alterations to our metrics," and declined to share details about future plans.

Browning School

"We are continuing to watch this situation closely. Our goal is to remain open for in person learning as long as it is safe to do so," Jan Abernathy, a spokesperson for the all-boys school, said in a statement.

Chapin School

"As of this writing, it is Chapin’s intention to keep our building open, but we are continuing to carefully monitor the reporting and will assess the situation should any updates be announced by either Mayor de Blasio or Governor Cuomo," spokesperson Anneli Ballard said.

Lycée Français de New York

A spokesperson said the bilingual French school has no immediate plans to alter its current hybrid model, but would close if mandated by the state or depending on guidance from the city.

Lycée Français's primary school moved all classes online until Thanksgiving after three separate COVID-19 cases were diagnosed within a few days of each other, spokesperson Elisabeth King said.

Before those diagnoses, the school had already planned a precautionary move to all-online classes for one week after Thanksgiving, and to require school-wide testing that week, King said. The Lycée Français secondary school building remains open for in-person learning.

Spence School

A spokesperson for the all-girls school said that Spence's hybrid learning model has not changed, but added that the school was monitoring public health guidelines "and requirements issued by the city and state, the Department of Health and our own numbers, as we work with our internal advising group."

"Health and safety continue to be our highest priority as we also remain committed to as much in-person learning as possible," spokesperson Taraneh Rohani said.

Town School

Spokesperson Jodie Wilkerson said the Town School was "very closely monitoring the data in the city." She noted that there was no single metric that would necessarily trigger a return to fully remote learning, describing it as a "qualitative and quantitative evaluation."

Parents and teachers have been told that the Town School will make a decision on building closures "based on the latest information and our own internal thresholds," Wilkerson said.

Trevor Day School

In a message shared to Trevor's school community last week, the school pledged to "offer the in-person program as long as the governor’s guidelines allow or as long as it seems prudent and safe for our students and faculty."

"We will, of course, continue to monitor the infection rates in the city and school, and we are prepared to pivot to online learning if and when we deem it necessary for the community’s safety," the school said.

Representatives for the Buckley, Dalton, Hewitt and Nightingale-Bamford schools did not respond to requests for comment. Brearley School and Sacred Heart Convent spokespeople declined to comment.

Related coverage: How The Upper East Side's Private Schools Are Reopening This Fall