These 10 Wash Heights, Inwood Schools Are Closed For COVID Cases

UPPER MANHATTAN, NY — There are 10 school buildings in Washington Heights and Inwood currently shuttered by coronavirus cases as the city prepares to welcome back a new cohort of students for in-person learning.

In February, middle school students returned to in-person learning, after the city's schools were previously only open to elementary school students and students in District 75 with learning disabilities.

However, public high school students will finally return to classrooms on March 22, Mayor Bill de Blasio recently announced.

In the interim, school buildings have continued to close regularly, as they are required to do when at least two COVID-19 cases linked to each other are confirmed in separate classrooms.

As of Tuesday, Upper Manhattan has 10 schools closed in the neighborhood.

Here are those schools:

• P.S. 152 at 93 Nagle Avenue: The school building will remain closed through Thursday.
• Ellen Lurie School at 3703 10th Avenue: The school building will remain closed through Saturday.
• Michael J. Buczek School at 4360 Broadway: The school building will remain closed through Friday.
• Bea Fuller Rodgers School at 180 Wadsworth Avenue: The school building will remain closed through Friday.
• Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School at 512 West 82nd Street: The school building will remain closed through Friday.
• P.S. 115 at 586 West 177th Street: The school building will remain closed through Monday.
• P.S. 173 at 306 Fort Washington Avenue: The school building will remain closed through March 17.
• P.S. 128 at 560 West 169th Street: The school building will remain closed through Tuesday.
• P.S. 8 at 465 West 167th Street: The school building will remain closed through Monday.
• P.S. 4 AT 500 West 160th Street: The school building will remain closed through Tuesday.

Temporary closures are extended to 10 days when infections occurred outside of school or a link cannot be determined.

Newly-appointed schools Chancellor Meisha Ross Porter said high schools are expected to offer five-day-a-week in-person learning to most or all students who've signed up for classroom learning.

Porter emphasized that the city will continue its strict COVID-19 testing protocols for students, cleaning and ventilation standards for classrooms and other safety measures. She also hailed the return of athletics and what it'll mean for student life.

"We can expect to see students more engaged and excelling in academics," she said.
De Blasio said school officials are looking into giving remote-only students and parents another chance to return to in-person learning.

You can check out all the New York City schools currently closed due to coronavirus cases here.

Patch reporter Matt Troutman contributed to this report.