UPDATE November 18, 2020 — New York City announced today that city public schools will close as of tomorrow, based on rising COVID-19 cases. This closure does not affect institutions of higher learning, and The New York Conservatory will remain open for in-person classes until either: 1) New York Department of Health or Education asks colleges to close, or 2) Cases among our campus population surpass our threshold of 17 concurrent cases (5% of total population).
NYCDA’s reopening plan, submitted to New York State, conforms to both mandatory and recommended guidelines for opening and maintaining a safe campus. The full plan is posted on campus, and available to students and parents via email upon request. Main points are below:
On the campus
- Students, faculty and staff will be required to complete a quick health and COVID-19 exposure survey prior to entry to campus each day, including temperature check and response to questions. This will likely be conducted via phone app.
- Face masks will be distributed by the school and worn properly at all times by all persons on campus.
- Class sections will be decreased from 16 to 8 students, and class start times will be staggered to allow for social distancing in hallways and common areas. Studio floors will be marked to indicate social distancing requirements.
- Plastic dividers and floor markings indicating proper distancing in common areas will be added to the campus as necessary.
- All commonly touched campus surfaces will be cleaned with bleach dilution every two hours.
- Restrooms will be single person use only, and will be cleaned twice a day.
- Mini market and vending machine areas will be supplied with disposable gloves for use when opening coolers and using self-checkout keypads.
- Eating on campus will be done inside floor-marked squares to maintain 6′ distance between students.
- Campus windows will be open as much as possible to maximize fresh air flow.
- Classes not requiring students to work collaboratively, i.e. Film Genres, will be taught online to relieve crowding on campus.
- Hand sanitizer stations will be placed outside each studio and classroom.
- Water fountains will be decommissioned and students will be encouraged to bring or purchase bottled water.
- Visitors to campus and alumni use of facilities will be suspended for Fall term to minimize additional exposure for students.
in the event of covid-19 cases among the student population
- If exposed students are sharing a room or suite in our residence, they will be moved to isolated housing.
- New York Department of Health will conduct testing of student and contact tracing. We will follow DOH instructions on quarantine of affected students.
- Students forced to quarantine will be able to join online classwork to keep up with their courses.
- The campus will be closed for 1-2 days for deep cleaning and disinfection.
- NYCDA policy requires Student Services to follow up with students who are absent from class, to keep in close contact with student and parents when a student falls ill, and to arrange for transportation and accompany students to the ER if they need to go.