More Classrooms Close At Bed-Stuy School Amid COVID Investigation

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — More classrooms have been closed down at a Bed-Stuy school where city officials are investigating a dozen cases of coronavirus, according to the Department of Education.

P.S. 308 Clara Cardwell — which also houses the EMBER Charter School for Mindful Education, Innovation and Transformation — was first marked under investigation on Friday on the DOE's interactive map detailing coronavirus cases across the city.

At that point, eight classrooms in the two schools were facing either full or partial closure due to a coronavirus case.

That number rose to 11 classrooms by late Sunday. City officials also detected a coronavirus case on Sunday that required no intervention given that the community was not exposed, bringing the total number of cases to 12 at the Quincy Street campus, according to the map and a notice sent to parents

As of Monday morning, eight classrooms at P.S. 308 were fully closed, meaning students will transition to remote learning until at least the end of the week, according to the map.

Another three classrooms — two at P.S. 308 and one at EMBER — are under partial quarantine, meaning only a subset of students in a classroom are required to quarantine while others can keep attending school, according to the map.

Under DOE guidelines, schools are only closed if an investigation reveals that there is widespread transmission in the school.

The DOE's investigation at P.S. 308 is slated to end on Monday, according to the map, meaning it will likely soon be revealed if further action is necessary.

The city's coronavirus rules have led to only six full school closures so far this year, far less than the hundreds of extended closures in the 2020-21 school year under previous guidelines. A total of 39 schools have been investigated this year for possible closure, according to the map.

Including P.S. 308, three of this week's active investigations are at Brooklyn schools.

P.S. 165 Ida Posner in Brownsville and an East Flatbush campus with Uncommon Schools Kings Collegiate Charter School and Middle School for Art and Philosophy were also under investigation as of Monday, according to the map.

Last week, an elementary school in Park Slope was put under investigation, though DOE officials had cleared the school within a few days.