Students Might Not Safely Fit In This Forest Hills School: Report

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — The academic year is slated to kick off in just over a month, but a school in Forest Hills might have trouble fitting all of its students back into buildings safely.

Leonie Haimson, executive director of the advocacy group Class Size Matters, revealed this week a list of 76 severely overcrowded schools that education officials flagged as "Tier 1" in May, meaning the schools would have trouble following the CDC’s three-foot social distancing rule — including Forest Hills High School.

More recently, the DOE told union leaders that only about 50 schools will be unable to accommodate the three-feet rule, but United Federation of Teachers president Michael Mulgrew said the union is “having a hard time believing” the numbers.

Haimson is skeptical about the DOE’s recent estimates, too, pointing out that the DOE estimates in May including nearly 200 public schools would have trouble fitting students back into their buildings at a three-feet distance.

"Please be aware, however, that even if your child's school is not on this list, the actual list of schools too crowded to provide any distancing is likely much longer," Haimson wrote on the school blog where she first posted the list. "Parents [should] be asking their principals what the plan is to provide three feet of social distancing next year."

The list has not been confirmed or denied by the education department, according to Gothamist, who first reported on it.

Forest Hills High School is the most overcrowded in the neighborhood, with 3,705 students enrolled despite its recommended capacity, which is 2,018, according to the list.

The school is marked at 184 percent over capacity — making it among the top ten most crowded schools in the city based on 2019-2020 enrollment data.

Still, education officials told Gothamist that all schools will be able to provide full-time, in-person instruction this fall and that teams have been touring and measuring spaces to advise administrators.

"We look forward to having all of our students back in buildings this fall," DOE spokesperson Nathaniel Styer told Gothamist. "All our schools will safely serve every student in accordance with current CDC guidance."

Mayor Bill de Blasio has also said he is "absolutely confident" that New York City schools will open for in-person learning in September.

Several principals interviewed by Gothamist, though, have said they still have concerns about the spacing guidelines, including how to meet them during lunchtime or the need to hire more teachers given smaller class sizes.

Find a citywide list of schools, along with their enrollment numbers, here.

Patch editor Anna Quinn contributed to this report.