5 Park Slope Schools Dealing With COVID-19 Cases: DOE

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — One week after the city began vaccinating youngsters against COVID-19, five schools in Park Slope are still swept up in virus-prevention protocols, according to the Department of Education.

As of Thursday morning, five schools in the neighborhood had imposed either partial quarantines or full classroom closures due to coronavirus exposure, according to the interactive map from the Department of Education.

Two of the schools had at least one classroom fully closed and three had partial closures, meaning only a subset of students in a classroom are required to quarantine while others can keep attending school.

The cases come despite overall vaccination rates in both of Park Slope's ZIP codes that are higher than the borough's average. The school district was also singled out as having one of the highest demands for the first dose of the vaccine for 5 to 11 year olds, who were invited to get vaccinated at public school sites.

The vaccine sites will be set up again at New York City public schools for second doses later this month.

Here's where the cases were in Park Slope:

• P.S. 133 William A. Butler: A classroom closed at the school between Nov. 13 and 20.
• M.S. 51 William Alexander: A partial classroom closure was in place between Nov. 18 and 25.
• P.S. 321 William Penn: Two classrooms were closed at the school, one between Nov. 13 and 19 and another between Nov. 11 and 19.
• Millennium Brooklyn High School: A partial classroom closure was in place between Nov. 11 and 19.
• Magnet School of Math,Science and Design Technology: A partial classroom closure was in place between Nov. 17 and 20.

Once a common headache for parents, full school closures have become far less common this year thanks to a revised policy by the DOE.

The vaccine rollout for children aged 5-11 began last Monday thanks to federal approval. Some school-based vaccination sites were quickly plagued by long lines and supply shortfalls — though Mayor Bill de Blasio chalked that up as a positive sign of strong interest.

"We have been pleasantly surprised at how big the response has been at the school level," he said last week. About 17,000 kids got their shots over the first three-day period.

Book a vaccine appointment at vaccinefinder.nyc.gov, or for state-run sites, ny.gov/vaccine.

Patch reporters Nick Garber and Gus Saltonstall contributed to this report.