11 Crown Heights Schools Dealing With COVID-19 Cases: DOE

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — One week after the city began vaccinating youngsters against COVID-19, 11 schools in Crown Heights are still swept up in virus-prevention protocols, according to the Department of Education.

As of Friday morning, 10 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. One school had a non-classroom quarantine, meaning a staff member who doesn't typically work in a classroom had been exposed or tested positive.

Four of the schools had at least one classroom fully closed and the rest 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 as the last of Crown Heights' ZIP codes reaches the 50-percent full vaccination mark for residents of all ages. Some parts of the neighborhood have struggled with some of the lowest vaccine rates in the city.

Nearby Prospect Heights, which has one of the highest vaccine rates in Brooklyn, had no coronavirus cases at its schools as of Friday, according to the map.

Here's where the cases were in Crown Heights:

• Ronald Edmonds Learning Center II:
  • Two partial classroom quarantines are in place.
• M.S. K394:
  • Three partial classroom quarantines are in place.
• P.S. 335 Granville T. Woods:
  • Two classrooms are facing full closures until Nov. 25.
• New Bridges Elementary:
  • A non-classroom quarantine is in place until Nov. 27.
• Launch Expeditionary Learning Charter School:
  • A partial classroom quarantine is in place until Nov. 20.
• Achievement First Crown Heights Charter School:
  • A partial classroom quarantine is in place until Nov. 22.
• Medgar Evers College Preparatory School:
  • Three partial classroom quarantines are in place.
• P.S. 316 Elijah Stroud:
  • Two full classroom closures and three partial classroom quarantines are in place.
• Brooklyn School for Music & Theatre:
  • A partial classroom quarantine is in place.
• P.S. 241 Emma L. Johnston:
  • Three classrooms are fully closed.
• P.S. 375 Jackie Robinson School:
  • One classroom is fully closed until Nov. 22.

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.

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

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.