PS 290 Manhattan New School

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Phone and Email for Absences

Phone: 212-734-7127 Email: BZavala@schools.nyc.gov

Absences

If a student is absent for any reason, please email the school and the child’s teacher. If you do not have access to email, please call the office. Include the following information: child’s full name, grade, teacher’s name, and the reason for the absence. If your child attends our Afterschool program, please also inform the Afterschool Director.

What To Do If Your Child Is Sick

If your child is unwell, they must stay home. Many illnesses are highly contagious, and your child will be uncomfortable in school all day! Our school and the NYC Department of Education are committed to the health, safety, and wellbeing of students. School-aged children are susceptible to norovirus (vomiting or diarrhea), respiratory viruses, and other common illnesses. Please read through the DOE guidelines below.

  • If your child is having difficulty breathing, call your doctor right away.
  • If your child has a fever, they must stay home. They must remain home until they have not had a fever for at least 24 hours without taking any fever-reducing medicine, and their symptoms have improved.
    • If your child develops a fever or starts to feel worse after returning to normal activities, they should stay home again until, for at least 24 hours, their symptoms are improving overall and they have not had a fever (without fever-reducing medicine).
  • If your child is experiencing vomiting, they must stay home until at least 48 hours after symptoms resolve.
  • If your child is experiencing diarrhea, they must stay home until at least 48 hours after symptoms resolve (diarrhea has stopped and stools are formed).
  • If your child has symptoms of flu or RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), please seek medical treatment and notify the school. Your child must stay home for at least 24 hours after they have had no fever without fever-reducing medicine and symptoms are better.
  • If your child has Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (Coxsackie virus) — a blister-like rash — you should see a medical provider and then report it to the school. Students with a case must stay home until symptoms are gone. They may not attend school until their fever is gone, their blisters have all cleared, and they feel well.
  • If your child has chicken pox, scarlet fever, fifth disease, or any vaccine-preventable disease, you must inform the school.

Based on your child’s symptoms, your school nurse may determine your child must stay home for other reasons based on their professional judgement.

If your child is out sick for 3 days or more, you should obtain a letter of explanation from your doctor. Please send doctor’s notes and documentation to your child’s teacher, or email BZavala@schools.nyc.gov.

Please visit the NYC Department of Education website for important health updates.

If your child or anyone in your family has tested positive for COVID-19, you must inform the school. Please email BZavala@schools.nyc.gov and NDolinsky@schools.nyc.gov.

What happens if a student has symptoms of COVID-19 or a diagnosis of COVID-19?

  • If a student has any symptoms, such as fever, cough, nausea, runny nose, or headache (see CDC), they must take a COVID test.
  • If the child receives a negative result, they may return after a minimum of 24 hours and after symptoms have improved. If they had a fever, they can return after they have not had a fever for 24 hours without fever-reducing medications.
  • If the child receives a positive test for COVID-19 — whether they had symptoms or never had symptoms — they must stay home for at least 24 hours and until symptoms have subsided.
  • When the child is approved to return to school, they must wear a well-fitting mask covering both the nose and mouth for the next 5 days.
  • If the child develops a fever or feels worse after returning to normal activities, they should stay home again until, for at least 24 hours, their symptoms are improving and they have not had a fever (without fever-reducing medicine) — then follow the 5-day mask precaution again.
  • No student or visitor may enter the school if they have received a positive COVID-19 test in the past 24 hours, or experienced any symptoms of COVID-19 within the past 24 hours. Please review NYC guidelines here.

Absences from Afterschool Program

If your child is present at school and signed up for PS 290’s Afterschool Program, but you choose to pick up your child at dismissal rather than having them stay, please be sure to notify your child’s classroom teacher and contact the company offering your child’s class to make them aware of this change.