Department of Education officials have announced that summer learning will be moved up by one week for New York City public school students – July 6 to August 11 for grades 3-8 and July 6 to August 14 for grades 9-12.

The programs for 3rd-8th graders and high schoolers were to run from July 13th to August 21st, but is now being adjusted according to feedback from families and school communities, the DOE said on Wednesday.

"This will allow for continuous learning and give students and educators a break in August before the start of the next school year. It will also give our families and educators time off in August, when hopefully there is an increased chance for potential vacations and outdoor activities. There is no change to duration or structure for summer learning programs," said DOE spokesperson Danielle Filson in an email.

She added: "This will not impact our timeline for notifications to families or determinations for which students will be required or recommended to attend summer school."

In another development, Richard Carranza, the city's schools chancellor on Wednesday said that the city's expansion of testing sites for COVID-19 will include some unused Department of Education facilities.

From now until mid-August, the testing sites will operate seven days a week from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., with daily cleaning and disinfecting by the New York City Department of Buildings and the New York City Health and Hospitals afterwards, Carranza said at the Panel for Educational Policy remote meeting Wednesday.

None of the proposed DOE testing sites are currently used for any purposes, including Regional Enrichment Centers or meal hubs, he said.

"Prior to school buildings reopening for the 2020-2021 school year, we will conduct deep cleaning with our partners at NYC Health and Hospitals using established infection control standards," Carranza said. "We will also conduct environmental and quality testing to ensure school buildings are safe before the school communities return. Again, we are utilizing buildings that are currently not in use for any other purpose. So we just want to make sure that the public knows that this is happening and the DOE is contributing to bringing our city back."

Meal hubs for grab-and-go meals will be running as usual on Memorial Day, city officials added.