By: Dave Devereaux
Education Watch: COVID-19 Series
With 30% of schools in America opening with on site learning and hybrid models being tested, the overarching questions about safe distancing in the classroom has come to the forefront of discussions.
Also By Devereaux: https://www.reelurbannews.com/is-school-reopening-a-reality-or-a-partisan-ploy/
Ironically, we have been distancing six feet the past few months as a measure of safety, but now science demonstrates that this may not be far enough. To compound this issue we have to think about a classroom setting that has been designed for 30 plus desks on average which allows for about three feet between each student. Research suggests to date that at least sixteen feet are needed now for optimal safety along with a functional ventilation system. This becomes issue number one for safe school attendance. If this is the case, it allows for about ten desks per average size classroom. To successfully implement this would require a rolling number of students on campus daily with a staggered schedule along with more cleaning and sanitizing than schools currently can accommodate. Schools have moderate ventilation systems that provide air in hot weather and heat during the cold. The majority of operational issues are due to improperly working ventilation systems on a daily basis. When I was Principal, I had to make weekly requests for service of my air conditioning system. And my school was a newer school which should have a relatively well functioning system. What happens at older schools with older ventilation systems? I’m sure you get my point.
A hybrid model for attendance means that students attend partially on site and the other time via distance learning from home. Twelve school districts across the country will be piloting this upon opening this school year. Aside from trying to distance on campus while matriculating, the student will be learning from home on their off site days. The question then, is can we be assured that a student isolates after school to limit external exposure while in their community? Answer: probably not. I am yet to meet a kid that is not already restless with quarantine and might be willing to forgo any safety responsibility after a taste of “freedom” while attending school.
A real measure of safety might be to monitor the rate of transmission within a community along with honest contract tracing. The best example of monitoring of any sort, is the NBA, which operates in a “bubble”, meaning no outside ventures and the only contact is other players. Their efforts have allowed them to remain relatively virus free and resume play on a modified scale. The worst example of this is major league baseball. The MLB has allowed their players to function as they did before by going home and reporting to practice and play without any isolation. Their rate of exposure has proven great as players have tested positive and caused teams to have to halt play and go into lockout. This would be a similar result with schools and communities without serious and observable guidelines. Of course we know that it is impossible to place an entire community on “bubble” status and expect people to observe that without much push back. It would infringe upon their sense of freedom as well as be improbable for anyone with a job outside the area.
We come back to the issue of how do we keep kids safe while on campus and prevent contact with a virus that evolves constantly? Since researchers have now determined that kids may exhibit less symptoms than adults, we know they can still pass it on and infect others. As of today, there has been an increase in positive cases among students by 130% over the past four weeks. This tells us that the current plan to hold hybrid programs may not be the most prudent at all. Dr. Anthony Fauci just recently expressed this same concern by stating, “Leaders need to use their heads about reopening schools.” He noted the difference in attempting to open in a “green zone” with very low infection rates, versus opening in a “red zone,” where cases are surging.
With blended families under one roof, the likelihood that a kid will infect a family member is high under those circumstances. The probability of coming in contact with an asymptomatic carrier at school is high as well. Why would any parent think this is safe. Too many variables point to disaster down the road as proven at the school in Georgia where the young lady took a picture in the hallway during the passing of class that went viral. The picture showed crowding of unmasked students and no observing any distance in that hallway. Later nine of those students and staff tested positive. Georgia schools have demonstrated a dismal opening this year with now more than 800 people currently having to quarantine as a result of going to school from various districts. And this is only week one.
My suggestions to any of my family and friends with kids who are grappling with whether attending school is safe is to think carefully about whether they want to put their kids back in school under such circumstances. I would suggest distance learning until there is a vaccine or therapy that has been proven to prevent disease or save lives. I am aware that many people are fearful that kids will fall behind academically, but falling behind as opposed to sickness or death is a no brainer. Kids are resilient and can and will catch back up.
Until we have a cure, distance learning might be the only safe way to make sure that students, staff and communities are safe from increased positive infections surrounding COVID-19. This will surely add to decreased new infections along with helping to stop this virus. The toughest part of the new normal has already been faced by accepting distance learning. Now the task is to perfect it. School districts will be required to be more effective and efficient at delivering instruction and offering other social and emotional supports. From my experience, school districts can rise to this challenge and move forward. There are too many unknown variables that still exist that surround this virus. As we unfold the science, school communities will be better equipped to answer those questions and provide a greater safety net for attending students.
