By Bo Yun V. Brainerd
As the state begins to reopen local businesses following the spread of ravaging COVID-19, the question is, do we reopen classrooms?
Connecticut’s verdict? Indeed we do.
With the vast reopenings of states, safety precautions are vital now more than ever in order to keep our communities safe this fall. But would returning to school be too threatening to the students’ health? Is education more important than health?
Governor Lamont and the State Department of Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona announced June 25 that “Public Schools in Connecticut will fully reopen in the fall with costly new safety measures, including full-time mask-wearing and smaller classrooms.”
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “the harm to children from not having in-person education outweighs the risk.” Research says that a switch to online school has harmed students disproportionately in regards to families who don’t own computers or the internet, enlarging the educational inequality and deepening racial and economic divides. Therefore, why wouldn’t we go back to school right away?
However, in order for parents to send their children back to school, there must be a confirmation that districts have followed CDC regulations as well as have created plans to mitigate the spread of the virus. But what will that really entail?
First off, it seems there will be an increase in teachers hired in order to reduce the class sizes yet, still ensuring all students have access to their preferred subjects. Classrooms might have to relocate outside or into gymnasiums to maintain 6-feet apart rules. There will definitely be no more cafeteria lunch time. Instead, it will be replaced with eating outdoors if the weather allows or eating in classrooms at their desks.
As expected, custodians will be following health expectations, spending more time cleaning surfaces students have touched. Within elementary schools, there will be an elimination of bean bag chairs and perhaps a decrease in rug time. Furthermore, districts might have to schedule more bus trips or purchase more transportation to minimize the amount of students traveling together. There are still some other questions in terms of implementing these changes. Will this change dismissal times? How much will this cost?
Gov. Lamont and Cardona announced they unfortunately couldn’t give an exact estimation on how much money superintendents and school leaders will have to spend. All Connecticut school districts have only 11 weeks to prepare classrooms and with the implementation of new protocols, there is a fear funds may be taken away from actual supplies and salaries. “I think as the year goes on, we’ll go over-budget and we’ll need to find ways to make that up,” West Hartford Superintendent of Schools Tom Moore said. “We need to have smaller classes in place, which means we have to hire more teachers, even if it’s for a year.”
A school reopening committee in Branford Public Schools is scheduled to meet Thursday to begin discussing the fall re-opening. Superintendent of Schools Hamlet Hernandez and other school officials were unavailable for comment.
Some of the changes that might be seen in Connecticut districts
1. Student Cohorts
Primary and intermediate schools can create small groups of children who will learn, eat lunch and have breaks together. Students and teachers in such cohorts will only interact with one another but, these groups may not be feasible in high schools due to students moving from different rooms.
2. Routine Health Testing
Temperature checks will be regular and if a case is contracted, schools must follow CDC Prevention guidance, which urges administration to coordinate with local health authorities to organize the dismissal of students and staff members for 2 to 5 days.
3. More lenient absent policies for students with older households and affected staff members
Families with households containing people with severe health problems may be hesitant with their children attending school again. In these circumstances, especially with parents worried about the virus being brought home, absences and online education could be made personally available.
4. Bringing back online school
If there happens to be another spike of cases in the State or certain district, schools may have to close until such an outbreak is under control. In that case, they must be prepared to use developed curriculums that can be quickly implemented.
One thing is for sure, Branford’s community is strong enough to adapt and fight COVID-19 as a collective. The reopening of Branford Public Schools is an important decision filled with many risks and benefits. But with the advice of public health experts, and the cooperation of students, parents and teachers, it seems we will be one step closer to returning to our normal lives.
