By Grahm Reynolds
Last school year was a year of ups and downs. At first, remote learning was a massive adjustment for both students and faculty. Yet by the spring, there were glimmers of hope. All students were able to be back in school by April, and seniors had their prom, class trip, and an in-person graduation at the end of the year — previously thought impossible.
This upward momentum has carried onto this current school year; with this year being all in-person, it feels like more like normal school again. There are full hallways, lunches, and sports seasons have so far gone undisturbed.
Yet it isn’t all positive, as there is one final thing about this year that was lacking last year – a substantial amount of COVID cases. And cases keep rising in Branford Public Schools.
Yes, students caught COVID last year. But this year, an increased number of students are catching it. Connecticut currently has a 24% positivity rate, meaning one in four COVID tests come back positive. This number only includes those who get tested — the real number of cases may be higher than one in four. Despite these rates, Connecticut has passed legislation disallowing extended periods of remote learning for the 2021-2022 school year. This blatant disregard for the health of those in the education community is appalling, and sets an apathetic tone.
We all remember “two weeks to flatten the curve”. As those two weeks turned into two years, we adapted to COVID. Shocking headlines continue to happen everyday, but nothing comes close to the initial panic of hearing about the first case in Connecticut. But shouldn’t hearing that there are more cases now than there ever was set off some alarm bells? Updated data relating to Connectiut’s COVID cases can be found here. Cases are increasing in Branford School’s as a whole as well. In the high school alone, there has been 50 COVID cases in January only, showing just how rapid Omicron is spreading. Updated data relating to Branford School’s COVID cases can be found here
School should go online for at least two weeks in order for cases to level off.
Obviously this strategy did not work last time. However, COVID was just starting off then, so of course there would be an increase in cases as people began to realize how much of a problem it would be. This time around would be different; Omicron is highly contagious, and taking time to reduce contact between both students and faculty would prove to be beneficial. The school can’t stop people from getting together outside of school, but it can do it’s part in limiting the spread and potentially saving lives.
Of course, we are in a far better place than last year. Most of the school population is vaccinated, and less people are being quarantined compared to last year. However, this is because there is less chance to be quarantined; the school only makes you quarantine if you show symptoms of COVID, ignoring those who are asymptomatic. As things are on an overall upswing, we need to ensure that we don’t lose this momentum to Omicron.
Nothing can be done as long as the state prohibits extended periods of remote learning. Yet we are at a point where we need a period of at-home learning to let things cool down and then come back safely. At the bare minimum, the school needs to try and do everything it can to gain the ability to go online briefly.
When literal lives are at stake, it is the least the school can do.
Editor's note: Grahm Reynolds is an editor of The Branford Buzz. The opinions in this editorial are his own.
