As July winds down and the days start to shorten, parents around the country along with school administrators and teachers have decisions to make. School or no school. If school, how to manage it safely? What are the knock on effects of losing a year of school? Who will pay to ensure a safe experience. I could go on, but you get the idea. It is not a binary choice.
Our local district is a case in point. While they wait for state approval of their plan, the administration has released a plan calling for all children (except immuno compromised) in grades K-5 to attend school 5 days/week. Grades 6-12 will be split into two cohorts which will attend on either Monday and Tuesday or Thursday and Friday. Wednesday will be a sanitization day. When not physically present, students will be "distance learning".
I'm not sure of the details of the plan. For instance, will the younger children be kept 6 feet apart in class? Will they eat together in a cafeteria? As always, the devil is in the details. Meanwhile, what about the risk of transmission to caregivers after school? The Divine Mrs. M and I function as after school baby sitters and occasional full day caregivers for grandchildren. What is our risk?
A recent outbreak of Covid 29 in our county was traced back to a gathering of 150-200 teens and young 20 somethings at a secluded property. So far, at least 5 cases of coronavirus were transmitted at the party. We know this is something young adults do. Now imagine nearly 1000 kids limited to the tight quarters of school during a North Country winter. The possible consequences boggle the mind. Multiply that by the over 12,000 school districts around the country and you can imagine the angst of parents, teachers and students. What is to be done?
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